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Fleeting Spirit upsets in the July Cup

By Tom Krish | 11 Jul 2009 | BANGALORE


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Trainer Padmanabhan is on fire. I checked the Saturday results in Bangalore and Padmanabhan was unstoppable. Rhapsidion Snow made Saturday’s feature, the BTC Anniversary Cup, a no contest. Going into Sunday’s Kingfisher Bangalore Derby, Padmanabhan’s confidence-level must be high. There is every reason to think that the sartorially savvy Padmanabhan has a stranglehold on the Derby. I called him late Saturday afternoon India time. It was a poor connection. However, late Friday London time. I managed to get Richard Hughes. “I have a ride in every race at Ascot tomorrow. I leave at 9 P M and will be in Bangalore by 11 AM on Sunday.” I asked Hughes what he knows about Gypsy Magic. “I know the filly. I have seen her race (in Mumbai) and I am impressed by what I have seen. I will have time to talk things over.” I talked about the suspension. Jockey Hughes appealed and had his six-day ban cut to five days. The ban ran from July 6 to July 10. He missed several rides on Richard Hannon-trained horses. “Your hands should have been itching and it is tough to sit out a big meeting like the July meeting at Newmarket.” “There’s nothing I can do. It was unfortunate. I will leave Bangalore Monday morning. I will be back in action at Windsor late Monday afternoon.” Richard Hughes won with Saturn Girl in a maiden race at Windsor three weeks ago. Hughes was found not to have done enough when Saturn Girl caused interference to Rocky’s Pride. A six-day ban was imposed. A word on the Princess of Wales Stakes run at Newmarket on Thursday. Dr Fremantle, a disappointment in Royal Ascot’s Hardwicke Stakes, won at 8-1. Ryan Moore rode for Sir Michael Stoute. Campanologist, second in the Hardwicke, was strongly fancied on Thursday and the best he could do was spin his wheels. Trainer Stoute was at a loss to explain the Hardwicke race. “He ran his best today and he is entered in several big races in the weeks to come. There are a lot of options.” Friday’s Darley July Cup at Newmarket was taken by the Jeremy Noseda-trained Fleeting Spirit. The Invincible Spirit colt had run second to Scenic Blast in the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot. In the July Cup, Scenic Blast, considered a world beater, was the 11-8 favorite. Jockey Steve Arnold held the Australian sprinter up and made a move with 400 metres left. There was no response. Scenic Blast finished tenth. Main Aim took the runner-up berth. Finishing third was J J The Jet Plane. Paco Boy came late on the scene to salvage fourth. Fleeting Spirit beat Main Aim by a length and a quarter and survived an inquiry. Fleeting Spirit was drawing away in the center of the track in the final 200 metres when drifting to the left. Jockey Tom Queally switched the whip to his left. Fleeting Spirit reacted by veering sharply to the right. Main Aim and Ryan Moore were interfered with and jockey Moore had to snatch his mount up to avoid a collision. A 12-1 chance, Fleeting Spirit timed 1 09.58 for the 1200-metre trip. The race was worth 227,000 pounds to the winner. It was the second Group I win for jockey Queally who scored with Art Connoisseur in the Golden Jubilee at Royal Ascot. Tom Queally explained his predicament. “I gave my horse a crack on the right and we went left. Immediately, I pulled and the opposite happened but I was well on top near the end. She has an impressive turn of foot.” Pioneerof The Nile was second to Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby this May. The Empire Maker colt has been retired. A soft tissue injury in the left front leg was discovered. Pioneerof The Nile won four Graded races in a row culminating in the Grade I Santa Anita Derby. Trainer Bob Baffert expressed his dismay. “We noticed a little filling in his leg when we took off the bandages. We were hoping he had just rapped it. I am in shock. He was getting stronger and was maturing. The saddest part is that we had not seen his full potential.” Jockey Rafael Bejarano, the dominant rider on the west coast and one of the leading jockeys in North America, rode his 2000th winner at Hollywood Park on July 9. Bejarano rode Good Time Sally trained by Kathy Walsh to victory. Now 27, Bejarano comes from Peru. In the same card, Bejarano won with Bootleg Annie, another Kathy Walsh trainee, to register win # 2001. Johnny Murtagh is going through a ban-filled summer. He was in trouble at Epsom. He was again in hot water at Royal Ascot. At Newmarket, Murtagh was aboard Emperor Claudius in the Meydan Stakes on the opening day of the July meeting. Murtagh was held accountable for interference to Silenceoffthewind in the sprint race for freshmen. Murtagh got a four-day suspension on July 24 and July 26 to July 28. That will rule Murtagh out of two of three days of the King George meeting at Ascot but not the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Jockey Murtagh will also sit out the first day of the Glorious Goodwood meeting. Can we call it a summer of discontent? Takeover Target has been retired. The Aussie star has fractured a cannon bone and this was found after the July Cup at Newmarket on Friday. Jay Ford was aboard the multiple Group I champion. Trainer Joe Janiakl bought Takeover Target for 1,250 dollars when he was a taxi driver. Takeover Target became a globe-trotting sprinting superstar. Eight wins came at the highest level. Twenty one career wins brought in six million dollars. Joe Janiak spoke with considerable sadness. “Thankfully, it’s all good news. He cracked a cannon bone and he has had screws inserted. He will be box rested for a couple of months.” Rip Van Winkle is a confirmed starter in the 1600-metre Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood. Rip Van Winkle was fourth in the Epsom Derby and came within a length of Sea The Stars in Sandown’s Coral Eclipse last Saturday. Aidan O’Brien said, “we’re looking at the Sussex. He ran a very good race at Sandown and is coming forward all the time.” Golden Sword is being pointed to the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. The race comes up in the last weekend in July. Golden Sword was second to Fame And Glory in the Irish Derby two weeks ago. O’Brien commented. “Golden Sword is very much in the mix for King George and at this point, we will run him there. Yeats is training away and we have not decided yet what his next race will be.” Seamie Heffernan, second in line at Ballydoyle, was aboard Drumbeat, the chalk, in a five-horse race at Gowran Park (Ireland) on Friday. Hail Caesar, the favorite’s stablemate ridden by S M Levey, won start to finish. The Judges were upset that jockey Heffernan stayed covered up too long and held him guilty of injudicious riding. Heffernan spoke out. “Drumbeat is not a genuine horse. It was a small field. The winner got away with a soft pace. If I had come out earlier, I would have been worse than second. That was the best my horse could do. I told the judges I was riding to instructions. They did not listen. I am annoyed. Mr O’Brien (trainer) is upset too.” I am writing this because every horse is different. Jockeys, for the most part, exercise their best judgement. More often than not, the decision goes awry. It cannot be attributed to dishonesty. ‘Benefit of the doubt’ is the main thing. On Sunday at the Curragh, Sariska and Midday are back at it in the Irish Oaks. Sariska is the even money favorite. Midday is a general 3-1. Midday Saturday, the going at the Curragh was good to yielding on the round course and yielding on the straight course. Jamie Spencer, Sariska’s pilot, said, “we’re happy with her. She is a big filly and has only four runs in her life. She has stepped up in her recent work. We hope the ground stays good so she can show her class.” On Saturday, Belmont Park in New York hosts the $500,000 added Man O’War Stakes, a Grade I event. It is over 2200 metres on the grass. Nine run. Quijano, Andrasch Starke up, is a 10-1 chance. The German runner comes off a win in a stake at Milan (Italy) and is a double millionaire. Gio Ponti heads the American team. The Tale of the Cat colt has won two Grade I races in his last two outings. Midships goes for four in a row and won the Grade I Charles Whittingham at Hollywood Park in early June. Dancing Forver, an established player at Group level, is also in the field. Hollywood Park’s eighth race on Saturday is the Hollywood Gold Cup. A Grade I race, the Gold Cup will be run over 2000 metres on the all weather surface. Thirteen go postward. Parading, a six year-old son of Pulpit is the lukewarm 4-1 favorite. Life Is Sweet, a filly but no ordinary filly, ran second to Zenyatta in the Milady Handicap and is a 9-2 chance. Garrett Gomez rides Life Is Sweet who has been a model of consistency. As I type this report, I am listening to audio commentaries from Sporting Life. Richard Hughes has won the 4 35 race at Ascot. He was aboard Sonny Red. It was a 1000-metre race. Hughes has one ride left, in the 5 10 race before he heads to Heathrow for the trip to Bangalore. Jockey Richard Hughes will be leaving Ascot and he will be on cloud nine as he leaves Ascot for Heathrow for the flight to Bangalore. Hughes won the 4 35 race with the 5-1 Sonny Red, trained by David Nicholls. At 5 10, Hughes won again with Mandurah, another David Nicholls-trained runner. Mandurah was a 15-2 chance. It was a 50-1 riding double for Hughes. Supporters of Gypsy Magic should find this news about Hughes heartening and it should be music to their ears.