Indiarace.com - india's first & foremost horse racing portal

SHIVALIK STAR PUTS UP A RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

By Pearcey | 05 Sep 2013 | MYSORE


Mr Benly Abraham, Mr Ajith Prasad & Mr S M Jagadish leading Shivalik Star (S John Up), winner of The H.H.Sri Chamaraja Wadiyar Memorial Trophy

A record-breaking performance from Arjun Mangalorkar’s Shivalik Star, and a treble by his partner S John, highlighted a long card of nine events held at Mysore on Thursday. The speedy four year old trounced his opponents in The HH Sri Chamaraja Wadiyar Memorial Trophy, the feature event in the afternoon’s race card. Even though he was carrying the top weight and conceding ten kilos to his main rival Nickel Chrome, there were not many at the race course who wanted to look beyond Shivalik Star while picking a winner. This horse had run only once under the charge of his new trainer Arjun Mangalorkar. In a similar race during Bangalore Summer, he had led all the way before getting beaten by Sovetskaya on the post. Once Sovetskaya won her next start in a terms race, it was evident that Shivalik Star would win a class I sprint the day he wanted. He was lucky to come across some “easy’ opposition on Thursday. On paper, the next best horse in the field was Secret Punch. He had ended a couple of lengths behind Shivalik Star in their earlier clash. The only thing against Secret Punch was his subsequent form. It seemed as though it was diminishing with each subsequent start. As regards Nickel Chrome, she was only a “handicap possibility”. 

The race started on a hectic note. Making full use of his innermost draw, Shivalik Star darted out of the gates and set a strong pace ahead of Secret Punch and Nickel Chrome. The pace was so fast, that the others were off the bridle even before they could begin to gallop. Racing well within himself, Shivalik Star cruised into the straight. Both Secret Punch and Nickel Chrome came under the whip at the bend. Those who felt that the front-runner had set too strong a pace, and therefore, would slow down under pressure in the final furlong, were in for a surprise. Shivalik Star continued his good work and cantered past the finishing line. Secret Punch and Nickel Chrome retained their early positions behind him. The only piece of interest thereafter was the timing that he had clocked during this exercise. It was revealed that Shivalik Star had set a new course record over 1200 metres on Thursday. The winner is sure to improve from his present mark and make his presence felt amongst sprinters in “graded company”. 

The Madras Race Club Trophy, a seven furlong event for maiden three year olds, was the very next race in the day’s card. Arjun and John had a strong contender in the form of Pursuit Of Fame. This big made colt had done well to finish a good third over an identical trip to a highly regarded Mickey Mouse in his last start. With some support coming in for Byramji’s Mannat, Pursuit Of Fame was freely available at 14/10 as the runners entered the starting gates. Even though Pursuit of Fame took a lethargic start and was seen gracing the rear for the first half of their journey, the connections weren’t unduly perturbed. They knew that it was only a matter of time. While Man Of Vision, Feet On Fire, Speartooth and Mannat called the shots, it was Pursuit Of Fame that was improving with each stride. Appearing on the very wide outside, the favourite sported a pair of wings and literally flew away from the rest of them. Pursuit Of Fame retired as a very easy winner ahead of Man Of Vision, Speartooth and Cadogan. Mannat seems to be still quite immature, as she failed to quicken from an advantageous position in the straight. The only way Mannat could win in her present form and condition, will be the day the trainer decides to run her at her own mark of 25 in handicap company.

John had won an earlier race astride Prasanna Kumar’s Ensatus Elegans. This filly had won as a rank outsider in early August at Bangalore, and was lucky to have been retained in the lowest category by the handicapper. With John in the saddle, the connections were pretty confident about her chances in this race. On the other hand, Amit Caddy’s Hatchet Harry was a formidable opponent. Apart from his last run being extremely suggestive, there were a couple of things in his favour. The trainer had sharpened him nicely on the training track and entrusted him to leading jockey Suraj Narredu. These two runners cornered a bulk of the action in the betting rings. Hatchet Harry took a good jump and settled comfortably behind Boldpilot, Independence Day and Concentration. Ensatus Elegans lacked early speed and raced a few lengths behind Hatchet Harry till the bend. It was hereabouts that things took a dramatic turn. Even though Hatchet Harry was wanting to move forward, there was no room to gallop. With a wall of horses around him, Suraj was caught in a dilemma. Every time he moved to his left, there was someone else overtaking him. On the other hand, Ensatus Elegans got a nice big opening towards the inner rails. She responded to John’s whip and skipped clear of the rest. By the time, Suraj found some space for Hatchet Harry on the wide outside and got him moving, the race was over. Despite all these hindrances, Hatchet Harry finished powerfully to end within a length of Ensatus Elegans. Dance With Me was another one that did well to take the third spot ahead of a tired Thunder. 

Three year old Nabisco, who had remained unbeaten in all three career starts, was asked by trainer Neil Darashah to maintain his perfect record in The MW Chinnappa Memorial Trophy. Even though he was known to be quite comfortable over the present trip of seven furlongs, there were some who were worried by the penalties that he had received from the handicapper. With Mudassar claiming two kilos on top-weighted Jersey Girl, Nabisco wasn’t getting much weight from the top class filly. The two of them were backed to the exclusion of their rivals. Finding the early pace a bit too slow for his liking, Imran Chisty had little hesitation in sending Nabisco to the front. The nice looking colt raced on an even keel and brought the field into view. Jersey Girl was in second place while Raphire had moved from the back to be third at the bend. All three runners were put under pressure by their respective riders. While Nabisco responded gamely and maintained his lead in front, Jersey Girl moved sideways under pressure. In the midst of all this, Raphire started to inch closer to the two of them. Finally, it was Nabisco who held on gamely to his early advantage and skipped clear of Raphire and Jersey Girl. Neil Darashah needs to be complimented for doing well with Nabisco. The three year old will hereafter be seen competing against top class horses. 

A mile event for class IV runners attracted a number of three year olds that had finished on the board in maiden company. Priceless Ace, Azetic Star, Homeric and Zagato carried the hopes of their respective connections. Priceless Ace had run only once in his career. After gracing the wrong end of the field for most of the way, he had gained momentum in the straight to finish an impressive third to Madame Bovary. Trainer Padmanabhan obviously felt that he would be more effective over a longer course, and had therefore, entered him in today’s race. Azetic Star’s second to Tijuca Forest in his latest start was commendable. The winner added lustre to that form by winning her next start in open company. Neil Darashah had chosen to use blinkers on Azetic Star today. Since the doctors at the starting gates felt that Priceless Ace was trotting lame, they declared him a “non-starter”. The other ten took off to a level start. Azetic Star dragged Arshad Alam into an early lead over Homeric and Zagato. The trio  raced in close order and were within a length of each other at the bend. It was here that Azetic Star moved ahead of the others. While Homeric called it a day, it was Zagato that showed some urgency. Under strong pressure from PS Chouhan, this charge of Suleiman Attaollahi began to gain ground on the leader. Even though his progress was slow, it looked threatening. Zagato managed to put his neck in front of Azetic Star at the all important end. The most eye-catching performance in this race came from Bipin Salvi’s Take Off. The four year old made up acres of ground from the tail end of the pack to finish a very close third.  He looks like a readymade winner over a similar trip in future. 

A class III sprint for Mysore based horses appeared to be a three way fight between Party Tonite, Alizadeh and Wynn. While Party Toinite and Wynn had already run this season, Alizadeh had been sharpened with a couple of gate practices. Once Party Tonite missed the kick and Wynn encountered traffic problems, a speedy Alizadeh’s job became easier. He went to the front and showed the way to last outing winner Huckleberry Finn. The pair was so far ahead of the rest at the turn, that it was impossible to visualize any of them finishing close to the leaders. The race unfurled on expected lines thereafter. Under some strong belting from B Mahesh, Ranjeet trained Alizadeh continued to dominate the proceedings and went on to score decisively from Huckleberry Finn and a late finishing Wynn. Party Tonite failed to reproduce her last outing form, and was seen struggling at the back.  

The other race reserved for local horses was a sprint for those rated in class IV. Top-weighted Knowledge from Monappa’s yard was the firm choice of the punters, but once money started to flow in the direction of Bipin Salvi’s Real Potential, the race became more competitive. After Ceasaria settled into a comfortable rhythm, it was Real Potential who moved smoothly into the second spot. With Guapo and Historica taking the next couple of berths, John had a tough time astride Knowledge. He finally chose to bide his time at the back and wait for an opportunity in the straight. Once the field opened-up at the bend, there was ample space for those coming from behind. Knowledge responded to John’s whip and moved ahead of the others. However, she lost some ground by caving-in under pressure and drifting out in the final furlong. This permitted the Franco DaSilva ridden Real Potential to come alongside Knowledge and get the better of him on the post. In a close battle for the third spot, Guapo succeeded in putting his neck ahead of Ceasaria and saving place money for his numerous backers. 

The only other race in the card was the day’s opener, which happened to be the lower division of a seven furlong event for horses rated 0-25. This race seemed to be tailor-made for Amit Caddy’s Presidents Rule. This four year old had run into some sort of form during the closing stages of the summer season, and was now meeting an ordinary set of opponents. Even though it was acknowledged that he himself was no world-beater, the fact remained that the form of the others was poorer. The bookmakers were equally aware of this situation, and were quite guarded while offering 80/100 on this runner. Suraj pushed him to the front from an outside draw, and dictated pace for rest of the way. His closest challenger for a major part of the race was Magnanimous, but once he got tired near the distance post, the race appeared to be in the safe keeping of Presidents Rule. The only thing that changed at the end was a late burst from Gur Kripa. She improved on the wide outside and ended very close to the winner. Once she arrived opposite the stands, it was easy to realize that jockey Vivek’s feet were dangling in the air. It was later revealed that his stirrup iron had broken near the three furlong marker, and the helpless rider was unable to offer much assistance from the saddle. But for this accident, it is more than likely that Gur Kripa would have upset the applecart of the favourite.