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Spark Of Gold Gets A Scare

By Pearcey | 01 Sep 2011 | MYSORE


Trainer K Pradeep Annaiah leading Spark Of Gold (P S Chouhan Up), winner of The HH Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Memorial Trophy

A thrilling duel between Spark Of Gold and Bold Police in The HH Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Memorial Trophy highlighted the nine-event card at Mysore on Thursday. The highly experienced and well-performed veteran clashed with a relatively inexperienced novice, and the pair of them treated the railbirds to some exciting action. This mile handicap for horses in the highest class attracted a field of nine runners. Pradeep Annaiah's Spark Of Gold (Mischevious Music-Expensive Week) had been running in "Graded" company, and was reverting to a handicap race after 15 long months. His recent performances in the company of Xisca and Spearhead bore testimony to his present form and fitness. Even though he was carrying the top weight, there was none amongst older horses that looked capable of matching strides with him. Three-year-old Bold Police was an unknown commodity in this race. After three career wins, the Pratap Kamath-trainee was the highest rated three-year-old in the country. Because he had failed in the hands of an apprentice a month ago, he was being entrusted to a good jockey on Thursday. Spark Of Gold enjoyed favouritism, while Bold Police was third-in-demand behind Cavalry Charge. The presence of Ladjadj Stephane enthused many to support Cavalry Charge in the day's feature.

No-hopers Flaming Lamborgini and Hurricane Bay made the early running and showed the way to Ashkan, Bold Police and Spark Of Gold. The others led by Rising Rainbow were close behind the leading group as they traversed the first half of their journey. The field began to bunch up at this stage. With the front-runners getting tired, it was time for the serious contenders to make their respective moves. The first one to do so was PS Chouhan. He urged Spark Of Gold on the wide outside and the favourite led into the straight. Neeraj Rawal reacted quickly and asked Bold Police to quicken. The youngster responded gamely and began his charge towards the winning post. The two horses skipped away from the others and raced abreast for rest of the way. The two jockeys were in full motion thereafter. For a moment it seemed as though Bold Police would win this race, but that did not happen. With the assistance of the rails, and much more racing experience under his belt, Spark Of Gold managed to keep his neck in front till the very end. The connections of Bold Police were definitely dismayed by this result, but weren’t disheartened. They realized the importance of this performance. Their ward had run his guts out in top-class company. By doing what he had done today, the Kunigal-bred had indicated his readiness to participate on the bigger stage. The Mysore 2000 Guineas has been chosen as his next target.

Chouhan's victory in the day's feature completed a popular double for him during the afternoon. He had already scored with Britto's hot favourite Jack O Lantern (Kly Green-Café Society). Facing extremely poor opposition in the lower division of a class IV event, he was backed at every price. Starting at an attractive 2/1 in the betting rings, his odds kept on contracting with the passage of time and he charged out of the starting gates as an on-money favourite. Jack O Lantern leapt out of the gates and made every post a winning one. He did not permit anyone to come within sniffing distance of him. The final verdict of over seven lengths could have easily been doubled. Spark Of Blue, Star Of Stars and Bocconcino fought against each other to decide the minor berths.

The other jockey to score a brace today was Appu. Riding Caprioska (Placerville-Betfair) for Sirajuddin, Appu had to use all his guile and experience. The bandaged six-year-old made steady progress from his fourth spot and overtook Simply Phenomenal, Yanamaria and Brigade's Pride near the two-furlong marker. The horse began to loaf thereafter, and Appu had a tough job to keep him going. With Lester moving menacingly on the outer portion of the track, and Yanamaria gaining ground towards the rails, this race was headed for a real close finish. That is exactly what happened. Under some desperate whipping from Appu, Caprioska lasted out to hold Lester by a "nose". Jockey Steyn astride Yanamaria chose to lodge a frivolous objection against the winner, but the Stewards had little hesitation in throwing it out quickly.

Appu's victory astride Bobby's Tromos (Steinbeck-Ammeter) was accomplished with a bit more ease. A small group of eight runners lined up for The Mysore Jewellery Mart Gold Cup. On the basis of his late-finishing effort over a seven-furlong race a couple of weeks ago, Aztec Gold was installed as a piping hot favourite in this race. The presence of apprentice Prabhakaran made little difference to his backers, as it was felt that he was too good to miss today. The extra couple of furlongs were considered to be well within his compass. With Noble Sacrifice and Tromos setting a good pace, Aztec Gold raced in third position. Soon after turning for home, there were only two horses in this race. Tromos on the rails and Aztec Gold towards the centre of the track began their march forward. The favourite led by a length as they entered the final furlong. A couple of factors changed the scenario. Aztec Gold shortened his strides and began to tire. On the other hand, Appu drove Tromos with his whip, and the six-year-old dug deep into his reserves of energy. Tromos got stronger with each successive stride and sailed away for an emphatic victory. For trainer Bobby this resulted in a quick ‘double’, as he had won an earlier race with Golden Nymph (Bee’s Prospector-Boozy Woozy). She had come with a sustained run in the straight to beat Callidora and Caesar near the winning post.

Another exciting finish was witnessed in a sprint race for horses in Class IV. Byramji's Abracadabra and Nityanand's Blue Star were the market leaders in this race. Both these three-year-olds were yet to win a race in their short careers. The better-bred Abracadabra (Alnasr Alwasheek-Priceless Memories) had Stepahne astride her. She took a good jump from the widest draw and settled nicely behind Ace High as the runners made their way towards the straight. Those who expected Abracadabra to skip away thereafter were in for a shock. In the hands of apprentice Rajesh Kumar, the 70/1 outsider Ace High refused to give up. The two of them battled every inch of ground, and it was the stronger handling of the Frenchman that tilted the balance. Abracadabra got up on the last stride to nail the leader. Blue Star could do no better than finish third.

The day ended with a long overdue victory for Dhariwal's Hamsafar (Inner City-Nafazaka). This small-made filly had been running some good races in recent times. She was opposed by Vayomi and Rising Queen in an age-group race over 1,400 metres. Apprentice Vaibhav rode a neat race on this winner. She took a good jump and raced close behind Perfect Analysis for a major portion of the journey. The field started bunching up at the bend, and Hamsafar seemed to be caught in a traffic jam. Vaibhav showed her a bit of daylight, and the filly was quick to seize it. She shot through the pack and sauntered away from a late-finishing Visual Element and Leading Lady. Vayomi raced prominently till the bend before calling it a day. He seems to have lost form and it would be prudent to ignore him from a betting perspective if he chooses to run again this season.