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Coral Gables strikes it rich
By Sharan Kumar | 10 Jul 2004 | BANGALORE
Mr. Venkatram Reddy receiving the trophy from Mr. Srinivas Gowda
The underfoot conditions were not exactly ideal and as such, it is difficult to logically explain the way things turned out during the course of the day on Saturday. Hyderabad challenger Coral Gables came good after running behind River God on two occasions to win the Gr 3 B T C Anniversary Cup in decisive fashion from Lancaster. Onnu Onnu Onnu who carried public expectations did not handle the going well and was a pale shadow of his former self, finishing way down the field.
Coral Gables proved too good for the field and he certainly had merit to win the race but not in the manner he did. Curiously in a race of this nature the terms of the race generally favor good horses but the contestants in this race were running to their handicap and as such, no horse enjoyed absolute edge over the rest. But it came as a big surprise when four lengths separated the winner from the runner-up and an identical distance was recorded between the second and third placed horse. Surely most of the horses did not run to potential and it is difficult to be precise in one’s explanation.
Coral Gables was sluggish at the start but jockey Appu wisely chose to race him on the wide outside in aneffort to take a striking position and the son of Young Senor picked up great momentum on turning for home to have the race sewn up long way from home.
Slim Twist who had everything going for her but she was unwisely ridden without restraint and the mare had a break of over five to six lengths over the rest right through the race. The effort told on Slim Twist who packed up when challenged by Coral Gables but nevertheless kicked on to finish third behind Lancaster who contrary to the general perception that he may not act on the testing underfoot conditions finished on to take the runner up spot. Jockey Rutherford had great problems in settling Onnu Onnu Onnu on an even keel and he ran into Space Time and received a couple of bumps which surely did not go well with the public fancy. One Magic Moment too did not relish the conditions and she was a miserable last.
The day belonged to trainer Ganapathy and jockey Prakash who combined effectively to record five winners. With the kind of patronage that they enjoy from turf baron Dr M A M Ramaswamy, such an eventuality was not a surprise. Star Angel showed good improvement after a dubious run to land the spoils in the richly endowed Nawab Arshad Ali Khan, a terms race for three-year olds, run over seven furlongs. Ranier enjoyed favoritism merely on the basis of the son of Alnasar Alwasheek having won over an identical distance in good timing. There were many seasoned performers in the fray but some smart money was on Star Angel who has had a chequered career. Ranier was pushed to take over the running but the progeny of Alnasr Alwasheek don’t relish the soft underfoot conditions and the favorite packed up when the pressure was applied on him. Star Angel who was handily placed moved up with a flourish to take a big lead over the rest. Though Gaslight came up with a big run, he fell short by the proverbial whisker. Lindsay, who had won the Gr 1 Fillies Trial Stakes, was never in the hunt though she was not poorly placed in the scales.
The day began with Ganapathy’s ward Dazzling Quintet just about last out to win from Anzello who picked up speed rather late to alter the verdict. Dazzling Quintet was driven out to a hard-fought win over Anzello. Noble Falcon who had let down on a couple of occasions managed to beat a poor lot of horses in the lowest class to win with a measure of comfort from favourite Faizah. Russian Valour recorded his second straight win by accounting for the opposition with consummate ease. There was some solid support for Special Force and Big Dream but both flopped miserably. Mazeppa was a suggestive second.
Stage Craft, who had made a spectacular debut albeit as a four-year old, decimated the opposition in the R M Puttanna Memorial Cup (Div I). Incidentally, Dr Vijay Mallya owned horses, with Pesi Shroff in the saddle, won both the divisions of the race. Stage Craft was not unduly stretched when putting daylight between himself and the rest, while Capannelle beat Baracudda for the second spot with a late bid. In the lower division of the race, Super Model was backed to the exclusion of his rivals and the daughter of Placerville readily obliged, with Starry; putting on good work after the race was in the safe keeping of the front-runner. Red Mamma had another useful outing.
Polar Force had run an eye-catching third behind Fly The Fury in his last essay and the got-abroad gelding despite lacking early speed, burst on to the scene from behind to win with a great deal of comfort from Nominate and Romance In Rain. Fiorenzza was a noteworthy runner in the race.
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