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Day's Feature Ends In A Rare Dead-Heat

By Pearcey | 23 Sep 2011 | MYSORE


Trainer S Ganapathy leading Elite Land (M A Gallagher Up), and R R Byramji leading Make My Day (AR Pradeep Up), winner of The Chettinad Stud Gold Cup

A thrilling dead-heat in The Chettinad Stud Gold Cup highlighted an otherwise dull card of nine events framed for Friday's racing at Mysore. The two market leaders, Elite Land and Make My Day, were involved in a stiff fight throughout the length of the straight and even the "digital" equipment was unable to separate the two of them. With these new generation cameras able to clock extreme fractions in terms of timings, this was a rare occurrence. While Ganapathy trained Elite Land saved ground to race towards the inner rails, it was Byramji's Make My Day who many considered to be a trifle unlucky. Apprentice Pradeep was unable to correct her outward drift, and the filly ended on the outer strip of the race grass. The view from a naked eye was quite deceptive. The differing views of those watching the finish were settled with the announcement of the official result. On the basis of all known form, the race was definitely restricted to the two of them and the trend of wagering in the rings confirmed this opinion. The only surprise at the end was the performance of Behram, who came with a fine burst of acceleration to finish within sniffing distance of the "winners".

Dance To The Tune, Hamsafar, Appolonaire and Elite Land jostled for early positions after taking a level jump from the mile marker. Make My Day settled comfortably in fifth spot, while Behram encountered traffic problems after starting from his extreme draw. The pace was steady as they took the rising ground and began their march towards the straight. Elite Land was the first to make his move. Under some forceful riding of Mark Gallagher, the four year old led into the straight. Make My Day improved steadily from the back and joined the leader. With Gallagher making free use of his whalebone, Elite Land hugged the rails and made his way towards the winning post. On the other hand, Make My Day responded to Pradeep's pushing and lugged out under pressure. At one stage it seemed as though he would actually roll onto the outer sand track. The boy managed to keep his cool and continued to urge his mount. In the midst of all this action, Behram moved menacingly from the back to join the fray. In a three way finish, Elite Land and Make My Day managed to finish marginally ahead of Behram. The last named will be too good to miss when trainer Darashah decides to run him against Mysore based horses.

A careful look at the day's results confirmed another rare phenomenon. Despite the nine races, and because of a dead-heat, ten official winners, there was not a single jockey or trainer who managed to score a double. The Mysore Race Club Trophy, a sprint handicap for horses in class III, was the added attraction in the day's card. Both the divisions of this race were won easily by Bangalore based runners. Lokanath's Equanimity showed splendid improvement to score his third straight victory. After winning his maiden race at the end of the Bangalore Summer Season, the three year old looks totally transformed. His winning effort on the local track earlier this month had earned him a stiff penalty. Those who had confidence in him were happy to back him at 90/100 today. Their confidence was fully justified, as Equanimity travelled well within himself to complete the formality. Sreekanth gave him a tap in the final furlong to take him past a tired Daring Dynamite. An exhausted pair of Archer and Lake Emerald filled the rest of the frame. The winner has the ability to score on promotion.

Sharat Kumar's Smooth Glider had an easier time while pocketing the lower division of this race. Christopher eased him into an early lead and led from Windsor Knight, Bavaria and Demanding Format. A reminder at the top of the straight saw Smooth Glider extending his margin of victory. The jockey looked back repeatedly to check for any dangers before easing his mount in the final furlong. The winner clocked-in many lengths ahead of Bavaria and Demanding Format. Sharat has done well with a horse who won the first race of his career in the lowest class at Bangalore, only a few months ago.

The Ranga Mysore Race Trophy was the other important event conducted during the afternoon. This sprint reserved for horses rated 60 and above, gave an opportunity to Joriki and Sweet Surrender to earn their respective corn bills. Both of them had been unable to score for a fairly long period of time. Dhariwal entrusted Joriki to Stephane and the Frenchman rode a near-perfect race on this filly. Without hustling her in the early stages, he rode her for eventual acceleration. She loved these tactics and responded bravely to his final urgings. Joriki swept past Star Presence and Flash Flares in the final hundred metres to register an easy victory.

Nityanand's Sweet Surrender had displayed his present form and physical condition by finishing a fair third to One For The Money. The manner, in which he had improved from the last position in the straight, had sent a clear signal that he was ready to strike. Racing amongst horses in the lower division of this race, Sweet Surrender was installed as the 16/10 favourite ahead of Abnoba and Perfect Bond. A huge surge of money on Abnoba witnessed an alarming change of scene. Despite a rookie jockey like P Ramesh riding this Prithviraj trainee, punters were seen charging around the betting rings. Each one of them was in a hurry to back Abnoba. The filly was backed down from 5/2 to 5/4 as the horses reached the starting gates. Real Magic, Perfect Bond and Abnoba led from the start and showed the way to Sweet Surrender and the others. The first three went wide at the bend and gave a nice opening along the rails to Sweet Surrender. Apprentice Rajesh gave him a push and seized the initiative. It was smooth sailing thereafter. Despite being held on a tight leash, Sweet Surrender powered away to win by over nine lengths from Perfect Bond, Dare Don and a tired Real Magic. Abnoba started plodding in the straight, stopped in her tracks and faded from the scene.

JS Pillay's Spark Of Diablo adopted runaway tactics to win the day's opener. A winner in his last start, he handled the penalty with a measure of comfort. The trainer chose to take some weight off his back by entrusting him to Vaideeshwaran. The youngster rode with confidence and thwarted a late bid from the heavily gambled Frame Partner. The latter improved steadily with every stride but was unable to collar the leader. Give Me The Money made a late bid to save place money for her followers.

A couple of three year olds were seen competing in a sprint handicap for horses in the lowest category. Inayathulla’s Bonanza was fancied ahead of Rakesh's Best Move and the Pratap Kamath trained Aerial Acrobat. The three of them darted out of the gates and it was Bonanza who showed the way to Aerial Acrobat and Best Move. Aerial Acrobat got tired near the bend and called it a day. The other two were involved in a brief duel before Best Move sealed the issue. She nailed Bonanza in the final furlong and gave Afsar his first victory of this season. The small made Aerial Acrobat needs some more time to furnish before she is campaigned again.

Puttanna's Vega made a late bid through the field to gain an overdue victory this afternoon. The three year old had run some good races in recent months, and much was expected of him at Mysore. His poor performance in his only run this season saw him being neglected today. With money pouring onto Blue Star and The Last Fling, the odds against Vega expanded alarmingly. Sreekanth pushed The Last Fling into an early advantage and showed the way to Perfect Analysis and Blue Star. Vega was tucked-in along the inner rails while Miss International was moving powerfully on the wide outside. The Last Fling managed to break free of her rivals and held a reasonable advantage as the runners entered the final furlong of this race. In the hands of apprentice Vaibhav, Vega moved steadily towards the leader. After a minor battle, Vega gained the upper hand and managed to pip The Last Fling near the winning post. Miss International got up in time to beat favourite Blue Star into fourth place.