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

SAFFRON ART ETCHES OUT HARD-FOUGHT VICTORY

By Mahendra Mallya | 29 Aug 2021 | HYDERABAD


Five of the eight races slated for the day saw close finishes and overall form held good through the day although a couple of prime favourites bit the dust.

Laxman Singh trained Saffron Art (Lord Admiral – Track Lightning) put up a dazzling show making the advantage of the scales count while scoring a hard win, warding off stiff challenge from tote favourite Scramjet and Mirana in a thrilling three-way fight to the finish.

It was Her Legacy who led the field; and while Mirana and Saffron Art were in the mid-bunch, Scramjet found himself at the rear end of the field, but not too far away from the action. Her Legacy guided the field into the straight and had to work hard to stay in contention. However, when the challengers came up to her, she wilted away far too quickly.

Mirana got past the leader and led briefly as Saffron Art and Scramjet moved up at the same juncture to challenge the new leader. These three were abreast with just over 100 meters to go, making for an exciting finish. Saffron Art, with Ajit Singh in the saddle, finished with a good final burst to stay ahead at the winning post to win by half a length from Scramjet and Mirana, a head separating the latter pair. Crazy Horse ran on to take the fourth spot.

Trainer Deshmukh and jockey P Trevor combined to dish out a double earlier in the day. They first struck with Due Diligence (Varenar – Thiella) to beat hot favourite NRI Sun in the Bhishma Plate, the filly scoring her second win on the trot.

Friendless NRI Blue shot into the lead in the early stages and managed to stay on for much longer than expected. While Due Diligence was in the mid-pack, NRI Sun was a tad lethargic in the early strides and raced in the rear for the first half of the race.

NRI Blue had a handy lead on turning for home and led them deep into the straight. While Stud Poker faded out without a fight, Due Diligence switched lanes to get a clear run. NRI Sun made gradual progress and made his final bid from the centre of the track. He was not too far behind Due Diligence when they got involved in a neck-to-neck battle. Both Trevor and Akshay atop NRI Sun rode their hearts out in a keen battle with Due Diligence eventually getting the measure of the favourite. Due Diligence won by half a length from NRI Sun, while NRI Blue fell back by over four lengths to finish third.

Deshmukh and Trevor then combined again to see Lifetime (Varenar – Look Over) achieve her maiden success on her 12th start. Settling into second after the jump, Lifetime followed Gusty Note into the straight and set about the chase. Gusty Note had a useful lead which he held-on to until into the final furlong. Lifetime, by then, had warmed up well and soon began to eat up ground briskly to surge past the leader and establish a winning lead. Four One Four and Beauty on Parade charged in late as Lifetime sealed the issue well away from the post to win untroubled. Four One Four finished a good second just ahead of Beauty on Parade.

Sequeira trained Top Diamond (Top Class – Yokumoku) made an impressive debut beating a set of more experienced maidens to win the Red Rum Plate Division II with a measure of comfort.

Top Diamond, ridden by Akshay Kumar settled in fourth initially a couple of lengths behind leader Quality Warrior and Joy O Joy until into the straight. Quality Warrior galloped on to stay in contention, but Top Diamond soon began to track him down. Akshay got the dark bay gelding to quicken approaching the distance post and once he found his rhythm, Top Diamond cruised past Joy of Joy and Quality Warrior to score in a dominant fashion. He won by close to three lengths bringing up his maiden win in style. Quality Warrior took the runner-up berth well ahead of Joy O Joy.

General Atlantic (Smuggler’s Cove – Sine Qua Non) galloped to his maiden win on his fourth start, showing considerable improvement over his previous three runs. He was up in third as Sharp Mind led them into the straight. Jockey B Nikhil soon went after the leader and shot ahead to amass a handy lead. Arya, Kimberley failed to quicken and the challenge was brewing from the two fancied runner Reining Queen and Spectacular Cruise. Reining Queen got too close for comfort, but General Atlantic showed resolve until the very last stride to hold off the threat and score by half a length. Reining Queen lacked the experience and should bring her on to be more effective the next time. Spectacular Cruise too showed a bit of spark but could not keep the tempo going all the way.

Mystery (Corporate Jungle – My Mood) behaved at the gates and reaped rich rewards. He had a history of being withdrawn at the gates more than once, but this time everything fell in place for the Prasad Raju trainee.

Loch Stella went for the lead soon after settling down with NRI Magic in pursuit. Mystery too was up with the front running duo as they turned for home. Even before NRI Magic could shift gears, Mystery sped ahead soon in the straight and worked up a good pace. NRI Magic took time to warm up and that gave enough time for Mystery to build on the lead. Mystery had a cushion of more than two lengths in the final furlong and he had the momentum to stave off the late threat to win by half a length from NRI Magic. Angel Tesoro improved positions to finish in the money, knocking off Explosive and Loch Stella by a narrow margin.

City of Bliss (Green Coast – City of Destiny), trained by Sreekant, was another one to score back to back victories on the day after Due Diligence. Following Ashwa Jauhar into the straight, City of Bliss cruised ahead to a sizable lead leaving the rest to catch up. Amyra could not progress along the rails at a crucial juncture and had to skirt around Ashwa Jauhar for a clear run. That cost her dearly as she charged in late to challenge City of Bliss, but jockey Mukesh Kumar rode out aggressively to ensure victory even as Amyra got closer in the last few strides. City of Bliss won by a neck from Amyra. Show Me Your Walk could not repeat her winning performance and ended a tame third.   

Robin Reddy trained Hurricane (Green Coast – Destiny) rose to the occasion after a series of ordinary performances to score an emphatic victory to churn out a hefty three-figure pay-out at the tote windows. Hurricane was out quickly and dashed to the lead before Elegant Stroke took over. Hurricane did not wait too long once they entered the homestretch and dashed ahead leading the leader behind. Secret Command, the hot favourite simply could not quicken and looked beat surprisingly early. That left Hurricane all alone in front and jockey Abhay Singh rode the six-year-old confidently to score by a healthy margin. Arcadian Angel, who was up with the front runners, gained positions to finish second. Hashtag improved considerably to take the third spot after being the last one to turn for home.            

For the professionals, trainer LVR Deshmukh and jockey P Trevor scored a double each.