Satish Narredu’s Countrys Pride produced a sparkling gallop in the straight to annex The Karnataka Racehorse Owners Association Trophy at the Bangalore races on Friday. The strongly built colt justified the confidence of his trainer by coming out to win within a week of his debut victory. The day’s feature was a sprint for three year olds, in which, winners of earlier races were asked to carry winning penalties. The terms of the race ensured that the runners carried four kilos for their first win and another three kilos for the next. Accordingly, Mysore based Rising Romeo headed the scales ahead of Countrys Pride and Jersey Bride. The other six maidens were comfortably placed at the bottom of the scale. There was little doubt in most peoples mind that Countrys Pride was perhaps the most talented specimen in this group. However, there was a niggling worry about the timing of this event. Racing patrons at Bangalore are not used to seeing youngsters racing within a few days of their previous start. Trainers are often heard telling the owners in their yard, that one must space out the racing schedule of their juvenile wards with care and caution. Having realized that Countrys Pride had won on tight reins last Friday, Narredu decided to pitch him at the deep end and asked him to display his abilities. He was installed as a strong favourite in morning trade, but once money came pouring onto the Prithviraj trained Time And Space, the betting boards indicated the “open” nature of this race. 

With John showing some urgency astride Rising Romeo, the bay colt went ahead of Countrys Pride and Time And Space. The three of them were followed at regular intervals by Jersey Bride and Murcilago. While the leader was  being niggled to stay in front, both Suraj astride Countrys Pride and PS Chouhan on Time And Space were content to bide their time till the bend. It was hereabouts that all three of them were put under pressure. The one that responded best to his rider’s call was Countrys Pride. He gained momentum and stormed ahead of the rest. Rising Romeo and Time And Space lost pace at almost an identical moment and faded out of contention. With Suraj waving the whip at him, Countrys Pride put his head down and galloped strongly past the finishing line. Murcilago showed good intent to come charging from behind and displacing Jersey Bride from the second spot. Time And Space plodded along to take the final berth on the result boards. The winner has shown that he is immensely talented, and it may not surprise many, if he keeps up the good work and continues with his winning ways. 

The Chatrapathi Cup was the other important event in the nine event card held during the afternoon. This 1200 metres handicap for horses in class II was once again touted as a match race between stable-mates Valerian and Cristoffe. The two Dhariwal trainees had last clashed in a terms event a few weeks ago. On that day, Valerian had led from the start and beaten Cristoffe out of sight. It was learnt that Cristoffe had lost one of his shoes during the running of that race. With the present weights continuing to be marginally favourable, Valerian was the first choice of the punters. Mumbai import Port Blair and Cristoffe had fair support with the bookmakers. With Novel Approach making the early running, jockey Beuzelin did well to settle Cristoffe in second place. They were followed by Port Blair and Alcazaar. After an untidy start, Valerian took time to find his rhythm and was seen improving through the pack, as the twelve of them turned for home. Cristoffe moved ahead of his pursuers and was the first into the straight. With the jockey making free use of his whalebone, the leader quickened further and opened-up a winning lead into the final furlong. Port Blair and Valerian tried their best to collar Cristoffe, but that wasn’t possible. They finally settled for the next two slots and saved place money for their respective supporters. Frenemee and Alcazaar did well to make up much ground in the final stages of this race. Both seem to be getting ready for an early success in the ongoing winter season. 

An interesting seven furlong handicap for those rated between 40-65 attracted some good participants. Last outing winner Austin was being opposed by Ayrton, Royal Salute, Placervilles Glory and Diamond Quest. All these horses, that had turned four a couple of weeks ago, were known to be strong contenders for the first prize. The betting boards indicated that Austin and Ayrton were being backed to the exclusion of their rivals. Making full use of their inner draw, TS Jodha and Royal Salute sped into an early lead and skipped clear of Austin, Kafka and Ayrton. Since he was going at a strong clip throughout the back-stretch, Royal Salute was expected to come back to his rivals in the straight. But nothing of the sort happened. The Neil Darashah trainee continued to grow stronger and took everyone by surprise. His eventual acceleration ensured him the easiest victory of the afternoon. After a minor duel near the distance post, top-weighted Ayrton moved ahead of Austin , while a dis-interested Diamond Quest came fast to take the fourth spot. Those who took the minor placings today, should be followed hereafter as they are almost certain to win in the very near future. 

The only professional to score more than once on Friday was apprentice Kiran Rai. He was in great demand on Friday and the youngster was declared to ride in seven out of the nine races framed for the day. After scoring a runaway victory with Narayana Gowda’s Click midway through the card, he ended the day’s proceedings with some fine riding astride Babu Rao’s Dance With Me. While Click was fancied by his connections, Dance With Me won as an outsider. The seven year old Click had last won a race at Mysore. In his three runs this season, his last start third behind King Julien was quite suggestive. The trainer did well by claiming an allowance on Click and entrusted him to Kiran Rai. The three kilos apparently made a huge difference. After racing a handy third for most of the way, Click quickened in the straight. Native Indian and Hatchet Harry were put under immense pressure, but the duo failed to go anywhere near the winner. In fact, Kiran Rai had the pleasure of looking back in the final stages of this race. Finding nobody near him, the youngster allowed Click to relax thereafter. 

Dance With Me was racing against formidable opponents like Midtown Delight and Spanish Fly. Both of them had run fairly well in their previous starts and were seen cornering most of the betting today. Once Joanees Beauty and London Eye used their early speed to shoot ahead of the group, the other runners led by Dance With Me, Spanish Fly and Midtown Delight traveled comfortably till the bend. The last named had suffered an interference from those around him at the jump, and was seen being niggled by PS Chouhan to stay in place. Once the front-runners got tired in the last two furlongs, Dance With Me was asked for an effort. She responded to Kiran Rai’s call and moved strongly towards the inner rails. In a matter of seconds, she was more than three lengths ahead of her nearest challengers. Midtown Delight and Sunday Cruz appeared on the wide outside to saunter onto the result boards. Spanish Fly ran another poor race to finish an exhausted fourth. On the other hand, Midtown Delight was a victim of circumstances and this is one horse that could win an age-group race before the end of this season. 

The speedy Scenic Blast utilized his early speed to dock another point for Prasanna Kumar’s stable. After a number of runs over the past many months, the six year old came at a handy mark against older horses. With favourite jockey John astride, he was supported in an “open betting event” by his connections.  Once marginal favourites Cocktail Circuit and Bank On Me were seen struggling at the back, the front-running Scenic Blast seemed to have things under control. He traveled well within himself and enjoyed a two length break over Sweet Secret and Clever Trick in the straight. With most of those around him coming to a “crawl” , Scenic Blast sailed into an unassailable led and galloped away to a fairly easy victory. The only one that showed some sort of resolve was Bank On Me. She covered acres of ground on the very wide outside and managed to beat Clever Trick into third place. Strongly fancied Living Legend failed to raise a gallop and ended in the ruck. 

After a number of poor efforts in her career, Irfan Ghatala’s Vistabella finally discovered her galloping shoes on Friday. The five year old mare did well to beat a well-backed Arun in a seven furlong race reserved for those in her own age group. With Anjar Alam aboard, Vistabella allowed Delilah to lead on sufferance. All this while, Arun raced in mid division and was unable to make much of an impression. The runners were spread out in single file as they took the final bend. It was at this juncture that Anjar Alam made his move. He allowed Vistabella to overtake Delilah and asked her for a final effort. The response that he got was more than satisfactory. Vistabella lengthened her strides and strode away for an overdue victory. Arun emerged from the chasing group to finish a hard-ridden second. Delilah kept plugging away to save place money for her numerous backers. 

The only other race in the day’s card had to be won twice by Sirajuddin’s Winning Story. She had to first win the race on the track before surviving a serious objection in the Steward’s Room. This mile event had a very strong favourite in Padmanabhan’s Court Dancer. The chestnut filly was lucky to be rated in the lowest class by the handicapper. On the basis of her fine track work, the even money favourite was expected to beat her eleven opponents. Similarly, Winning Story had also shown out in her morning trials and she too had an army of supporters. Once Magnetic Power, Mister Grey and Liquid Asset chose to dictate terms, the others were content to stay at the back. Imran Chisty held Winning Story in fifth place, while David Allan and Court Dancer encountered certain traffic problems in the back-stretch and were forced to evade running into the those ahead of them. The runners were seen bunching up at the bend. While Winning Story was about four horses wide, Court Dancer was moving right behind her. Just as David Allan tried to make a run through the middle, Winning Story responded to Imran’s Whip and moved inwards. She lengthened her strides and went about a length and a half clear of Court Dancer. The latter changed course towards the outside, got stronger thereafter and came charging towards the leader. Winning Story and Court Dancer were locked together at the finishing line. The digital cameras confirmed that Winning Story had won by a whisker. David Allan raised an objection against Imtan Chisty on the grounds of interference. After a number of careful looks at the TV replays, the Stipes and the Stewards were unanimous in their opinion that there was no reason to change the final result announced by the judge.