Solar Rocket set a fast
pace with Appu on Holding Court struggling hard to settle the second
favourite who was keen to sweep the others off their feet. Prakash on
Galloping Bay moved swiftly from the outside draw to be well in touch
with the leaders though he was not gaining ground significantly. Holding
Court bolted to the front on turning for home and stretched away from
the opposition even as Galloping Bay was under tremendous pressure to
catch up with Imperialism who put up a dogged fight. There are many who
feel that Holding Court will not be as effective over the mile long trip
but there is no doubt that there is enough stamina influence in his
breeding for him to last out not only the mile but a little longer as
well. Imperialism should strike before long.
Diomedes put in his claim as a sprinter of great potential when he won the
Divine Light Plate (Div I) in a fine time of 1 minute 13.1 seconds. By
Royal Kingdom out of Sprinters Cup winner Indiscretion, Diomedes has a
bright future ahead of him. Tina’s Triumph was a long way second ahead
of Liberal Dancer who should make her mark when asked to tackle a longer
trip. Powerthrust won the lower division in great style, beating his
nearest challenger Matter of Opinion by a fair margin. The well bred
daughter of Placerville should mature into a top class performer over
extended trips.
Appu, who won the Jockeys’ Championships in winter, had a rewarding day,
with a treble. Apart from Holding Court, his other winners included
Crown Royal and Hesperus. Crown Royal who took charge of the proceedings
in the final furlong of the Dharmaprakasha L S Venkaji Rao Memorial Cup,
a race for horses rated 40 and above, held on to win from Mystic Heights
who finished with a flourish. Randsberg, who has moved up into this
class by consistently finishing on board in all his outings, lacks that
extra gear which could make a difference to victory and defeat. He is
hopelessly one paced though he was not far from the winner. Saratoga
Sizzle who was running for the first time over a mile after more than 20
runs over shorter trips, found the mile too long for comfort. Red
Orchid, who came in for good support, is not the same horse which won a
bagful of races early on in his career and he hasn’t won a race for more
than 16 months.
Hesperus surely is a notable sprinter though he is capable of getting
longer trips equally effectively as suggested by his fluent win in the N S Bharath Memorial Plate (Div I). Hesperus moved strongly on the wide
outside to win from a late finishing Royal Assault and Opera Queen.
Iberian who won the lower division of the race is another sprinter who should
move up rapidly on the handicap scale. The three-year old filly proved
too speedy for the opposition, having the race sewn up long way from
home. Glorious Spirit found foot late to finish second. The filly can
handle longer trips more effectively.
Silva Storai on Tintorino looked a winner all the way but when Mahek
came up with a challenge in the final furlong, the jockey was not found
to be vigorous enough. Suraj Narredu who made free use of the whip on
Mahek, managed to record his first win after a bad fall had kept him out
of action for more than three months. Suraj ended the day with a double
through a bloodless win on Iberian. Both these wins should help the
jockey to get back to his wonted rhythm.
