Bangalore
Saturday, January 5  2002


Nairn has it easy in the Oaks

By Sharan Kumar

Zareer Darashah’s Nairn recorded an emphatic win in the Gr.2 The Hindu Bangalore Oaks beating a mediocre set pointless. The fact that Caressing who came out of the maiden’s ranks hardly a month ago finished less than five lengths behind the winner does not enhance the quality of the win much. Added to that the poor timing, which was two minutes 36.87 seconds, meant that the initial pace of the race was a crawl and that the mile and a half race in effect was in effect reduced to a mile affair. As such, one is not sure how well Nairn will stay in a truly run race. The trainer is pretty confident that his ward will be hard to down in the Ramanov Bangalore Derby scheduled for the third Saturday of the month but till Nairn proves herself all over again, one cannot be too excited about the stylish win.

With the all-conquering Snow Dew out of her way, having been targeted at the Indian Oaks, Nairn’s win was a foregone conclusion. Only the supporters of Battle Star hoped for an upset but in the event, the daughter of Placerville who looked light in the paddock ran below farm to finish a poor fourth.


Nairn (K.P.G.Appu up), winner of the Hindu Bangalore Oaks Grade II being led in by Trainer Z.Darashah and owner K.J.Ramaswamy and Dilip Thomas.


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 Another disturbing fact of the race was the performance of Ashleen who ran third when the same filly had disgraced herself in a ordinary handicap race. Either the last run of Ashleen was not reflecting of the potential of the daughter of Green Forest or the quality of the Oaks field was so poor that barring Nairn, the rest of the field wouldn’t make their mark in a lower category race.

Aveyron did the front-running job, with Pesi Shroff on Caressing chasing in close attendance. Nairn was well settled in the third position while the rest of the runners were behind in close proximity of each other. Rounding the final bend, Pesi pushed Caressing to the front but the lead was short-lived as Nairn moved up smoothly and surged clear. Ashleen came from behind to take the third spot even as Battle Star struggled to find her foot.

The Ashoka Chakra Cup, a rich sprint race for three-year olds, had just five runners and all of them ended up with useful stake money. Karan Singh’s Society Dream, who had won with hardly any effort on the part of the jockey in her last essay, was quoted at unbackable odds. The daughter of Diffident did not have difficulty in overhauling the front-running Spark of Zeus despite running green and finding time to find to gallop on an even keel. First-timer Karazzano, who is by first season stallion Local Talent, too ran green but was full of running at the finish.

English jockey Francis Norton who is enjoying a good season in India, drove out Different Ballgame to a thrilling win in the 1200 metres Thungabhadra Plate, a race for horses rated 30 to 45, which had quite a few creditable runners in the fray. The lead changed hands several times inside the distance past, with Different Ballgame edging out a reluctant Soviet Bay at the post.

Srinath, who at times gives the impression of being indifferent, is a difficult person to understand. He makes sporadic appearance with long spells of absence from the track. The talented rider needs to focus himself more to match results commensurate with his talent. The temperamental jockey drove out What A Pleasure resolutely, making free use of the whip, which ensured that the six-year old race mare just about managed to stave off Belief. The fact that Belief was guided by a whip less Ramesh made a crucial difference to the outcome. It was good to see the hunger in Srinath for success.

Srinath, despite all out efforts, ended up second best in the last two races of the day. Astride firm favourite Rizer in the R H Charles Memorial Plate (Div II), he found to his dismay, the five-year old gelding being tardy at the start and reluctant to raise a fluent gallop. By the time the son of Argyle Lake got into his stride, Sher Khan, in the hands of Norton, had established a winning lead. Despite a desperate effort on Guernica by Srinath, the son of Ajaad progeny just about failed to collar the front-running Moonlight Rays, apprentice jockey S Ramesh having the last laugh this time out.