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ALAINDAIR ASSERTS HIS CLASS AND SUPERIORITY

By Pearcey | 14 Jul 2013 | BANGALORE


Dr Nevill R. Devlaliwalla, Mr Gaurav Sethi, Miss Ameeta Mehra & trainer Altamash Ahmed leading Alaindair (A Sandesh Up), winner of The Kingfisher Derby Bangalore (Gr.1)

Altamash Ahmed’s Alaindair confirmed that he is the best three year old in training this summer by winning The Kingfisher Derby Bangalore (Grade I) on Sunday. The immensely talented son of Multidimensional displayed perfect qualities of speed and stamina by rocketing out of the starting gates and making every post a winning one. He handled the mile and a quarter trip in soft going with a lot of maturity. For his partner Sandesh, this was like an “action replay” of last year when he had steered Borsalino to a similar victory in the 2012 edition of this race. Alaindair asserted his class and superiority while pocketing a rich purse of 1.36 Crores for his sporting owners. For Dr Nevill Devlaliwalla, the past few months have been truly memorable. Aliandair has brought a lot of joy to him and his partners, and for young and hardworking trainer Altamash Ahmed, this was a dream come true.

This years Kingfisher Derby had a “full house” of eighteen runners. Horses like Murioi and Starry Eyes were re-appearing after flopping as favourites in The Colt’s and Fillies Championships. They had started the season as strong contenders for the big prize, but their performances had been so pathetic that it had left everybody confounded. The connections kept hoping that their wards had perhaps had an “off day”, and that these talented youngsters would perform better on the big stage. By winning the Fillies Championship, Amelia had proved to be the best amongst the fairer sex. There were doubts about her staying abilities, as it was noticed that she had slowed down perceptibly in the closing stages of that race. The form of those who had run in the Colts seemed to be better. Horses like Turf Striker and Ace Bucephalus had suffered interferences during the initial stages that day, but had still been good enough to figure on the board. Alaindair had tackled the mile like a champion and was seen getting stronger at the finish. It was clear that, on paper, Alaindair had the first chance in this race. If he “stayed” the mile and a quarter, then it would take a real good horse to get the better of him. As expected, the bookmakers had a similar view about the open nature of this event. You could back anything at 5/1 and over in the betting rings.

A huge roar greeted the start of the Kingfisher Derby. A record crowd cheered lustily as the runners took off in front of them. With most of the runners breaking level, the jockeys were seen looking for suitable positions. Each one wanted to get into a rhythm and stay away from a troubled passage. One person who was totally oblivious to what anyone else was doing, was jockey Sandesh. Making full use of his inner draw, he pushed Alaindair into an early advantage over Turf Striker, Acclaimed, Ace Bucephalus and Czar of Romance. The front runners raced in similar order and were spread out in single file, as they tackled the first half of their journey. Alaindair and Turf Striker continued to be prominent as the eighteen runners turned for home. The ones at the back were already feeling the heat and many of them were rolling sideways under pressure. Alaindair enjoyed a three length break into the final furlong and the free striding horse was refusing to slow down. Turf Striker put everything into his final effort and challenged gallantly. He came within striking distance of Alaindair, but that was all he could do. With his jockey waving his whip joyfully, Alaindair crossed the winning post marginally ahead of Turf Striker. The two of them were clear of a late finishing Charlatan and Ace Bucephalus. The star of the show was definitely Alaindair. He not only ensured Multidimensional’s dominance of the Classic scene this summer, but also made sure that all three Classic Trophies were taken away to Mumbai.

The other big event on Derby day was The Ambrosia BTC Anniversary Cup (Grade II). It was a rich terms event over 1400 metres. Some of the highest rated horses currently stationed at Bangalore had entered the fray. Most of them had raced against each other in recent times, and the present terms confirmed that they were closely matched. Machiavellianism, Ancient Wonder and Speed Six were installed at the top of the boards, but with some serious money coming onto Storm Tracker at race time, the Shroff trainee became the course favourite. It was learnt that the horse had done some exceptional work on the training track and his connections were hugely optimistic about his chances. Klipspringer, Ancient Wonder and Speed Six showed early intent and skipped clear of Storm Tracker and Machiavellianism. After tackling the first half of their journey, the front five were still close to each other. While most of the jockeys were getting active on their mounts, Zervan was still to make his move with Storm Tracker. It was at this stage that things got more serious. PS Chouhan brought Machiavellianism on the wide outside and tried his best to move ahead of Storm Tracker, but Zervan was alert to his task. He steered Storm Tracker away from possible traffic problems and went slightly ahead of the others. It was only then that he pulled out his stick. The bay needed to be reminded about the task on hand, and he responded gamely. He strode ahead to keep a late finishing Archibaldo at bay. Ancient Wonder and Speed Six retained their minor slots on the result boards. Storm Tracker, who is currently in the best form of his life, will be a strong force in similar events that are slated to be held during the Pune season.

A nine furlong handicap for horses rated 80 and above had a strong favourite in Pesi Shroff’s Montezuma. After running a good fourth behind Immense, Ridgeway and Machiavellianism in a terms event, the four year old was now reverting to handicap company. It was felt that a mere repetition of Montezuma’s earlier run would be enough to take care of his present rivals. However, that was not to be. Montezuma had an off-day on Sunday and ran poorly to finish off the frame. Stablemates Field Marshal and Ace Dancer charged to the front and set a decent pace till the bend. The field was so closely packed that only a few lengths separated the first from the last at that stage. Montezuma was unable to hold his position in mid group and was seen dropping out of contention. Interestingly, Mountain Range, Sun Kingdom and Auburn Beauty were bringing up the rear. All three made their bids at about the same juncture in the straight, and were seen moving strongly on the wide outside. For a couple of seconds, Sun Kingdom headed this group, but Suraj’s perseverance on his father’s horse paid rich dividends. Racing in the same colours of the Wadhawan family, Mountain Range got the better of Sun Kingdom at the finish. Auburn Beauty covered late ground to end a very close third. Satish Narredu has done really well with Mountain Range in long distance races. For the records, this was his fourth win this year.

Trainer Padmanabhan’s Equine Lover had been running some poor races in recent months, and the sparingly raced filly had failed to grace the result boards this year. She had accordingly come down in the rating charts and was now eligible to run in class II. She was pitched against horses in her own age group in The Mumbai Cup. Recent promotee Alcazaar was the favorite in this seven furlong event. Even though he had never won in this category, his light impost somehow made him look slightly better than the others. John realized that Equine Lover had run some of the best races of her career when she had been allowed to go to the front. He ensured that she raced similarly on Sunday. Easing her into an early lead over Thought N Actions, Diamonite and Alcazaar, John kept her close to the rails. After straightening for home, he got more active. Pulling out all stops, he used his stick to goad Equine Lover successfully across the winning post. In trying to keep pace with Equine Lover, those around her got totally exhausted. This allowed Sudden Magik to improve from the tail-end of the field and move into the runner-up berth. Now that Equine Lover has re-discovered her winning ways, she can be expected to score on promotion. Alcazaar ran poorly to end a distant fourth.

After a fairly long time, race-goers witnessed the colours of Dr MAM Ramaswamy dominating an afternoon’s proceedings. Trainer Ganapathy combined effectively with his retained rider Sreekanth to score a treble through Strike The Stars, Flashing Colours and Light Of Success. The Mysore Cup, a seven furlong handicap for horses in class IV, was split into two divisions. A number of three year olds were seen participating in this race. Those who had already won in maiden company were seen giving weight to the others. Ganapathy’s Strike The Stars had been beaten by Gerome in a mile event a few weeks ago. After leading till the distance post, he had faltered and succumbed under pressure. Ganapathy gave him a lot of work, shortened the trip by a furlong and sent him out as a well backed favourite. Sreekanth took off from an extreme draw and allowed his mount to settle down comfortably behind Jeyem’s Pride and Super Start. Soon after taking the final turn, he pushed him towards the centre of the track and asked him to accelerate. Strike The Stars lengthened his strides, overtook Super Start and went on to score a popular victory. Strongly supported Absolute Red performed dismally to finish a very poor fourth.

Adopting similar tactics astride Flashing Colours in the lower division of the above race, Sreekanth succeeded in posting an equally easy victory. Here too, he allowed Assassin to lead them into the straight The other fancied runners like Zenica, Vijays Triumph and Cadogan were so far behind that it was difficult to visualize any of them winning from such a position. Flashing Colours overtook a tired Assassin in the final furlong and surged clear of the rest. By the time a late rushing Vijays Triumph arrived on the scene, the race was over. Flashing Colours increased the tempo to post an authoritative victory. Zenica, who ended in the ruck, looks like an unreliable type that should be left alone from a betting perspective.

Highly regarded Light Of Success had already run three times this season. Ganapathy had asked her to set pace for Murioi in The Nanoli Million. In her next start, she raced in open class and flopped as a favourite. Her most recent run in The Juvenile Sprinter’s Million was quite good. She had ended a fair fifth to Jersey Shore in that race. L DeSilva’s Santa Monica, who had finished marginally ahead of Light Of Success in the same race, was the rage on Sunday. Even though the weights favoured Light Of Success ahead of Santa Monica, the punters did not care. Both these runners started a joint favourites in morning trade, but once money started pouring onto Santa Monica, the odds against Light Of Success drifted to 6/1. They rued their decision when they saw what happened on the track. While Sreekanth utilized Light Of Success’s early speed and sent her to the front, Trevor had a tough time astride Santa Monica. The latter took her time to overtake Refreshed, before going in chase of the leader. With both riders going for their whips, the stage was set for a close finish. Santa Monicarallied late, but could not catch up with Light Of Success till the wire. Refreshed hung onto her third place ahead of a hard ridden Grand Applause. With the Ganapathy stable starting to fire, racing patrons can look forward to some more winners from this yard before the end of the Summer Season.

The Hyderabad Cup, a sprint for maiden three year olds, had a firm favourite in first-timer Star Kingdom. This got-abroad horse had been blazing the track and according to most reporters appeared to be almost unbeatable in this set. Even though there were more experienced horses like Ace Mesmerise, Riverdale and Crown Emperor in the fray, the Satish Narredu trainee carried a bulk of the punters money. To the dismay of his fans, Star Kingdom lacked early speed and experience, and was soon at the back of the pack. While Vigorous and Ace Mesmerise displayed early turn of foot and led till the final bend, Suraj Narredu was still trying to find galloping room for the favourite. By the time he found an opening near the two furlong pole, PS Chouhan and Ace Mesmerise had stolen a march. The two length advantage that this Dominic trainee established at that stage proved to be quite handy. Star Kingdom rallied under the stick and tried his best to collar the leader, but it was all in vain. He was short by a neck at the wire. Crown Emperor ended a tame third. Star Kingdom is sure to benefit from this experience and can be nominated to win his next start.