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SOUTHERN EMPEROR TROUNCES HIS CLASSY OPPONENTS

By Pearcey | 25 Oct 2013 | MYSORE


Trainer S Ganapathy leading Southern Emperor (B Sreekanth Up), winner of The Mysore Derby (Gr.1)

Ganapathy trained Southern Emperor displayed remarkable improvement over his known form, and trounced his nine classy opponents in the 2013 edition of The Mysore Derby (Gr.I) at the local races on Friday. The manner in which he accelerated in the last two furlongs showed that he is blessed with loads of stamina, and coupled with the turn of foot that he had already shown in his earlier runs, Southern Emperor confirmed that he has the makings of a real champion. The mile and a half trip in the winter classics should not be a problem for him, and we are sure to hear a lot about him in the future. Based on their runs in the Mysore 2000 Guineas, it was difficult to separate Southern Emperor and Czar Of Romance. Only a “head” had separated them at the wire on that day, and since both looked well in the paddock, one expected them to finish close to each other. The runner that looked better than them was Suleiman Attaollahi’s Charlatan. Despite conceding weight to the winner Southern Emperor in The Mysore Million, Charlatan had ended a good second in that race. Since they were now meeting at level terms, the advantage seemed to lie with Charlatan. Subsequently, Charlatan had traveled to Hyderabad and run a game second to Jeremiah. Once Jeremiah went back to Pune and decimated his opponents in The Pune Derby, it was generally felt that Charlatan would be the horse to beat in this year’s Mysore Derby. The connections readily paid a hefty amount to enable him to participate in this race as a final entrant. His earlier third in the Kingfisher Derby during Bangalore Summer had also shown that he was comfortable over a “staying” trip. The one that should have been seriously considered on his summer form was Md Khan’s Turf Striker, but a setback in training had led to his sudden loss of form. The betting charts indicated that Charlatan was being supported better than Southern Emperor and Czar Of Romance with the bookmakers. 

A speedy Perfect Soul darted out of the gates and went storming ahead of Beauty Is Truth, Scenic Warrior, Racing Ahead and Southern Emperor. Charlatan tried to recover ground after a fairly “ordinary” start, and made a move towards the inner rails. Since the runners in front began to tighten each other at the first bend, Charlatan received a check and Trevor had no option but to bide his time at the back. Most of the runners found their rhythm in the back-stretch and traveled close to each other. Perfect Soul enjoyed a clear advantage over Scenic Warrior, Racing Ahead and Southern Emperor, and the last three were almost abreast at the bend. Czar Of Romance and Charlatan were still quite a few lengths behind the front group at that stage. It was hereabouts that Sreekanth made his move with Southern Emperor. The bay responded gallantly and increased the tempo. Within the next couple of seconds, he overtook Perfect Soul and marched steadily towards the finishing line. He was so far ahead of the rest, that it was difficult to see what was happening at the back. After making a steady move through the pack, Charlatan managed to take the second spot ahead of Czar Of Romance and Turf Striker. The winning margin of seven lengths could easily have been increased, had Sreekanth not relaxed his grip on Southern Emperor in the final stages of this race. Incidentally, this was the first time that trainer Ganapathy had saddled a winner in the Mysore Derby. 

The added attraction on Derby Day was the running of The Bangalore Turf Club Trophy. Many top class middle distance runners were set to face the starter. Nickel Chrome had been distinctly unlucky in her last start. After hitting the front in the final furlong, she had been pipped by Quick Enough on the post. Since Thoughts N Actions, Wind of Soul and Foswell were carrying penalties for their previous victories, Nickel Chrome was well placed at the scales. Jersey Girl was another runner that was running with a great chance to land the spoils. Not many considered the chances of local hopeful Visionist, and this bottom weighted runner was allowed to start as the 25/1 outsider.  Once John pushed Thoughts N Actions into the lead, jockey Vinod Shinde astride Visionist was quick to grab the second spot ahead of Indian Bolt, Nickel Chrome, Foswell and Wind Of Soul. The race took a more serious turn at the bend, when most of them were spread right across the track. Visionist displayed a remarkable turn-of-foot and sped past Thoughts N Actions. Even though Foswell came with a mild challenge in the final furlong, he was unable to collar Visionist before the wire. Virat and Maddox occupied the minor placings on the result boards. Since Visionist is going to race at Mysore this winter, he can be ear-marked for further successes in the next few months. 

The Gayatri Devi Memorial Trophy was another interesting race in the day’s ten event card. Being a mile race for horses four years old and over in class II, it attracted a number of good horses. Satish Narredu’s Wind Tunnel was attempting to win his fourth race in succession, and since he was carrying a low weight, this mount of Suraj started as the first choice of the punters. Spaniard, Sussex Downs and Mi Amor had stray support in the betting rings. Since this race was run in blinding rain, it was clear that those who raced in front would have a definite advantage over the others. Spark Of Beauty set a real fast pace ahead of Chronicle, Raphire and Sussex Downs. The four of them raced away from Wind Tunnel and the rest in the straight. It took some hard riding from A Imran Khan to steer Raphire to the front. Travelling on better ground on the very wide outside, Raphire responded to the stick and went on to score from Spark Of Beauty, Sussex Downs and Chronicle. Wind Tunnel ran pathetically to finish off the frame. 

A nice gamble was landed by the Narayana Gowda stable on a horse named Click in The DH Dasappa Memorial Trophy. Running against older horses in this seven furlong race, the six year old was entrusted to Adarsh. This boy had ridden twenty five horses this season, and had failed to finish amongst the first three on all of them. Based on such evidence, the bookmakers were right when they quoted 15/1 against him. However, with some smart money coming his way, Click started as a 6/1 third favourite behind Southern Master and Taylor Made. Click took a good jump and settled into second place behind Maverical. Southern Master and Taylor Made were right behind the leading pair as they tackled the back-stretch and turned for home. It was hereabouts that Click wrested the issue. Despite drifting out, he lengthened his strides and tore away from the pack. He finally won by over seven lengths from a late rallying pair of Taylor Made and A Game To Remember. In this sort of form, the winner looks capable of picking up another age group race at Bangalore. 

On a day when most of the favourites took a beating, the biggest bombshell was dropped by the Amit Caddy trained Hackett. After more than half a dozen ordinary starts, the five year old showed sparkle to win amongst horses in his own age group. With money flowing in the direction of Mountain Splendour and Ground Marshal, it was easy to back the others at longer odds. Hardly anyone gave Hackett a chance, and this sentiment was reflected on the TV screens. Hackett was paying 200/1 at the totalizators. Once Game Dancer and Mountain Splendour got tired in the final furlong, Hackett slipped through the inner rails and carried apprentice Babu Singh to an easy victory. Mountain Splendour showed that she was out of depth in this company, and the mare may need to come down a bit before earning a winning bracket. She literally came to a crawl at the end and was beaten into third place by a fast finishing Time Flies. The last named will be too good to miss against Mysore based horses in winter. 

Neil Darashah’s Azetic Star put up a dazzling performance in the RM Puttanna Memorial Trophy. This horse had failed as a fancied runner on a number of occasions, and taken down a lot of money. Every time he figured on the board, he was duly penalized a couple of points by the handicapper. Despite being a maiden, Azetic Star was rated 45 and was seen conceding tons of weight to his class IV opponents. On the basis of some sparkling gallops on the training track, Darius Byramji’s Bronzino was seen heading the betting charts. Since he was known to be comfortable over a longer trip, Bronzino was entered in this seven furlong event. A couple of factors played an important part in the final outcome of this race. While PS Chouhan and Bronzino lost ground at the start, John used different tactics astride Azetic Star. He pushed the top weight to the front and set a fast pace in this race. His early advantage helped him to last out and win narrowly from a late finishing Deep Blue Sea and a tired Natural View. Despite being whipped and pushed, Bronzino continued to plod throughout this race. He seems to be one-paced, and should be left alone from a betting perspective in future. 

Immediately after winning the Derby, Sreekanth was requested by Warren Singh to ride Mark Of Genius. PS Chouhan, who was originally declared to ride this horse, was declared medically unfit to fulfill his riding engagements. It was a sprint race for horses five years old and over in class III. On paper, it appeared to be a match race between Scenic Blast and Mark Of Genius, and that is exactly what it turned out to be. John took the speedy Scenic Blast to the front and tried his best to run away with this race. On the other hand, Sreekanth was a picture of confidence astride Mark Of Genius. The pair raced comfortably in second spot till they were well into the straight. Mark Of Genius joined Scenic Blast near the distance post, and wore him down with every successive stride. In the end, Sreekanth enjoyed the luxury of easing his mount near the winning post. The two of them were joined on the very wide outside by last outing winner Brigade’s Supreme, who made up much ground to end a respectable third. 

This completed a good double for Warren, who had won an earlier race with Jewel Lady.  After a number of unplaced efforts in a higher group, Jewel Lady had quietly come down to the lowest category. There were a couple of strongly supported runners in this sprint.  Gambit and Saphira carried the confidence of their respective yards. While Saphira managed to finish second, Gambit got totally exhausted in the final furlong and surrendered his third place to Red Bud. PS Chouhan used his whip a couple of times after a lethargic jump, and urged Jewel Lady to the front. Once she found her rhythm, there was very little that the others could do. Jewel Lady kept responding to Chouhan’s urgings and won by a widening margin from the above-mentioned runners. 

The most impressive winner of the afternoon happened to be Hidayat Khan’s Tony Montana. The three year old was running in a handicap for horses in class IV. The confidence of the connections was reflected in their choice of a jockey. SK Paswan is an apprentice boy who became a full jockey by virtue of having crossed the age of twenty five. As an apprentice, he had failed to win a single race in his career. This runner received one-sided support to start as a firm favourite in the concluding event of the day. It was obvious that only those who were privy to this horse’s abilities, were in a position to wager on him. Tony Montana darted out of the gates, set a very strong pace and kept extending his lead over the other eight, right upto the wire. To the glee of his supporters, he finally won by a distance from Cherry Hinton and Rakshitha. Even though the winner is more than likely to get a stiff penalty for this runaway victory, he surely has it in him to defy the handicapper.