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Mysore Winter Season Ends with a Long Card

By Pearcey | 28 Feb 2008 | MYSORE


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Racegoers may want to forget the Mysore Winter Season 2007-08, because of the unpredictable nature of the sport at this centre. Racing is never predictable but form and fitness are indicators that help a punter in making a choice at most racing centres in the world. The mini-seasons at Mysore, both winter and summer, are basically held to accommodate older horses which have been relocated from Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad after they complete their racing careers at the parent centres and attain the age of six. It is common knowledge that race horses perform at their best till the age of five, after which there is a steady decline in their form. It is these older horses which occupy the majority of the 400 odd stables available at Mysore. It is these older horses who compete against each other, week after week, and throw up results which are contrary to expectations. The just concluded Mysore Winter Season proved this point emphatically. This season was disastrous for punters. The race card on most days was well filled and it was not uncommon to see many horses being balloted out because of an excess of acceptors. The trainers who raced primarily for stake money were quite satisfied, because it was a great opportunity for old horses to get a shot at earning their corn bill. It was the connections of the gambling stables who were taken to the cleaners because of their inability to gauge their opposition. They could never be sure when an older opponent may decide to gallop and take them by surprise. Racecourses all over the world have punters, who wait in the betting rings and wait for smart money to start flowing in a certain direction before putting their hands in their own pockets. It was this group of people who were the worst sufferers during this season. Most "Gambles" went wrong, and the bookmakers had a great time during the said period. Darashah and Gnaneshwar won the professional championships by a widening margin. Darashah has the distinct advantage of housing a young lot of horses in his yard. It is comparatively easier for him to bring out the best in his wards and win races for his patrons. This hard-working trainer has to manage and deliver results at both Bangalore and Mysore, and that is not easy because racing is held concurrently at both centres. Gnaneshwar has been riding well and his association with Darashah's stable was a big advantage for him. He was patronised by many other trainers who recognised his abilities in the saddle. The concluding day's racing was no different compared to the rest of the season. Only one favourite obliged in a long card of ten events. Many king-sized gambles went for a toss. The punters were busy trying to recoup their losses by wagering more and more on successive races, but realised the futility of this exercise only after the damage had been done. The result of the first race set the standard for the rest of the day. Princess Chand was backed as a good thing but refused to raise a gallop, as Get Gorgeous was seen getting the better of Smile Again and romping home for an easy victory. Get Gorgeous was easily backable at 100/1 in the betting ring. The next three races were also framed for horses in the lowest class and were quite uneventful in terms of the action on the track. Roto Rooa, Bossy Boss and Aaja Aaja were the unfancied winners of these races. The fifth race provided relief for the racegoers as public choice Satin Slipper was seen running away from the rest. Rajesh was able to get Satin Slipper into a comfortable third position as Dare You Say made the early running from Witch Doctor and brought the field into view. The moment Rajesh relaxed his hold and asked the filly for acceleration, the response was immediate and the favourite bounded away for an easy victory. Satin Slipper passed the winning post a couple of lengths ahead of Dare You Say and Witch Doctor. There was huge support for Time Is Precious in the next race. It is amazing to note that Time Is Precious has been backed down to favouritism on every single occasion that Monappa has decided to run his charge during the season. Time Is Precious was backed down to even money but was not sighted during the race. It languished at the tail end of the field as Berkeley Square scored an overdue victory ahead of One Good Thing and Rain God. Apprentice Shoaib Md rode an understanding race on this Qureshi trained horse. The feature event in the day’s card was the upper division of the Ansbach Trophy. This sprint race saw the last outing run away winner Assaye being installed as the first favourite. There was a spurt of betting on Suleman Pasha who had lost as a short priced favourite in his last outing because of a burst blood vessel. These two horses reached the starting gates as joint favourites. The race itself saw the two of them fighting it out with Suleman Pasha finding it difficult to match strides with Assaye in the straight. It was at this stage that Zooming came with giant strides on the wide outside and swept away from them. Zooming had failed in the hands of Appu and Chisty in his last two outings. Trainer Warren Singh had decided to change tactics and claimed a 5-kg allowance on this occasion. Apprentice Gautam Raj helped Warren lift this trophy. The day’s proceeding ended with jockey Chandrasekhar riding a double in the last two races of the season. He was associated with the victories of Pleaser and Red Emblem. Both the victories were gained by coming from the back. Pleaser got the better of Victory Queen and Father's Glory. Golden Flowers was an unfortunate runner in this race as it was knocked around during the race and was only a length behind the winner at the end. Red Emblem was able to come from behind and get the better of a run away Turbanator who shortened his strides in the last furlong. Snow Leopard came with a long stretch run to pip Turbanator for second place. Chandrasekhar joined trainer Sajid Qureshi who had earlier saddled a double and the two of them shared the professional honours for the day.