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Spark Of Gold Wins Impressively

By Pearcey | 13 Feb 2009 | BANGALORE


Spark Of Gold

Trainer Prasanna Kumar seems to have brought about a tremendous transformation in his ward Spark Of Gold, who romped home in impressive fashion in The Nilgiri's Trophy, the feature event in Friday's race card at Bangalore. Spark Of Gold had won his previous start by half a length, and had been pushed up in the ratings by the handicapper. He was racing in the higher Class and was set to take on horses who had already performed in a similar set. It was assumed that he may not be able to handle the step-up in Class. Eshwer's Blink had been knocking on the door in shorter trips, and was reverting to nine furlongs after a period of time. Ganapathy's All My Colours had won a race earlier in the season before performing dismally in the 1000 Guineas. Hill Of Grace had been a consistent performer throughout this season, and had a fair following in today's race. The betting boards indicated the "open" nature of this race as the first favourite could be easily backed at 9/2. A late surge of money on Spark Of Gold saw his odds contracting from 10/1 to 5/1. Imran Chisty was quick to realize that he had to make use of the low handicap, and had no hesitation in pushing Spark Of Gold to the front. He was soon passed by no-hoper Super Speed on his inside, while the other runners led by Blink were spread out in single file, as they took the rising ground near the three furlong marker. At this stage, Spark Of Gold was eased into the lead once again, ahead of a tiring Super Speed and Blink. Imran Chisty pulled out the stick thereafter, and drove his mount vigorously. The response was magical, as Spark Of Gold lengthened his strides and strode away from his rivals.Blink got up in the last few strides to displace Super Speed from the runner-up berth. The winning margin of six and a half lengths reflects the ease with which this victory was achieved. The winner seems to have struck good form, and can be placed to pick up another race before the end of the season. With his three-year-old maidens beginning to strike, Padmanabhan began climbing the trainers charts in the last few of weeks. A couple of wins in the "maidens" races on Friday saw him joining long time champion trainer Ganapathy at the top of the trainer's tally. Regal Glory and Topkapi were the two winners from his yard. Although Regal Glory scored a runaway win in the lower division, it was the run of Topkapi which was more eyecatching. Topkapi (Placerville-Houston Hopeful) is a beautifully bred horse. He was facing Rugged Beauty and Time Flies, both of whom had benefitted from an earlier start in the season. With most of the betting being centered around the two second-timers, Topkapi was ignored by the punters. He looked gross in the paddock, and that resulted in a further drift in his odds which rose to 10/1 by the time the horses reached the starting gates. Real Magic, Rugged Beauty and Time Flies cut the early pace with each other, and dominated the proceedings till well into the straight. With Rugged Beauty and Time Flies getting tired at this stage, the race seemed to be in the safe keeping of Real Magic. Not many people were expecting Topkapi to move up from his seventh position at the top of the straight. He surprised everybody by doing what he did. This big made colt made his move in the last two furlongs and began passing the frontrunners with ease. He soon headed the field and flew away from Real Magic and a late finishing Ruby Legend. This performance augurs well for the future of this stable. A long awaited win was finally achieved by Prithviraj's Panchakshari.This speedy six year old was running in an age-group event, and was taking on seven opponents who had not won a race in a long time. The trainer did well to claim an allowance by declaring in-form apprentice Shiva Kumar, and the connections were lucky to get the innermost draw at the gates. Everything worked out well finally, as Panchakshari jumped out nicely and led all the way to keep his nearest challenger India Shining at bay. After a ding-dong battle right down the straight, a neck separated the two runners. Rebellious finished a close third. A nice touch was landed on the Karan Singh trained Pleasant Glory in The Gumbaz Trophy,a sprint race for horses in Class IV.. The filly was looking well in the paddock. She had done very little in her previous starts to merit consideration. The presence of Prakash in the saddle was an indicator of her chances. A late rush of money on Plaeasant Glory saw the filly reaching the gates as a firm favourite to win this race. Prakash settled her beautifully behind Nearco Master before moving alongside near the home turn. It ceased to be a contest thereafter as she ran away from a late finishing Pinaakini. On The Dot and Ciboney won the two divisions of a Class three race over seven furlongs.On The Dot was allowed to run friendless as the betting was restricted in her race to Bastian Bay and Ever So Clever. Bastian Bay was backed down with confidence but performed like a dud. He showed no interest in the proceedings and ended down the field. Saleem Golam brought On The Dot with a flourish in the last 400 metres, and went past early leader Ever So Clever with a measure of comfort. The winner has struck good form and should be able to pick up another race in similar company. Double Elite was putting in some good work towards the end to run a good third. The last named should be noted over a longer trip in his next start. Ciboney won her race with a start to finish effort. In an unusual change of tactics, Chris Hayes took her to the front and dictated terms to her opponents. He looked back near the bend for any threats, and finding no one close to her, decided to ride her hands-and-heels. She passed the winning post well clear of Crackerjack and Mac. There was strong support for Chakravyuha Bhedak, but he was unable to handle the company in the higher Class. Jersey Power was under tremendous pressure to finish fourth.