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Blue Hare pulls off an upset

By Sharan Kumar | 10 Nov 2001 | BANGALORE


Blue Hare (A.Imran Khan up) , winning the Kunigal Trophy from Air Strike (Harish up)

Blue Stare brought off a stunning upset in the Kunigal Trophy, a lead up race for the forthcoming Guineas, with favourite Royal Gladiator finishing a poor third. Air Strike too showed a big improvement and his second did not exactly come as a surprise. Royal Gladiator will have to show a marked improvement over this run to make his mark in the classics. It is quite possible that his defeat could be attributed to the fact that he was not fully tuned up as also to the tactical error of jockey Malesh Narredu who slowed down the pace after hitting the front, which suited Blue Hare who is a pure sprinter. Royal Gladiator was out sprinted when the race took a serious turn and had Narredu forced the pace from the word `go’, the stamina limitations of his conqueror would have come into play. Narredu did confess that he made an error but was quick to add: ``I will win a major race with Royal Gladiator, over a staying trip and prove everybody wrong that the got-abroad colt is only a miler.’’

Royal Gladiator went into the 1400 metres Kunigal Trophy, a terms race for three-year olds, as a cramped on-money favourite, with Spirited Effort who had lost by a whisker to Tobler in the Pune Derby, being considered a possible threat. Narredu took Royal Gladiator on a start to finish mission but slowed down the pace after hitting the front that worked to his disadvantage. Blue Hare who tracked him into the straight, quickened nicely when the race was on the boil, to record a comfortable win in the hands of jockey A Imran Khan who has been currently enjoying a great deal of success. Air Strike came from behind to take the runner-up spot. Spirited Effort nosed out Campanero for the third slot. Spirited Effort will now head to Mumbai where he will be campaigned in the classics and trainer Ganapathy expects a world of him.

Jaggy Dhariwal’s Affability who was running after a lay off over five months, made a triumphant return. The talented daughter of Serious Spender Affability had been laid low with a chipped bone in the knee after running in the Knockout Million in June but the filly appeared to have recovered sufficiently. She took a while to overtake the front-running Shathabisha who had good Mysore form but in the end, was getting stronger at the finish. Go Honey Go who was hemmed in at a crucial stage, nevertheless was a suggestive third. Make a note of Arzillo who was not unduly extended during the race.

Affability’s next target is the 1000 Guineas but whether she would skip the race in Bangalore and straight head to Mumbai, remains to be seen. Jockey Pesi Shroff said that he was quite pleased with the performance of Affability. But disappointment was in store for him later in the day as highly rated Astor Place went down tamely in the 1400 metres V Gopal Memorial Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 35. Astor Place is being readied for the Oaks and her performance here puts a question mark about her being a classic prospect. Extreme Contact edged out Amazon Gold close home to land the spoils but the winner could well have been Loknath’s Imperial Legend. The highly rated Imperial Legend had suffered a setback in Summer but seemed to be in pink of condition as evidenced by his paddock looks. Apprentice jockey Shukla could not handle the big made son of Placerville who was poorly positioned in the rear of the field. Imperial Legend came through with a big run despite a slightly hampered passage but Shukla could not drive out the gelding to an upset win. Stronger handling would have definitely ensured Imperial Legend’s win. Favourite Astor Place went out of the reckoning after being prominent till inside the final two furlongs. Forest Rose, who had an easy outing, should be a different proposition next time out.

Trainer Sriram Komandur was in the limelight with a brace of winners through Shining Knight and Street Smart, both of who won as public fancies. Shining Knight proved too good for the opposition in the Ranganathittu Plate (Div II), winning at the expense of first timer Caressing. The runner-up sorely needed this run and as such, she should strike early. The upper division of the race saw public money being ill directed on Forest Monarch who was running after a long lay off. In the event, the fitter Diamond Rock left the field for dead inside the final furlong to record an emphatic win. Fancied Pristine Beauty and Forest Monarch plodded on take the second and third spots on the board.

Komandur’s Street Smart was a runaway winner of the 1200 metres Half A Crown Plate. The son of Razeen, Street Smart took charge on turning for home and won in effortless fashion and should repeat. Francophone finished on purposefully to finish second while Be My Star just about held on from Rock Party to save place money. In the day’s opener, Abhimanyu proved too superior to favourite Power Extreme to win with a great deal of comfort.