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Zooming Wins in a Blanket Finish

By Pearcey | 02 Jul 2008 | MYSORE


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Racegoers were treated to a splendid finish in a sprint event held for the highest rated horses at Mysore on Wednesday. This was the highlight in an otherwise very ordinary card of seven races framed during the afternoon. Twelve well-performed horses faced the starter, with many of them having a realistic chance of winning this race. Last outing’s runaway winner Tantrik was the obvious first favourite, and was fancied because of his blistering early speed and low handicap. Satin Slipper, Miami Gold, Laguna Blue and Zooming were quietly backed by their respective connections. Tantrik set a scorching pace ahead of Laguna Blue, Satin Slipper and Miami Gold while the rest of the field was being niggled to stay in touch with the frontrunners. Tantrik started to shorten his strides as they approached the final furlong, and began to drift out under pressure. Shoban Babu, on Laguna Blue, decided to take the run on the rails, while Satin Slipper and Miami Gold were switched towards the outer portion of the track. With Tantrik continuing to shift out and impeding the run of the horses on his outside, Laguna Blue became the main beneficiary and took a firm grip on this race. It was at this stage that Zooming and Regal Music decided to change gears, and the duo came with raking strides through the middle of the field. Zooming, Regal Music, Laguna Blue and Satin Slipper finished in close order. Less than one length separated the first four runners. The last named was unlucky to lose this race, considering the fact that she had been the victim of an interference at a very crucial juncture of this race. Apprentice Gautam Raj rode this winner for trainer Warren Singh. The day's racing witnessed a double each by trainer Sajid and jockey Melvyn. They combined to score with a five year-old horse called Dom Perignon. He was seen sporting bandages in the parade ring and was set to take on a couple of three year-olds. Fit For Fray was backed down to odds-on favouritism, while the odds against Hi Hennessy drifted to 5/1. Worth A Diamond showed the way to Dom Perignon while the pair of Fit For fray and Hi Hennessy were racing in close order. With Worth A Diamond beginning to send distress signals and Fit For Fray not responding to the pounding from Christopher, the finish was confined to Dom Perignon and Hi Hennessy. Melvyn was able to guide the former to an easy victory over Hi Hennessy. With this victory, Melvyn completed a quick double for the day, since he had won the previous race with Sincerity. New Edge was the shortest priced runner for the day, but he was in no mood to gallop today. Gnaneshwar took him to the front, but New Edge was quick to pack-up when he was challenged by Sincerity and Hidden Pleasures. Sincerity galloped strongly and scored an effortless victory ahead of Hidden Pleasures. Callidora came with a late run to finish third. This filly should be supported strongly in her next start. New Edge finished a faraway fifth and should be left alone till he comes down in the ratings. The rest of the runners were far behind at the finish. Sajid completed his brace with Windsor Square. After a good run in the higher class, Sajid decided to run Windsor Square in the lower class. He decided to take 4 kgs off his back by declaring apprentice Praveen to ride him. While Stornoway opened as the first favourite, a late surge of money on Father's Glory saw the two of them reach the starting gates as the joint market leaders. Glint Revelation and Stornoway made the early running and were closely followed by Windsor Square, Fathers Glory and Much More on the wide outside. Windsor Square was full of running and was seen to be travelling the best of the lot. He made use of an opening through the middle to romp home as an easy winner of this race. Father's Glory and Stornoway filled the frame. The connections of Father's Glory decided to lodge an objection against the winner. It seemed like a last ditch effort to save their money. The Stewards did not waste much time in overruling this objection. There was only one trophy event during the afternoon. This was the D Gopalaraj Urs Memorial Cup for horses in the lowest class. This seven-furlong race was split into two divisions. The upper division was won by the Bobby trained Vertical Limit. Anil decided to take a good jump on the winner and tucked him behind the front running Ametrine. He took Vertical Limit to the front at the 400 metres marker and was never headed thereafter. One Good Thing plodded on to be second ahead of a late finishing Celerity. The lower division saw a huge gamble being landed on Queen Of Speed. This Kamath trainee was backed to the exclusion of his rivals and with jockey Nazim in the saddle, skipped away for an easy win over a very moderate set of horses. Wolf and Prettyyashyashvini were able to save place money. The day's proceedings came to an end with another emphatic victory for the last outing winner Gypsy's Advise. The early morning favourite for this race, Gold Grid was declared a non-starter. This resulted in Outoforder and Gypsy's Advise cornering most of the support. The race itself was a "no contest", as Rajesh ridden Gypsy's Advise treated her opponents with disdain and strode away for an easy victory. She clocked a top-class timing while registering this win. This filly is in terrific form and should be followed till beaten. Outoforder was heavily punished to finish marginally ahead of a bandaged Demanding.