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Immense Stuns His opponents in The Rajyotsava Trophy

By Pearcey | 06 Nov 2012 | BANGALORE


Dr Syed Ainuddin Arif & trainer Arjun Mangalorkar leading Immense (S John Up), winner of The Rajyotsava Trophy (Gr.3)

After missing the action during the recently concluded Mysore Main Season, trainer Arjun Mangalorkar seized his opportunities on the opening day of winter and thrilled his followers with a long-priced treble. The thrilling victories of Anna, Immense and Savvy Concept brought a big smile to his face. After a delay of a few days due to poor underfoot conditions, the Bangalore Season 2012-13 got off to a good start on Tuesday. Although the penetrometer reading stood at 5.3, the track looked quite impeccable. The exchanges between the punters and bookmakers were fairly equal, as five out of the nine races held during the afternoon were won by public choices. The Rajyotsava Trophy traditionally features the opening day’s programme. Being a graded event this year, the race attracted some top class acceptors. Most of them were rated 100 and above by the handicapper, and since they had opposed each other frequently in recent times, it was their current form that was going to play a vital role in determining the final outcome of this race. Sprint Star was an obvious first favourite today. After a gap of almost six months, the chestnut had put up a fine performance in a similar event at Mysore. Finding the six furlongs a bit short, he had made up much ground in the straight and ended a close third behind Successor. His brilliant movements on the training track thereafter gave ample evidence of his present well-being. A perfectly suitable distance of seven furlongs was an added advantage. While Sprint Star was installed as an even-money favourite ahead of the 8/1 second favourite Indian Bolt, you could almost write your own card on the others. There are many punters who wait till the last minute to place their bets. According to them, the betting rings invariably give you a clue to what is happening. This was one time they were suitably rewarded. The rapidly expanding odds against Sprint Star made them stay away from him. For no apparent reason, the odds against the favourite doubled in quick time. The bookmakers proved to be perfectly right, as Sprint Star displayed little interest in the proceedings and put up a doleful performance. 

Maddox, Southern Bay, Silken Touch and String Along showed early speed and went ahead of Immense and Indian Bolt. The supporters of Sprint Star were intrigued by his early position. A horse that normally stays in touch with the front-runners, was finding it difficult to pace with them. He was moving sideways under pressure and was involved in a “bumping duel” with Inquisition as they traversed the first half of their journey. After bringing the field into view, Maddox was the first to retire from the scene. Just as Southern Bay seized the initiative, she was joined by Immense. At almost the same juncture, Trevor brought Silken Touch with a nice looking run between the two of them. Not many noticed the movements at the back. While Sprint Star had dropped right out of contention, it was Atlantus who was making a determined bid on the wide outside. The winning post came to the rescue of Immense. John made free use of his whip to push him successfully across the wire. Silken Touch and Atlantus were close besides him. Only half a length covered the first three finishers. After a period of exactly one year, Immense was seen gracing the winner’s enclosure. 

Arjun’s Anna was another one that had been winless for almost ten months. She was running over a trip that was considered to be slightly long for her. The only thing that somehow favoured her was the fact that she was being partnered by an in-form Mudassar. This apprentice has been riding with a lot of zest in recent months. Anna took off smartly from an inner draw and occupied the box-seat behind Bessie, Royal Spirit and North Cape. The fancied pair of Seven Heaven and Unique Show were seen making heavy weather of their progress through a tightly packed field. I Specialist, who was racing after an extended period of time, was seen gracing the rear. With the front-runners coming under pressure in the straight, Mudassar seized a lucky opening on the rails and asked Anna to “go”. The five year old breezed past a bunch of tired horses and opened up a nice looking lead into the final furlong. The only one that looked threatening thereafter was I Specialist. He made up acres of ground on the wide outside to finish within touching distance of Anna. Unique Show made a late bid to scramble into third place. I Specialist must certainly be noted for an early success. 

The third victory for the stable came in the concluding race of the day. Savvy Concept showed remarkable improvement to win his fourth race in the last five months. It was another victory that was made possible because of some fine assistance from the saddle. Arjun’s stable jockey John came in for praise after his winning effort astride this six year old. Tracking the speedy Mitraya till the final furlong, John made a determined move through the middle. Savvy Concept kept responding till they crossed the winning post and held Absolut Grey and Mitraya at the wire. PS Chouhan brought favourite Absolut Grey with a flourish in the last fifty metres, but that wasn’t enough to topple the winner. Chouhan made a second effort to win this race in the Steward’s Room, but that too was negated by the authorities. 

However, Chouhan had the pleasure of sharing the day’s riding honours with John, as he too had scored a double with Volcano and Nickel Chrome earlier in the afternoon.  Running in The Kunigal Trophy, Nickel Chrome was the second favourite behind Showin’Off. The on-money favourite threw tantrums at the gates and refused to enter the stalls. After three unsuccessful efforts, she was declared a non-starter. Making use of her early speed, Nickel Chrome bolted out of an extremely wide draw and showed the way to Mark Of Genius and Raphire. The three of them drew away from the rest in the straight. At one time it looked as though Nickel Chrome would win comfortably. However, that was not to be. Raphire rallied strongly towards the inner rails and all but toppled the leader. The bobbing of heads near the winning post enabled Nickel Chrome to land the first prize. Mark Of Genius retained his momentum to save place money for his connections. 

After a number of placed efforts in the last one year, Volcano got another opportunity to emerge from the maiden ranks on Tuesday. Even though he was slated to run in the upper division of this race, he was opposed by a bunch on non-performers. First-timer Jerusalem was considered to be his only serious rival. With Jerusalem getting withdrawn on veterinary grounds near the gates, Volcano started as a money-back favourite. Darting smartly out of the stalls, he cantered away from Assurance and Prince Of Darkness. The winning margin of nine lengths could have easily been doubled, had Chouhan allowed him to quicken. Despite looking gross in the parade ring, first-timer Prince Of Darkness ran a suggestive race. The well-bred horse is sure to improve after this run. 

The lower division of the maiden’s event happened to be the day’s opener.  At first it appeared to be a straight fight between Bella Pinky and The Muse, but a sudden rush of support in the direction of debutante Show Twister confused issues. The last named looked “big” in the paddock and showed that the present scurry would definitely be short for her. The Lokanath camp supported The Muse with gay abandon and sent her as an even-money favourite to the starting gates. Sreekanth pushed The Muse into an early lead and managed to stay ahead of Bella Pinky for the entire length of this race. Show Twister occupied the third slot till the final furlong before she got tired. Faith and Toil came with a long stretch run to move ahead of her. Show Twister is a nice looking specimen, and it may pay to follow her progress in the future. 

The other highlight of the afternoon was a well-supported “double” from the Attaollahi stable. A pair of three year olds posted bloodless victories and justified the strong support that they had received in the betting rings. After a few placed efforts in maiden company, Supreme was running for the first time at her own mark. Her breeding suggested that she would like it longer, and the trainer decided to campaign her accordingly. Receiving weight from a number of runners over a mile, she was entrusted to Vaibhav. Making use of her innermost draw, Supreme was another “start-to-finish” victor today. Vaibhav took Supreme to the front and set a comfortable pace ahead of the others. She was chased all the time by Prom Queen and Bank On Me. Even though the order remained the same till the very end, what changed finally was the margins between the three of them. Supreme lengthened her strides in the final stages to win comfortably. 

In the other race, Carducci proved to be much too good for his rivals. After winning his first race, Carducci had dropped form and run poorly in his next two starts. Even though he was running against some good horses like Real Steel, Nocturnal Hunter and Somethingdifferent, his supporters refused to look beyond their choice. Carducci had apparently shown them something in his morning trials that had led to this enthusiasm. Trevor was content to amble along in third place with Carducci, as The Situation and Somethingdifferent dictated terms till the bend. Unable to hold him back any longer, Trevor had no option but to let him run thereafter. Carducci literally sported a pair of wings at that stage. He stormed away from a late finishing Real Steel and Somethingdifferent. In his present form, it is difficult to see him getting beat in his next start. Real Steel may win over a slightly longer trip, as he was seen doing some good work in the closing stages of this race.