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SKY TRAIN SCORES IN A CLOSE FINISH

By Pearcey | 22 Aug 2013 | MYSORE


Trainer S Narredu leading Sky Train (Suraj Narredu Up), winner of The H.H.Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Memorial Trophy

The Mysore Season 2013 started on Thursday with a strong performance from the Narredu family. The father-son duo of Satish and Suraj dominated the day’s action with some superb performances. While Satish managed to clear half the day’s card by saddling four winners, Suraj was his partner in three of them. This combination was seen to great advantage in the day’s feature. The HH Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Memorial Trophy, a mile handicap for horses in the highest class, was the stellar event in the day’s card. In a small field of seven, there were five runners that had traveled from Bangalore to clash swords with a couple of local hopefuls. Based on all available evidence, this race seemed to be a close one between Satish Narredu’s Sky Train and Neil Darashah’s Spaniard. Both were coming into this race after some significant performances in a lower category. The former had been beaten by stablemate Deep Blue Sky on the post, while Spaniard had scored comfortably over a mile in early July. Even though it was known that Sky Train had raced in much better company, there were doubts about his staying abilities. This was the first time that he was attempting such a long trip in his career. However, the trainer had prepared him for this race and was quite optimistic about his chances.

Maddox set a very strong pace in this race and rushed into a long lead over Deep Blue Sky and Silken Touch. Both Suraj on Sky Train and Imran Chisty on Spaniard, were seen biding their time at the back. Rising Rainbow and Color Me were content to stay at the tail-end of the pack as the group skirted the false rails and turned for home. With Maddox running out of steam at the bend, it was Silken Touch that went ahead of the others. Anjar Alam gave her a couple of taps and asked her to quicken. Even though she responded gamely to her rider’s call, Silken Touch was soon joined by Sky Train. With Suraj guiding him forcefully, Sky Train got the better of Silken Touch in the final furlong and beat her by a neck at the wire. Rising Rainbow covered a lot of ground in the closing stages of this race and ended a smart third.  Favourite Spaniard rolled sideways in the straight and almost dropped onto the outer sand track under pressure. He seems to have reached a mark at which it may take him a while to win another race.

This was Suraj’s third win for his father, as he had already scored a couple of points earlier in the afternoon with Cruise Clear and Wind Tunnel. Three year old Cruise Clear was lucky to be rated at a mark, at which, she was eligible to run against horses in the lowest class. Not wanting to miss such an opportunity, the astute trainer did well to pitch her against a group comprising of a number of three year olds rated in class V. The only unknown commodity in this race was Pratap Kamath’s Teri Adah. This well conformed filly was running for the first time in her career, and according to most track reporters, had worked well. The only thing against her was a lack of experience. Additionally, she was saddled with a crushing impost of 62.5 kilos in her very first start. Teri Adah showed early intent and opened-up a nice looking advantage over Cruise Clear and Spirit. The three of them raced in similar order till they entered the straight. With Milan putting further pressure on Teri Adah, the filly tried her best to skip away from those behind her.  However, she succumbed under pressure and came to a grinding halt. This permitted Cruise Clear and Spirit to move ahead of her. Suraj used his whip while guiding Cruise Clear successfully past the winning post. Teri Adah is one for your notebook, as she is sure to improve after today’s experience.

Last outing winner Wind Tunnel showed further improvement while running away with a mile event for horses four years old and over in class IV. He had carried a heavy impost in a lower category over seven furlongs at Bangalore, and was now attempting a slightly longer trip. Talita’s Girl shaped as a strong opponent. Starting as a firm favourite, this filly had found late foot to finish a very impressive second in her only start during the summer months. The market leaders chased Jewel Lady and See You Later for most of the way. Not enjoying the slow pace set by the two of them, Suraj decided to increase the tempo and took Wind Tunnel to the front. John was alert to his task, and he too didn’t waste any time in bringing Talita’s Girl into contention. The latter tried her best to make a race of it, but she just wasn’t good enough today. Wind Tunnel grew stronger with each subsequent stride and posted a very easy victory over Talita’s Girl and a tired See You Later.

Satish had already won the day’s opener with Mountain Train. It was the lower division of a scurry reserved for horses rated 0-25. The five year old had been able to save place money for his supporters in both starts during the summer season. On each occasion, he had rushed to the front before getting beaten in the final furlong. The trainer realized that Mountain Train would be more suited over 1100 metres. He found an ideal race for him on Thursday. Additionally, he was lucky to clash with some very modest opponents. Most of them had failed to trouble the judge by finishing far behind the winners. With Saddam Hussain claiming two kilos off his back, Mountain Train had little trouble in hitting the front.  He was chased all the time by Pendolino and Endurance. The only thing that changed subsequently was the verdict between the three of them. Mountain Train ended almost five lengths clear of a hard ridden Pendolino. He in turn was a few more lengths clear of a bandaged Endurance. The others ran pathetically, and most of them were seen plodding past the winning post. It would be prudent to stay away from them during the rest of this season.

Darius Byramji’s three year old Evraz pulverized a bunch of helpless maidens in The Royal Calcutta Turf Club Trophy. The son of Multidimensional had run a couple of times in his career and fared poorly on both occasions. However, his recent track trials indicated that he had improved a lot after being “gelded”. His main opponent in this race was Scorching Vulcan. This Sriram Komandur trainee had run a good second to Strombolite during summer and was known to have improved after that start. The two of them were backed to the exclusion of their rivals. Imran Chisty did well to make use of his inner draw while urging Evraz into an early advantage. The big built horse hugged the rails and moved marginally ahead of Scorching Vulcan. The pair headed the field and were close to each other at the final bend. The scene changed dramatically thereafter. Evraz responded to Imran’s stick and stormed away from a heavily whipped Scorching Vulcan. Now that the winner has discovered his winning ways, there is little doubt that he will be seen progressing smoothly towards the higher categories. Another runner that caught one’s attention in this race was Speartooth. This Mysore based maiden did really well to appear alongside Scorching Vulcan at the finishing line. He can be earmarked for an early success amongst local runners.

A brilliant piece of riding by pint-sized apprentice Arshad Alam enabled Neil Darashah’s Sun Divine to win The Rangas Trophy. This youngster has matured over the past one year, and looks destined to become a top class rider in the country. His eleven winners during the recently concluded Bangalore Summer Season bear testimony to his riding abilities. He displayed all of those while ending with a well deserved double for the day. Sun Divine was installed as a first favourite by the bookmakers, but once money started to flow in the direction of Wind Of Soul, he lost his position at the top of the betting boards. Since the Narredu’s were firing with immense precision, Wind Of Soul was expected to carry the Wadhawan colours to their fourth win of the afternoon. Suraj tried his best to make every post a winning one, but once he was challenged and passed by Sun Divine, he gracefully settled for the second prize. Arshad Alam took a smart jump from an extremely wide draw, and brought Sun Divine into early contention. While Suraj was seen niggling Wind Of Soul at the bend, the apprentice was yet to make a move. A mere tap with the whip was all that was required for Sun Divine to quicken. He increased the tempo and moved gracefully towards the finishing line. Thoughts N Actions continued to plod along the inner rails and had to be content with the third spot. Rich Celebration ran poorly to finish off the frame.

Arshad Alam’s next winner came astride Vishal Yadav’s Mischief. This small made filly was running in a seven furlong race against class IV opponents. After a number of unsuccessful efforts amongst Mysore based maidens, Z Darashah’s The Alchemist was running for the first time in handicap company. He was known to be comfortable over the present trip, and with regular partner Trevor aboard, was a firm favourite to win this race. With some stray support for Pepper King and Sanatana, the race generated the expected excitement. Milan took the top-weighted Sanatana to the front and set a moderate pace ahead of The Alchemist and Pepper King. The three of them were many lengths clear of the others, as the dozen runners turned for home. Despite being whipped by their respective riders, The Alchemist and Pepper King were unable to go anywhere near Sanatana. The last named strode comfortably towards the finishing line. Not many noticed a horse moving from behind. Arshad Alam produced Mischief on the wide outside and asked her for an effort. Displaying an unbelievable turn of foot, Mischief covered more than ten lengths on the leader and pipped him near the winning post. Sanatana’s rider Milan was perhaps the most shocked person at the Mysore Race Club on Thursday. The Alchemist and Pepper King ended at regular intervals to take the minor slots on the result boards.

The BK Krishnadevaraj Urs Memorial Trophy, a sprint for horses in class III, was another race reserved for Mysore based horses. It looked like a very competitive event, as quite a few amongst the dozen acceptors had a realistic chance of winning it. At the weights, low-weighted Sand Dune had a distinct advantage as he was receiving ten kilos from last outing winner Sky High. The latter was known to be blessed with a lot of speed, and Srinath was sure to exploit her potential. The first half of the race unfurled on expected lines. Sky High sped to the front and dictated pace to Heavenly Divas and Wynn. Esoterical and Sand Dune were under a bit of pressure to keep pace with the front-runners. The field began to bunch up in the straight. Sky High succeeded in warding off her closest pursuers, but once she entered the final furlong, she too came under pressure. At just about the same juncture,  Pratap Kamath’s Esoterical loomed on the wide outside and got up in time to nail Sky High on the post. Milan rode powerfully to get the best out of the winner. Sand Dune came flying at the end to finish a very close third. This horse can be earmarked for an early victory in the immediate future.