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Saratoga sizzle in Krishnaraja Trophy
By Sharan Kumar | 08 Nov 2003 | BANGALORE
Saratoga Sizzle (Harish up) winner of The krishnaraja Trophy being led by trainer Ponnappa Mr Zeyn Mirza (Representing URBB)
Kunigal bred Saratoga Sizzle brought off an upset in the Krishnaraja Trophy, the highlight of Sunday’s races. Saratoga Sizzle had all the credentials though he hadn’t been consistently seen on the racetrack. He had just one run during the Bangalore Summer Season in the early part of the season, then withdrawn from the fray and missed the entire action at Mysore. As such, it was difficult to be precise about his current status. As such, bottom-weighted Storm The Fort, Slanka and Rio Tinto were more favoured to strike. Rio Tinto who was sluggish at the start was left to cover a lot of leeway on Saratoga Sizzle in the final furlong while Storm The Fort failed to sustain his front-running efforts. Southern Goddess was badly let down by the jockey who failed to offer any assistance to the filly who swooped on the field, shot into the lead inside the final 250 metres and then lost even the third spot. Blue Hare, once a rousing performer, has had a series of problems bothering him but nevertheless put in a pleasing performance, snatching the third spot with a late dash.
The going was soft due to heavy rains during the races the preceding day and the penetrometer reading was 6.6 cms. As such, it placed a premium on fitness and the abilities of the jockeys to ride tactically and ensure that their horses got the maximum chance to win. Accede who was out for airing, Soviet Bay and Winelight spoiled the party for others by setting a scorching pace and in the process burning themselves out and also those who raced in close proximity of them. Southern Goddess who shot through the middle to raise hopes of a win overhauled the front-running Storm The Fort but apprentice jockey Ashwin Rao was not able to provide any assistance even as Saratoga sizzled on the wide outside to take charge. Saratoga Sizzle went past the opposition and comfortably held on to win from a late-finishing Rio Tinto and Blue Hare. While Blue Hare ran a good race after a fairly long interval, it is difficult to speculate as to his future prospects because he has soundness problems. Rio Tinto and Southern Goddess should make amends during the course of the season.
Jockey Suraj Narredu rode a sensible race on Perfect Ten to steer the Padmanabhan trainee to a thrilling win over Fantastic Prince in the Air Force Cup (Div). Fantastic Prince had the best credentials to win, having won the juvenile million at Hyderabad and finishing fifth in the Gr 1 Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million. Fantastic Prince was blazing the track and as such, the optimism of his supporters was definitely not misplaced. However, the luck of the race was not in his favour as early on, Miss Beautiful who did not keep a straight course hampered his progress. Prakash on Fantastic Prince was caught in two minds: Whether to hit the front or settle the horse behind the early leaders. He was indecisive and as a result, Fantastic Prince had to cover extra ground and had to be checked a couple of times. Perfect Ten who was ridden in restraint, was in striking distance behind the front-running Jumping For Joy. Perfect Ten got the better of the front-runner quite easily but had her task cut out as Fantastic Prince came up with a powerful run only to miss the berth by the proverbial whisker. Incidentally, Perfect Ten was Padmanabhan’s 500th win. The trainer has always gone for quality rather than quantity.
The lower division of the race went the way of Self Decision who covered of plenty of ground in the homestretch to win from favourite Smart Supreme. Self-Decision had all the credentials, having run a close second to Self Appointed in Summer. Despite racing in the rear of the field, Self Decision picked up momentum on turning for home and had the measure of Smart Supreme with a great deal of comfort. Bajo Grande who lacked early speed, plodded on to be a tame third. The filly may be more at home over a longer trip.
Trainer Ganapathy had success coming his way through first-timer Oxford Don who proved too good for the opposition in the Beginners Plate, the first race of the season for two-year olds. The son of Warrshan, Oxford Don led the field early and had no difficulty in checking in well clear of Laguna Blue. Flightingale who came in for some support, was clearly out-sprinted but the filly will be better off for this experience.
It was a good day for trainer Samar Singh who recorded a back-to-back double with the help of two five-kg allowance jockeys. Entrusted to Gnaneshwar, Little Genny managed to stave off the challenge of Dream Coat and Hunter Jones to land the spoils in the Dupont Plate (Div II). Jockey Jagadeesh was in his elements while steering Impressionist to a comfortable win over Anonyme and Touch of Frost. Touch of Frost came in for good support but the filly who was running after a
long lay off, failed to sustain her front-running efforts. This run should help a great deal and Touch of Frost can recoup the losses soon.
After finishing second best on three consecutive occasions, Barroness Orczy finally obliged, winning at the expense of fancied Galaxie Dust. Mark Mathias, son of erstwhile jockey Mathias, was astride the runner up. Recently licensed as an apprentice jockey, Mark rode a fine race, keeping a straight course even under pressure. He is the one to watch during the season. Harish on Dilmaangemore did not ride his mount to advantage, being cramped for room on the inside and losing his left rein in the final stages of the races. The big made Dilmaangemore has always done well when given a clear passage on the outside of the field.
Star Again trounced the opposition in the 1600 metres Melkote Plate. The big made Star Again swept past his opponents on turning for home and sailed away for an effortless win. Newmachar who had accounted for Perfect Ten in Summer, has not made any progress in the intervening period and finished a poor third. Lady Bountiful came in for inspired support in the concluding race of the day but the favourite did not win the way the market expectations went. Jockey Rajesh was required to work hard on the favourite to get the measure of front-running Ek Ek Ek close home. Royal Prose finished on strongly to snatch the runner-up berth.
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