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Only For Gold wins capably
By Sharan Kumar | 06 Nov 2004 | BANGALORE
trainer S Ganapathy leading Only For Gold (B Prakash up), winner of the Abbey Falls Cup
Ganapathy began his quest for top honors, saddling a brace of winners on the opening day of the Bangalore Winter Season on Saturday. Classic hopeful Only For Gold did everything right when winning the Abbey Falls Cup, a race for horses rated 40 and above, the feature event of the day. Though the win looked labored, the fact that she was running after a longish break could have made her rusty and this run should do a world of good to her.
After winning the Fillies Trial Stakes at Hyderabad, Only For Gold was rested for the winter campaign and she has started in right earnest and she would prove quite a handful in the Guineas at Hyderabad.
Only For Gold was backed to the exclusion of her rivals though she was taking on some seasoned performers who had also fitness on their side having run at the recently concluded Mysore season. Believer who was a rousing performer last winter has lost his zest and he continued to show his dislike by getting stranded in the gate. Believer had let down twice at Mysore and by the look of things, he has gone sour. Only For Gold took charge inside the final furlong and held on to win from Blue Hare who was picking up momentum close home. Daring Don failed to sustain his front-running effort and was relegated to the third spot. Master Craft put up a poor show.
The season’s opener, the Inauguration Plate, a race for maiden two-year olds, was also claimed by Ganapathy’s Go For Gold. Though she is the daughter of Storm Trooper, Go For Gold showed plenty of speed to win in splendid fashion. She was the fittest among the lot but nevertheless her win had some quality about it. Opera Queen was a faraway second ahead of Elusive Adventure.
Apprentice Afsan Quereshi rode two good races to guide his horses to thrilling wins. Habitual front-runner, Crystal Beauty gathered momentum in the final furlong to get the measure of the front-running No Excuse in virtually the last stride. Dare You Say who did all the front running failed to sustain but managed to save place money as La Bella Vita was out for a useful exercise. The one to impress was Arthi who is in good nick and she finished a notable fifth from way behind.
The season’s opener, the Inauguration Plate, a race for maiden two-year olds, was also claimed by Ganapathy’s Go For Gold. Though she is the daughter of Storm Trooper, Go For Gold showed plenty of speed to win in splendid fashion. She was the fittest among the lot but nevertheless her win had some quality about it. Opera Queen was a faraway second ahead of Elusive Adventure.
Apprentice Afsan Quereshi rode two good races to guide his horses to thrilling wins. Habitual front-runner, Crystal Beauty gathered momentum in the final furlong to get the measure of the front-running No Excuse in virtually the last stride. Dare You Say who did all the front running failed to sustain but managed to save place money as La Bella Vita was out for a useful exercise. The one to impress was Arthi who is in good nick and she finished a notable fifth from way behind.
Quereshi’s other win came through Armidale who won in likewise manner. Great Seal was the betting rage in the Prince Ardent Plate (Div I) and was quoted at cramped odds. The gelding was a little fractious at the gates and Srinath appeared to be hurt judging by the manner in which he stayed routed to the ground. But he got up and rode only to lose by a whisker to Armidale who was driven out to win in fine fashion by the apprentice. Way To Wealth was a reluctant third. Srinath was reported unfit to ride the last race of the day and if there was any self doubt after the mishap, withdrawing a race earlier would have done a world of good to the large section of race goers who place their blind faith on the favorites. In the lower division of the race saw Credential eke out a hard-fought win over Lanzarote.
There was inspired support for Amatol in the concluding race of the day and jockey Prithviraj who is going through a good patch, guided the son of Tirol to a convincing win. Laguna Blue shaped like a winner at the top of the straight but the weight told on him. Smart N Noble was a close third ahead of Dr Evil who all should benefit after this forward runs.
Fantasy Strip once again let down her supports with a flop show. Favourite Alla Famiglia proved too good for the opposition. In the day’s other action, Darashah’s Emilio brought off the biggest upset of the day when winning the 1400 metres Baba Khan Memorial Plate. The Big Fight was second ahead of Greenlawn while the fancied runners in the fray played truant.
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