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Maharaja’s Cup has an open look about it
By Sharan Kumar | 04 Jul 2004 | BANGALORE
The Grade 2 Maharaja’s Cup, which features Sunday’s races, has a very open look about it. Reputations have often taken a tumble with late-maturing but classic-placed horses, favoured by the terms of the race, coming up trumps in the race. There is a sense of history to the event. The Maharaja’s Cup was the most prestigious event of the Summer Season before the Derby displaced it from its pre-eminent position. The event was marked by pomp and pageantry with the then Maharaja driving into the racecourse in his carriage with the accompanying grandeur. Even the non-regulars used to make it a point to be present on the Maharaja’s Cup if only to partake of the enjoyable fare.
Though, the Maharaja’s Cup has ceased to enjoy its status, the race has always attracted quality field with upsets being par for this race. The race is run over a distance of 2200 metres that bestows it with a unique quality. The Maharaja’s Cup is the only graded race in the country to be run over this distance. In the last decade, the distance was shortened to 2000 metres ostensibly with a view to attracting bigger entries but the traditionalists rose in arms and protested the change ensuring that the Maharaja’s Cup was back to its traditional distance.
Be that as it may, the race is very competitive, with none of the runners being of exceptional merit. Glorious Colours and Star of Windsor won the Bangalore Summer and Winter Derby respectively but they were unable to sustain their form. Glorious Colours was unfortunate to develop a serious lung infection, which prevented her from taking part in the winter classics, but the four-year old filly has been shaping up well and could be a force to reckon, as the terms are not too bad for her. The daughter of Razeen showed remarkable improvement in her performance when she went down by a whisker to Annapolis in a nine-furlong handicap race after a listless lung opener. She has been systematically prepared and though she is set to concede weight to some good type of contemporaries like Adrian, Smart Supreme and Integral, she can nevertheless be expected to be right there at the finish.
The runners are more or less evenly matched because the terms of the race has ensured this. Top-weighted Adolfito, who belongs to the older group, has been an outstanding performer and he won a graded race at the expense of Radical Force at Mumbai early this year when the scales tilted in his favor. His claim to fame is running India’s horse of the year 2003 Zurbaran tantalizingly close in the Golconda St Leger. The latter unfortunately is not in the line up as he succumbed to colitis last month in Bangalore. Adolfito was an eye-catching fourth in his last essay in the Gr 3 Chief Justice’s Cup and if any one is looking for an outsider, he is one to be followed. The son of Tejano is eminently capable of raising to the occasion though the fact that he needs to be ridden upfront in a strong run race could be his undoing. However, Adolfito is stoutly bred to stay and with jockey Pesi Shroff in the saddle, he cannot be trifled with.
Star of Windsor, who showed splendid progress in the winter en route to winning the Bangalore Winter Derby, has dropped form inexorably since then. He has been a listless performer this season and his chances are diminished completely when one takes into account the fact that Adrian who ran behind him in the Derby, Smart Supreme and Integral enjoy a great pull in weights. The Maharaja’s Cup has favoured the bottom-weighted, classic placed horses and on this score, Adrian, Smart Supreme and Integral come into strong contention.
Adrian has not reproduced the run that saw him come perilously close to causing a stunning upset in the Bangalore Winter Derby. He has been tracking well and if the son of Glory of Dancer shows the same zest that he is showing in the workouts, he can cause an upset.
The best-placed horse in the field is Ganapathy trained Smart Supreme who form has picked up amazingly once he is asked to tackle grueling trips. He has proved his mettle over trips beyond a mile and a half. The 2200 metres trip does indeed pose a question mark on the contestants’ stamina limitations and as such, Smart Supreme could emerge a strong contender on this count alone. Integral had a lung over earlier in the season, with a smashing win over seven furlongs. She has run game races in classics and she is definitely going to be in the thick of things. Spark of Glory may ignite the field if he shows improvement over his previous run. Three of the well performed four-year olds Sprungli, Road Runner and Red Orchid have given this race a skip obviously to have a go at the St Leger which will be held later this month.
All things considered, it could well be Glorious Colours, Integral and Smart Supreme.
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