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LOVEOFMYLIFE WINS IN A COMMON CANTER

By Pearcey | 25 Jan 2014 | BANGALORE


Trainer S Narredu leading Loveofmylife (Suraj Narredu Up), winner of The Topmost Cup

The “Derby Weekend” at Bangalore got off to a great start for the punters, when quite a few public choices scoredon Saturday. The form held good for most part of the afternoon, and well backed horses justified the confidence of their respective yards. The Topmost Cup, a sprint for horses in class III, was accorded the pride of place as the day’s feature. A number of well performed youngsters had accepted to face the starter. While top weighted Triumphnat, Rumour Has It, Smokey Sid and Strengthandwonder  had raced this season, the one that was appearing on a race track after a long absence was Satish Narredu’s Loveofmylife. This filly had begun her racing career in summer with a nine length victory in maiden company. She had left a huge impression by the ease with which she had scored that day. However, she had disappointed her fans with a lacklustre effort in her very next start. After she fared badly over a seven furlong trip, the trainer realized that she was more of a sprinter and decided to give her a break from racing. The filly furnished nicely over the next five months and looked extremely well today. According to most track reporters, Loveofmylife had been doing some good work on the sand track, and was raring to “go”. An added advantage was the low weight assigned to her. With Suraj in the saddle, the filly was backed with confidence and sent as a firm favourite to the starting gates. Even her extreme draw failed to dampen the spirits of her numerous backers. With an outstanding display of speed and stamina, Loveofmylife justified the faith of her connections.

Loveofmylife moved smoothly from her wide draw and was soon at the helm of affairs. After moving close to the inner rails, Suraj relaxed her in front and allowed Strengthandwonder, Rumour Has It, Triumphant and Smokey Sid to get close to her. He did not move a muscle while rounding the final bend and moving towards the straight.  Those behind her had already come under pressure and were seen being niggled by their respective riders. Suraj released his tight grip on Loveofmylife and clicked his heels. The filly increased the tempo and sped away from her pursuers. After a couple of “looks” at those behind him, Suraj had the pleasure of easing her much before the winning post. She ended many lengths ahead of Rumour Has It, Triumphant and Strengthandwonder. Loveofmylife is in great heart and it will pay to back this filly in her future starts. Satish Narredu is sure to give her a reasonable break before bringing her out for her next start.

There was some confusion regarding jockey PS Chouhan’s ability to fulfill his riding engagements for the day. Once it was confirmed that he had got a “stay” from the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on his suspension by The Hyderabad Race Club, the BTC authorities allowed him to ride at Bangalore on Saturday. The leading jockey displayed his riding skills by scoring a quick double. Both his successes were astride maiden three year olds. He began the day’s proceedings by riding Dhariwal’s Pentagram to an effortless victory. Padmanabhan trained Feliciana was a strong favourite in this race. The filly had done some good work on the training track and it was felt that a mere repetition of that on the race grass would be enough to take care of her opponents.  Both Switch and Pentagram had failed to figure on the board in their earlier starts. Chouhan took Pentagram to the front and set a good pace ahead of Switch and Major Attraction. Feliciana lacked early speed and the filly was at the tail end of the pack as they turned for home. Pentagram quickened further in the final furlong and went many lengths ahead of Switch. At about the same juncture, Feliciana discovered her galloping shoes. She came charging from behind to take the runner-up berth ahead of an exhausted Switch and a heavily whipped Major Attraction. The winner clocked a superb timing to confirm that he is a top class sprinter. Feliciana can be expected to improve on this performance.

Chouhan had to work a bit harder on Darius Byramji’s Nimfea.  This filly had been doing some great work on the training track, and was tipped as a “good bet” by her connections. Irfan Ghatala’s Azurite was the other runner that was seriously considered by the punters. She too looked well in the parade ring. Since this race was run over 1100 metres, there was a rush to seize early positions. Fruit Prince and Temujin shot away to the front, and the stable-mates were almost abreast as they turned for home. Chouhan kept Nimfea in striking position, and the filly traveled well within herself till that stage. On the other hand, Azurite encountered traffic problems in the early stages and the filly literally dropped out of contention. With those in front getting tired in the straight, Chouhan took evasive action and produced Nimfea on the wide outside. She skirted the field and went cantering to the front. A couple of taps of the whalebone was all that was required thereafter. She lengthened her strides and went on to register a very easy victory. Azurite made a late bid to take the second place ahead of Fruit Prince and Temujin. With this experience under her belt, Azurite will be tough to beat in her next start.

A third race for maiden three year olds had a number of runners that were fancied by their respective yards.  Padmanabhan’s Eragon and  Arjun Mangalorkar’s Big Ticket had run in December , and both of them had ended fourth in those starts. It was obvious that they were likely to put up an improved performance today. First timers Astrum and Expert were the others that received stray support in the betting rings. While Expert, Big Ticket and Eragon dominated the scene in front, Astrum lost pace after an even start and dropped out of contention. The three leaders raced in close order and were many lengths ahead of the others, as the eleven of them turned for home. After a mild duel down the length of the straight, Eragon seized the initiative and went ahead of Expert. Responding nicely to David Allan’s urgings, he got stronger at the finish and won with a measure of comfort. Nityanand’s Expert showed that he is blessed with a lot of speed, and it may not take him long to emerge from the maiden ranks. Neil Darashah’s Astrum covered a lot of ground at the end to finish a suggestive fourth. He looks like a “staying” type who may be more effective over a galloping course.

The Racing Patrons Trophy, an age group handicap for horses rated 60 and above, was the added attraction in the day’s card. With a large number of horses accepting to run in this event, the race got divided into two divisions. The upper version appeared to be an “open” affair. A number of horses ran with a great chance of landing the spoils.  Lad Star, Real Steel and Amazing Redd were fancied marginally ahead of Diamonite and Frenemee. Once Brabus Speed sped away from the pack, the others were quick to move into advantageous positions. Amazing Redd made up ground on the wide outside, and with John continuing to nudge him along, the free striding horse joined Brabus Speed at the bend.  Diamonite, Real Steel and Rich Celebration were seen being niggled , but neither of them was really responding to their rider’s call. The one that was improving steadily from behind was Warren Singh’s Lad Star. It seemed like a one horse race in the final furlong. Amazing Redd had shot into the lead and opened-up a gap of over three lengths at that stage. Those who had backed him were delighted with this scenario. However, their joy was short-lived. Dasarath Singh had roused Lad Star with his whip, and the six year old mare had begun to “fly”.  Within the next few seconds, she made up the leeway and got up in time to beat Amazing Redd near the winning post. Rich Celebration came with a fluent gallop in the straight to finish ahead of a tired Brabus Speed and Real Steel.

Another rider who did well on Saturday was apprentice Kiran Rai. He has been getting some good mounts in recent weeks and it can be said that he is improving with each experience. The lower division of the above mentioned race had a strong favourite in Narayan Gowda’s Ethophian. After a pair of victories earlier in the season, this horse had been a trifle unlucky in his previous start. The winning sequence was broken a few weeks ago, when he faltered under pressure and got beaten near the final post by owner-mate Frenemee. Even though he was assigned the top weight in this race, Ethophian towered over his ten rivals. Kiran Rai did well to settle him comfortably behind Smooth Glider and Salsa Touch, and allowed him to remain there till the bend. Ethophian was shown “daylight” in the straight and asked to quicken. He responded gamely and skipped clear of a late finishing Abnoba and Mi Amor. Lads Gladiator made up much ground at the end to finish a good fourth. He can be supported with confidence the day he runs in an age group race amongst horses in a lower category.

The young apprentice timed his run astride Bold Nature to a nicety and skipped clear of his rivals while winning his second race of the afternoon. This last outing winner from Prithviraj’s yard had received a penalty from the handicapper, but the three kilos claimed by Kiran Rai proved to be decisive. Once on-money favourite Shinnecock Hills caved-in under pressure and surrendered the lead to Anmol Hira, the stage was set for an upset. Both Scuffle and Bold Nature made their moves at an identical juncture and came charging from behind. it was the latter who traveled better at the end and finally won with a measure of comfort. Scuffle and Anmol Hira were almost together while claiming the minor slots on the result boards. As regards the performance of Shinnecock Hills, this run was quite poor. It may be a good idea to leave him alone from a betting perspective in the near future.

The day ended with the eclipse of another strongly supported contender. Sharat Kumar’s Emancipation was backed confidently by her connections to win a sprint handicap for those rated in the lowest category. Even though she had done nothing of note thus far in her career, there was a lot of hype around her chances. Those in the know confirmed that her trainer felt that she would not only win today, but would continue to improve hereafter. All those who paid heed to these rumours were in for a surprise. Emancipation ran like a dud and ended in the ruck. Carrying some smart money on her back, Neil Darashah’s Nayan Star dominated this race by employing front-running tactics. In the hands of rookie A Velu, she leapt out of the gates and made every post a winning one.  In a scramble for the minor slots, Zizzi poked through the inner portion of the track to beat Super Silver into third place. In case Nayan Star escapes with a mild penalty for this victory, she can be earmarked for another success on promotion.