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Free Radical edges out Superior Force
By Sharan Kumar | 25 May 2002 | BANGALORE
Free Radical (Harish up), winner of the Speaker's Cup being led in by trainer S.Padmanabhan
Pesi Shroff who is spearheading the jockeys’ agitation over the right to use the time-tested traditional fiberglass whip as against the compulsory use of the shock absorbing whips, which haven’t met the approval of the jockeys worldwide, had said that the new whip could blunt Superior Force’s chances in the Speaker’s Cup. ``The big made Superior Force will not respond to the shock absorbing whip and this could make a crucial difference to the outcome of the race,’’ he had said when asked to assess the chances of favourite Superior Force and Free Radical whom he had ridden in the Poonawalla Multi Million. In a keenly contested battle, the free-running Free Radical edged out Superior Force. And Pesi was proved right as jockey Prakash failed to get the expected response despite using up the whip the permitted number of times under the new rules.
Both Free Radical and Superior Force are classic hopefuls. Free Radical, who is yet to thicken out fully, has scope for further improvement. Superior Force needs more ground to prove his mettle but it remains to be seen whether the shock-absorbing whip continues to be the deterrent to his prospects.
Free Radical swiftly hit the front as the starter dispatched the field for the seven-furlong trip, with Superior Force well in touch with the front-runner. Superior Force essayed a strong challenge on turning for home and though at one stage it looked like the favourite would overhaul the front-runners, the filly pulled out the reserves to win with something to spare at the finish. Both the jockeys had to dispense with the whip at the finish as they proved ineffective but Free Radical was the beneficiary as the filly displayed her fighting qualities to further boost the stock of her sire Diffident who has had a brilliant start to his career as a stallion in India. The enigmatic Strides of Fire was a good third but then this son of Green Forest hasn’t exactly been a model of consistency.
Padmanabhan who led in Free Radical, had a bonus winner through Elusive Emperor who just about managed to stay ahead of favourite Star Chieftan to win the 1600 metres K N Guruswamy Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 40 and above, the other highlight of the day’s programme. The six-year old son of Elusive Emperor has been a game performer and though he was short on preparation, he won on superior ability as also to the fact that jockey Prakash erred in giving too much leeway to the front-runner. The free-running Elusive Emperor hit the front from the word `go’ and had a break of over three lengths at the top of the straight over Star Chieftan. The pace of the race was slow and jockey Prakash erred in gauging the pace and not keeping Star Chieftan in close proximity of the front-runner.
With Elusive Emperor enjoying the ``give in’’ in the conditions and kicking on gamely, Star Chieftan was left to make a futile chase. Though the favourite was gaining ground at the finish, the effort came too late as the unfancied Elusive Emperor had reached the safety of the winning post. Aerobee was another who suffered because the jockey too preferred to sit behind when he should be up with the pace.
Trainer Sriram Komandur led in a winner through Pristine Beauty who proved too good for the opposition in the Astound Plate (Div I). Though coming four to five horses wide in the run in for home, the daughter of No Louder, Pristine Beauty picked up momentum inside the final furlong to win with a great deal of comfort from Rock Party. Old Meldrum battled on to finish third. The lower division of the same race went the way of lesser-fancied King of Mohra who won at the expense of Peter Corleone.
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