In racing, one needs to grab the first opportunity that knocks on the door and not open the door when the horse has bolted. Simply put, most pundits and old hats in the game will tell you that one needs to make most when the horse is in form rather than wait to pull of a successful gamble.  

This again came true in the case of Our Little Dragon from the stables of Warren Singh.  On the opening day of the winter season, the in-form Our Little Dragon was best placed to score in a event won by Air Dancer. Warren in no mood to go for it chose to declare Adarsh to guide the fortunes of Our Little Dragon preferring to wait and take his chance on the final maidens event for three-year-olds. His decision helped Air Dancer shed his maiden status while Zulfiqar finished second ahead of Our Little Dragon on the first day of the season.

After three weeks Warren entered Our Little Dragon in the Kentucky Plate and  this time out the leading pro Srinath was declared to pilot the youngster before Suraj Narredu partnered the Warren ward after Srinath opted out on medical grounds.  Warren was confident and more importantly he was immensely pleased with the (5/1) price quoted on Our Little Dragon.  His connections went bang bang in the ring without realising that Suleiman Attaollahi had an ace up his sleeve. The debutant Hendrix who had impressed most in the morning trials and was rated highly by his owner Marthand Mahindra donkey-licked Our Little Dragon.  The winner from the Kunigal Stud Farm is a class one material and it will pay to follow his career graph this season.   Our Little Dragon continues to be a maiden and this is largely due to the fact that he was not provided the chance when he was begging for one and instead was asked to take on a very talented colt who detonated his rivals the moment the field negotiated the final curve.

 Unlike Warren, trainer Arjun Manglorkar made no mistake providing the right time and space for the in-form Austin to complete a hat-trick of wins in the Kempegowda Cup after the speedy customer had chalked out two straight wins in the summer season. The judiciously prepared Austin looked fresh and justified his top billing in the hands of leading pro Suraj Narredu who back after a successful stint in Macau recorded a fine treble. It was good to see Valerian jump out of the gates level and now that he has shed his bad gate manners, the speedy customer who has joined Darius Byramji’s yard will earn his corn bill in the weeks ahead.  

Suraj opened his account in the upper division of the Dharwar Plate, guiding home the favourite Miracles Of Life to a convincing victory. The Inayathullah ward who had impressed most while finishing a game second behind Fourth Dimension in her last essay delighted her supporters producing a winning gallop at the distance post to put the issue beyond doubt in the final furlong. Hidden Hero caught the eye while finishing a creditable second and he is ready to enter the winners’ circle the moment  he gets a green signal from his connections.

Suraj next produced his best on another Suleiman winner Star Of Destiny who after a ding-dong battle with the favourite Connemara gained the day close home. The runner-up, it must be mentioned, in defeat was not disgraced and lives to fight another day . Bazinga was one other in the 10-horse field in the Kalinadi Plate who was quietly fancied but the Narayan Gowda ward lacked the class to match strides with the top two and had to rest content with the third spot.

After a lung opener on the opening day, the Prithviraj camp fancied Secret Launch   strongly in the opening event. What was considered a perfect launch pad proved a big disaster, the favourite failing t o finish in the frame while the second in demand at the betting ring Speedstress from Darius Byramji’s yard romping home to the delight of her supporters.  Classy Gestures from his father’s yard impressed most while finishing an easy third in the hands of Vinod Shinde and is one for the not e book. Secret Launch, it is no secret is a dud and is best left ignored.

Belle Pinky who had promised much but delivered little before she was sold recorded a shock victory in the Planetarium Plate run over a sprint. Now that the winner has broken ice, Bella Pinky is poised to record an encore when saddled next.

After his suggestive effort in his last essay, the Azhar Ali-trained Spanish Fly garnered the maximum support in the Antaragange Plate run over a distance of seven furlongs but the favourite only managed to finish third behind the winner Hillton and the runner-up Ice Kingdom who appears to have improved most. Both the winner and the second placed horses are not the genuine type and hence it will pay to omit them from the list of horses to watch in the season.

Arjun Manglorkar who is enjoying a good run under the winter sun was most satisfied with the effort of promising Yash Narredu who in a never-say-die effort packed punch on Stimulate to edge out Assiduous closes home in the T B Hanumantharaj Memorial Cup.  Beauty Of Truth who surprisingly was installed the overwhelming favourite continued to disappoint while Ace Lexington for more reasons than one was never in the hunt.