The fact that some of the youngsters who made smashing debuts in winter have gone of the boil and a couple who looked to be in the classic mould are finding it hard to cope with the slippery and tricky track has hit the leading professionals and punters hard.  The Mumbai champion Pesi Shroff  to his credit has one solitary victory, Admirality making a winning appearance before he suffered an injury on the training track and is now on the repair list.

Padmanabhan, who emerged champion here in winter has five winners including a couple of unfancied winners, former champion Irfan Ghatala who came back this summer after his year long suspension was struggling before he opened his account through Androstos on Saturday and the legendary Rashid Byramji is yet to open his account.

It is no secret that most big bettors punt big on horses from leading trainers who invariably have the best riding talent assisting them, be it Pesi Shroff or Padmanabhan  but with the leading guns shooting blanks, most favourite punters are in the red, scared to make the next big investment like a couple of horses who would prefer the comfort of the stable rather than risk their limbs on this treacherous track.

The jockeys are of the view that many seasoned campaigners are finding it difficult to come to terms with the surface and that’s one reason why many good horses are performing like duds.

In the Juvenile Sprinters’ Million, the Hyderabad challenger Vijays Joy, Marine One and Myrtlewood had their share of supporters. Bar Vijays Joy who went down fighting to Referent, Myrtlewood and Marine One were seen struggling to keep pace, clearly not enjoying the conditions.  The winner from Arvind Ganapathy’s yard who clocked a smart time 1:11.55 for the sprint trip infact had finished a poor third against lesser rated rivals in his last essay after winning the opening race of the season in style.

“On this track it is very difficult to win a sprint event however good you are if you are drawn badly.  Referent suffered from this in his last effort and one good study of the result book will reveal that 90 percent of the favourites drawn badly have lost badly,” said Arvind Ganapathy immensely pleased with his maiden million success.

Well the fact is that on this track one needs to be out in front to score. And the  speedy customers are at an advantage. On Sunday,  Jeyem’s Pride, Topaz, Royal Defence, Admiral Messi, Topspot and Whispering Pines  won start to finish, making it six pillar to post victories in the nine-event card.

“You need to make most of the draw and gain a favourable position early in the race to score on this dicey track,” said a former leading jockey pointing out that it has now become a big rush to get ahead at the start and that’s the reason many are consistently getting knocked out in the first furlong.

But one horse, Adolf from Dominic’s yard walked out of the gates and was seen racing detached last for most part of the seven furlongs journey for the Pendragon Trophy before he covered more than 25 lengths in the straight to finish close behind the winner Admiral Messi. The unlucky runner-up is in great heart and is a winner when next saddled.

Two Hyderabad horses earned winning bracket, one in the stewards room and another provided an encore. The lesser fancied That’s My Darling won after her rider Akshay Kumar successfully lodged an objection against the winner Starlet for coming across sharply and taking his ground in the upper division of the Smt.Bhagirathi Memorial Trophy,  while Whispering Pines from Leo D’Silva’s yard , a shock winner in his last essay  justified his topbilling in the Honeyday Plate.

The lower division produced a shock result, the eight to one shot Supreme Dominator from Rajesh Narredu’s yard upsetting the applecart of the hottest favourite of the day Dazzling Bay. The public rage, a facile last start winner, it is needless to mention performed below par and this made the task of Supreme Dominator easy at end.

Another eight  to one shot Topaz made every post a winning one in the Rare Gem Plate.  The Lokanath sprinted ahead from the first draw to gain control before Neeraj Rawal drove him out in the final furlong to peg back the effort of Priority who lost out  simply because she was drawn 12 in the 1100M trip. Priority should benefit most from this exacting exercise and it will pay to follow her when saddled next.

The Dominic schooled Royal Defence was backed to the exclusion of his nine rivals in the upper division of the Supervite Plate and the on-money favourite provided Imran Khan an arm-chair ride to success. On the strength of this victory Royal Defence appears a cinch when raced next.

The lower division of the event was claimed by the ten to one shot Jeyem’s Pride. The Puttanna ward in the hands of apprentice Hindu Singh held on to thwart the belated effort of Red Angel. I’ll Have One More caught the eye while finishing a close fourth and is one for the notebook.