Lady One who had recorded a runaway win in her last outing and
incurred a huge penalty, was expected to defy the impost and win and as
such, she was quoted at miserly odds in the ring. In the event, jockey
Appu on Brahmaputra bolted to the front from the word `go’ and the son
of Conquering Hero kept increasing the lead to retire home a facile
winner. Lady One, who traveled wide at the final bend, did not show the
flourish which characterized her last win and was nosed out of the
second position by Cosmos who backed up his earlier good showing with
another noteworthy performance. Lady One ran exactly the way she did
last time out but met a superior opponent in Brahmaputra. Jersey Pride
ran on to finish fourth.
Imtiaz had a double for the day as Gobelin appreciated the step up in
distance from a sprint to a mile to win the 1600 metres Royal Challenge
Plate in taking style. Antonique came in for some sustained support in
the ring but the progeny of China Visit expended all her energies by her
front-running role which caused her to run out of reserves when the race
was on the boil. After racing along the rails till the final bend, Mark
Zahra pulled out Gobelin to give her a clear ground on the wide outside.
The daughter of Senure quickened without much fuss and left the field
stranded to win by a widening margin of over seven lengths. Agassiz ran
on to finish second ahead of Sontag Etoile.
Padmanabhan trained Passion to Perform was the most impressive winner of
the day. The daughter of Bertolini was backed to the exclusion of her
rivals in the 1400 metres Classical Act Plate. Eight of the nine runners
in the fray were last outing winners and as such, one expected the race
to be keenly contested. Neither the odds nor the way the race was run
reflected this. Passion To Perform who raced a handy fourth, moved up
with a flourish at the final bend, took charge and then sped away to win
as she pleased. Olivia Valere took the second spot while Sporting Master
who covered ground in the straight, did not have enough energy to make
an impression on the front-runners and faded out to be third.
Snob Value won the D M Shivaswamy Memorial Cup (Div II) in the Stewards
room. After Artic Blast cut across the field and caused the fall of
Onegina and Winsons and won the race by a whisker, the resultant
Stewards enquiry saw the winner being disqualified. Alford suffered a
collar bone fracture while Aadesh Kumar escaped with a rude shake up.
Both Onegina and Winsons had to be put to sleep.
Satin Wood was the betting rage in the upper division of the race but
the son of Duja was never in the hunt, being under pressure right
through and finished dismally. Rank outsider Mister Elegant showed up on
the wide outside and went away to win by a widening margin of five
lengths. Mystic Force came from behind to finish second ahead of Easy.
Appu who rode the favourite, raised an objection against Imran Chisty,
the rider of Mister Elegant for causing him severe interference at
around the 700 metres marker but the same was thrown out in no time as
the objection carried no weight.
You’rebeautiful was seen in true colours when jockey Chauhan allowed her
a free run in the 1100 metres Paddiwick Plate. The daughter of Glory of
Dancer put daylight between herself and the opposition to win as she
pleased. Marinella and Maahi Ve plodded on to be second and third
respectively. Pradeep Annaiah trains the winner.
Read My Mind won the 1400 metres Treasure Girl Plate end to end without
coming under any pressure from favourite Chevron who continues to be
unreliable. Southern Cheiftain ran poorly and barring his imposing
breeding, there is nothing much to write home about.
Apprentice John who got the race on Snob Value in the Stewards room, had
a double for the day as earlier in the day, he had guided Kioko to a
facile win. Favourite The Bravest made no show.
