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

Ice Mint Completes a Superb Hat-trick

By Pearcey | 23 Oct 2010 | MYSORE


Mr. Ajith Prasad & Sharat Kumar leading Ice Mint (S Chandrashekar Up), winner of The Gool & Soli Poonawalla Memorial Gold Trophy

Trainer Sharat Kumar's ability to transform well-bred discards from bigger stables into galloping machines was on display once again at the Mysore races on Saturday. Almost every year, a horse trained by him begins his or her journey towards the top of the rating charts, and reaches there within a short period of time. It is easy to remember the heroics of Lionheart and Atlantus. The two horses were struggling in Class IV before coming to Sharat's yard, but once they started winning with him, there was nothing that would stop them.

The story of Ice Mint (Placerville - Shalaya) is almost similar. The original owners had paid a princely sum to acquire him at the age of two. They entered him in almost every single Classic, as they had thought the world of him. However, Ice Mint failed repeatedly and was declared a "dud” by his trainer. It was soon put up for sale, and was acquired by Sharat for one of his owners. In less than six months, he was successful in transforming this horse into a galloping goldmine.

Ice Mint won his third straight start at Mysore on Saturday and rightfully claimed the title of "the horse of the season". On all three occasions, the connections have supported him with confidence and sent him out as a firm favourite to win the race. It was a similar story in The Gool & Soli Poonawalla Memorial Gold Trophy, the feature on the first day of the Derby Weekend at Mysore. It happened to be a mile and a quarter handicap for horses in Class II. The nine runners were closely matched and most of them were coming into this race with fairly good credentials.

African Sky, Ice Mint and The Darling Boy were bidding to complete their respective hat-tricks. All three of them had scored their first career victories during the current season, and were improving with each run. The Last Samurai was another one to merit attention. He was the only one amongst them who had won a race in this Class a couple of weeks ago. Since the margin of victory had been small, The Last Samurai had escaped with a light penalty. The bookmakers were taken aback to see the confidence of the Ice Mint camp. They started backing their runner at 7/4 and continued to do so till he reached odds-on favouritism.

There was no doubt that this Chandrasekhar-ridden horse was looking the part in the paddock. The race started on an eventful note. African Sky reared up at the start and dislodged her rider, while The Last Samurai took a lethargic jump and lost a few lengths at the start. A bunch of no-hopers led by Lowndes Square and Table Mountain showed the way to The Darling Boy and the others as a closely packed field made its way through the first half of their journey. Ice Mint was second last with only one behind him, and that was The Last Samurai. The supporters of the favourite were showing signs of nervousness, as they watched Chandrasekhar gracing the rear. The runners began to bunch up near the final bend and it was obvious that the leaders had shot their bolt. The Darling Boy came from mid-division and made his move towards the rails. Always For You challenged through the middle, and moved menacingly towards the wire.

However, it was Ice Mint who looked the best of the lot. Chandrasekhar produced him on the wide outside and asked him to quicken. He responded gamely and skipped away from the others. The rider had the luxury of easing him much before he reached the winning post. The victory over The Darling Boy, Always For You and Lowndes Square was more comprehensive than what was suggested by the official result. The other highlight of the afternoon was the performance of Ganapathy's Elite Land.

This well-bred (Alnasr Alwasheek-Ramjet) gelding had failed in his numerous efforts to emerge from the maiden ranks. The trainer had persisted in running him over a sprint, and the horse had repeatedly flopped after going to the front. It must be mentioned that he seldom failed to figure on the board. The Hyderabad Race Club Gold Cup was a terms race for maiden three-year olds. The seven-furlong trip was expected to be too long for the Ganapathy-trainee. Most of the money chased the pair of Don Diego and Rising Queen.

Even though both had let down their supporters in their earlier starts, they were known to be comfortable over the extended trip. Ashhad Asbar wasted little time in taking the favourite Don Diego to the front and set a fair pace ahead of Smart Exotic till the bend. John had a tough time urging second favourite Rising Queen to gain momentum, but the filly was in no mood to quicken. It was a bit strange to see Imran Khan and Elite Land at the back. The pair of them was totally oblivious to the happenings in front, and was content to run their own race. What happened in the final stages of the race was quite unexpected.

Elite Land, who normally gets tired in the straight, suddenly discovered immense reserves of energy. He came charging from the back and sailed away from Don Diego and Fantabulous Star. Now that Elite Land has shown his prowess over a longer trip, trainer Ganapathy may have a re-look at the future plans that he may have charted for this horse. Most of those in the beaten brigade are fairly ordinary, and may take some more time before entering the winner's enclosure.

A couple of shock results greeted racegoers in the two divisions of a seven-furlong race for horses in the lowest class. The two favourites Allegro and Passage of Time were beaten for eventual speed, and had to settle for the second spot. Allegro led from the start, and under the relentless riding of John, held sway till the last 50 metres. Trillion Win came charging towards him and beat him on the post. Rookie S Babu rode a winner after a fairly long interval, and the tote odds of 125/1 were on expected lines. The lower division saw the eclipse of the Bipin-trained Passage of Time.

The four-year old filly was unlucky to find Latin Twister running the best race of his career. Apprentice Vijay roused him to gallop at the end, and this somehow enabled him to hold a belated challenge from the fast finishing Passage Of Time. Tharun Thimmaih's Chronicle (Burden Of Proof – Cats Affair) scored a popular victory in the day's opener. This runner enabled apprentice Nausad Alam to complete riding ten winners. The boy is definitely the best talent amongst a large group of freshly licensed jockeys.

Alam took the even-money favourite to the front and led till the bend. He allowed the chasing pack of Sher Dil and Blue Thunder to come alongside after straightening for home. After giving Chronicle a breather and getting him on an even keel, Nausad Alam began his final charge. Chronicle responded gamely and cantered away from Sher Dil. The winner has been a gutsy performer after winning his first race during Bangalore Summer, and has the scope to improve from his present mark. Ganapathy's Golden Quest was an expensive failure in The Vasoo Group Gold Cup. The filly had lost to a much superior Spark Of Desire in her last start. Since she was meeting much weaker opposition today, the odds on her were fairly cramped. Imran Khan allowed her to settle behind the pair of Sweet Caroline and Foswell till the runners entered the straight.

The favourite came alongside the leader, but that was all she could do. Despite Imran's hammering, Golden Quest was unable to get the better of Sweet Caroline (Burden Of Proof – Sugarbird). In the hands of apprentice Kumar, Sweet Caroline maintained the momentum and lasted out to score a comfortable victory.

Md Khan's Dramatic Dancer (Eljohar – Ice Castle) came from an impossible position to win the upper division of The Setia Teknologi Cup. Running in her own age group, the filly was the beneficiary of a mock race on the local track. She received one-sided support to start as a clear favourite in this race. The connections had brought Deep Shanker from Hyderabad to guide her fortunes. This was the first time that he was sitting on the favourite. A certain amount of jostling and traffic congestion at the start saw Dramatic Dancer dropping through the field and gracing the rear.

Deep Shanker tried to improve his position as the race progressed, but was unable to do so. A lucky opening appeared near the distance post, and the stout-hearted filly charged through to take command of the situation. A small tap thereafter saw her going away from Turf Raider and Beauty On Duty. The winner is set to repeat on promotion.

The day ended with another popular victory for Prithviraj's Rich Radiant (Epicentre – All Heart). The John-ridden filly was receiving weight from Beautiful Life and Everyday Sunday. She had shown her liking for a staying trip by coming from the rear and storming ahead for a bloodless victory in the lower class. Prithviraj increased the distance by a couple of furlongs today, and ran her over a mile and a quarter. John chased Haggler till the bend before allowing Rich Radiant to go to the front. It was very easy thereafter. With the jockey waving his whip, the chestnut filly kept getting stronger and stronger. She wasn't unduly pressed to keep a late-finishing Beautiful Life at bay.