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APPLEJACK EMERGES AS THE TOP STAYER AT BANGALORE

By By Pearcey | 08 Feb 2014 | BANGALORE


Trainer Arjun Mangalorkar leading Applejack (S John Up), winner of The Kunigal Stud Stayers Trial Stakes

The Kunigal Stud Stayers Trial Stakes, a terms race to be run over a mile and a half and reserved for horses four years old and over, featured a long card of nine events on Saturday at Bangalore. This race is traditionally held to select nominees from this centre for The Stayers Cup, which is held over the Invitation Weekend in the first week of March every year. Apart from the day’s feature, the rest of the action on Saturday was dominated by a spate of doubles. John and Imran Chisty were joined by trainers Darius Byramji, Irfan Ghatala and Sharat Kumar while sharing the day’s honours. The day’s feature had only five runners. On the basis of his past form and current rating, Irfan Ghatala’s Wind Stream towered over the others. His second in The President Of India Gold Cup at Hyderabad in September, and a respectable third in the Indian St Leger a few days later at Pune, were followed by a great gallop in The Chief Minister’s Trophy on the local track this season. While conceding a lot of weight to a much younger Agostini, Wind Stream had lost that race on the last stride. Once Agostini went on to score an easy victory in The Bangalore Derby, there were many who felt that Wind Stream would be too good to miss in his next appearance. The stage was set for him to display his abilities today. He was accordingly installed as a piping hot favourite in this race. Last year’s Indian Derby winner Super Storm and four year old Duma received stray support in the betting rings and were fancied by only a few  to upset the favourite. Because of his very low rating, as well as the weight he was assigned to carry, Arjun Mangalorkar’s Applejack was an obvious “outsider”.

The  runners took off level from the gates and traveled at a steady pace for the first half of their journey. Camorra showed the way to Applejack, while Duma and Wind Stream settled close behind them. Srinath and Super Storm were content to grace the rear. Not more than four lengths covered  the five of them as they raced through the back-stretch and approached the rising ground near the four furlong marker. It was hereabouts that Ryan Marshall showed some urgency astride Wind Stream and brought him closer to the leaders. The field began to bunch up at that stage. Wind Stream moved smoothly on the wide outside and enjoyed a marginal advantage at the bend. Most of those around him had already come under pressure. He was traveling fairly well and everybody realized that it was only a matter of time before Ryan would press the button. The jockey did that only after entering the straight. Wind Stream responded gamely and charged ahead of the others. He opened-up a three length break into the final furlong and seemed to be headed for an effortless victory. However, all that changed in the next few strides. While Wind Stream  shortened his strides, both Applejack and Duma dug deep into their reserves of stamina and began to gain ground on the favourite. On the very last stride, Applejack managed to collar Wind Stream and went on to register the finest win of his career. Duma ended a close third, while Super Storm and Camorra were totally exhausted at the end of the race. John’s strong riding astride the winner was praised by those present at the course on Saturday.

By steering Woodstream to an easy victory in the lower division of a sprint for those in class IV, John not only scored a second point for himself, but also helped Irfan Ghatala in saddling a double during the afternoon. This horse had run only once in summer and had ended a very good fifth behind Keukenhof . Quite a few talented youngsters had finished around him in that race. Since today’s field comprised of fairly ordinary contestants, the bookmakers refused to offer more than 65/100 on him. John gave him a nice relaxed ride and allowed him to chase Raaga into the straight. He relaxed his grip on Woodstream and roused him in the straight. It took a while for the favourite to find his rhythm, but once he got into his stride, the race was more or less over. Overtaking Raaga in the final furlong , Woodstream tarveled well within himself to contain a belated challenge from a hard ridden Tradition. Since the winner was running after a long gap of eight months, he is sure to benefit from today’s experience. Woodstream can be supported to win his next start with confidence.

Irfan Ghtala had to wait right till the end of the day before he could complete his personal double. Ace Angel Star had raced against much better horses in his short career. This sparingly raced four year old had reared-up in his only start this winter, and lost all his chances that day in the starting gates. Since the trainer was advised to give him further gate practice in a couple of mock races, Ace Angel Star was running after a gap of over six weeks in the upper division of the above mentioned race. Because of his superb credentials, he was a half-money favourite today. Taking off smoothly from a wide draw, Ace Angel Star settled comfortably behind a runaway Courageous and remained there till the bend. Anjar Alam brought him the shortest way home and urged him further. Accelerating like a seasoned campaigner, the public choice skipped clear of his rivals and went on to record a very easy victory. Ungoogleable came from mid division to finish a respectable second. A long way back was Jaanvi, who was lucky to earn her corn bill by ending third ahead of a bunch of disinterested runners.

The Smt Saraswati Sajnani Memorial Trophy, a sprint handicap for those rated 40-65, attracted a nice set of horses. Younger participants like Capitalize, Salzburg, Azetic Star and Refreshed were being opposed by a five year old named Alcazaar. On the basis of his exciting victory immediately after being gelded, Capitalize was a strong favourite to lift this trophy. It was felt that he had improved after that day, and since he was carrying a lower weight on his back, he received strong support from the punters. On the other hand, Alcazaar too attracted smart money in the betting rings. The speedy Refreshed did his customary front-running and led at a strong pace into the straight. Alcazaar followed him in second place while Capitalize was tucked-in towards the inner rails. John was hoping for a gap and was trying to bring Capitalize the shortest way home. His hopes were dashed when Refreshed refused to give him way, and the favourite was caught in no-mans land. By the time he extricated himself from that mess, the race was over. The action in front kept changing in the straight. In the final 300 metres, Alcazaar sailed past a tired Refreshed and made a strong move towards the finishing line. However, he was soon collared and passed by the Darius trained Salzburg. With Vaibhav goading her strongly, the light-framed filly changed gears in the final furlong to post an authoritative victory over Alcazaar, a late finishing Azetic Star and an unlucky Capitalize. Alcazaar looks capable of winning an age group race at a low weight in the next category, and he must be backed the day he decides to run in such an event.

Darius had begun the afternoon’s proceedings by saddling Evalina to an exceptional victory in the lower division of a maidens sprint on Saturday. This tiny filly looked very fit in the paddock, but her size was something that forced many punters to stay away from her. With money flowing in the direction of To The Future, Mandarin and Wild Wild Angels, the odds against early-morning favourite Evalina continued to expand, as the runners made their way to the starting gates. Interactive and Summer Sky did the front-running and showed the way to Evalina and To The Future. Wild Wild Angels was apparently under pressure from the word “go” and it was evident that she would be unable to figure on the result boards today.  Once Interactive and Summer Sky got tired in the straight, it was Evalina who darted ahead of the others. Appearing on the wide outside, she skipped clear of a strongly urged To The Future. With Imran continuing to wave his whip at her, Evalina got stronger with each subsequent stride and managed to retain her advantage till the very end. Mandarin came purposefully in the final furlong to beat To The Future into third place. He showed a marked improvement over his first run, and this son of Multidimensional gave an indication that he could help trainer Ganapathy in picking up a race for first season youngsters this winter.

Imran Chisty completed his personal double by winning the other “baby race” of the afternoon astride Sharat Kumar’s Emperor Cruise. This 50/1 outsider was able to topple a bunch of highly regarded youngsters. While Ganapathy’s Bold Majesty had run a couple of times and ended second on both occasions, Puttanna’s Rustic Sunrise was re-appearing after claiming the third place on debut. But the one that was backed strongly to emerge from the maiden ranks in his very first start was Arjun Mangalorkar’s Spreadeagle. This colt had been doing some exceptional work on the training track and was looking well in the parade ring. According to most track reporters, he would to tough to beat in this race. After Imran Chisty and Emperor Cruise got off to  a flying start, Beuzelin was content to settle Spreadeagle in second place. Rustic Sunrise was seen being hustled to move ahead, and the bay was soon alongside Spreadeagle as they turned for home. Those who expected Emperor Cruise to slow down in the straight were in for a surprise. He continued to enjoy his solitude in front and won by a widening margin from a heavily punished Rustic Sunrise. Spreadeagle began to gallop after the race was more or less over. He managed to finish very close to Rustic Sunrise while taking the third slot. With this experience under his belt, Spreadeagle will be a different proposition over a slightly longer trip.

Sharat Kumar  had already led-in the winner  of a previous race , when Magnitude Star had helped him in adding another point to his tally. This brave horse was assigned the maximum possible weight in a handicap event, and the confidence of his connection was reflected on the betting boards. He steadily climbed to the top of the charts as the runners were about to be flagged-off from the mile marker. With B Mahesh in the saddle, Magnitude Star cruised into the lead and set  a strong pace ahead of Zermatt and Greyconnection. The order remained exactly the same as they tackled the first half mile of their journey and began to turn for home. Racing towards the centre of the track, the leader was still a couple of lengths ahead of his nearest challengers. While Greyconnection ducked towards the inner rails, Zermatt tried his best by moving fast on the wide outside. However, neither of them really looked threatening at that stage. Magnitude Star refused to get tired and was strong enough to complete the rest of the formalities. Greconnection and Zermatt continued to hold second and third, while I Say appeared very late on the scene to end a commendable fourth. She was noticed doing some exceptional work in the closing stages of this race, and this Darius trainee is likely to pick up a similar race before the end of the season.

A class II sprint was the only other race in the day’s card. Since this event was reserved for horses aged five years old and over, there were a number of them that seemed to have a realistic chance of landing the spoils. On the basis of their past performances, Rich Celebration, Will Star and Valahak were marginal favourites in this race. It was expected to be a close affair as most of them had been figuring next to each other in recent starts. Virat led the eleven horse field from the start and continued to stay there till the bend. The chasing pack was headed by Will Star and Catamaran, while Frenemee and Clever Trick graced the rear. The field was closely grouped at the top of the straight and it was tough to figure out who was traveling better than the other ? This question was answered in the final furlong. Under some strong riding from Srinath, the B Puttanna trained Will Star emerged from the pack and  stormed towards the winning post. He finally won with complete ease from a late rushing Frenemee, Smooth Glider, Valahak and a tired Virat. All four of them ended within whispering distance of each other, and had to be separated with the use of digital technology.