JOIN USSun Kingdom, to be ridden by Richard Hughes and trained by Irfan Ghatala, for all practical purposes, will be the favourite for the Derby on Republic Day. “The horse is looking well and I’m quite confident of finishing on top,” a confident looking Ghatala said.
Hughes, who rode Moonlight Romance to victory over Sun Kingdom in the Summer Derby last year, will be riding the colt for the first time but Ghatala feels that it will not be a problem. “Not at all. Hughes is experienced and he is one of the best in the business. So the fact that he is riding Sun Kingdom for the first time should not be a concern.”
Sun Kingdom might be the cynosure but the result won’t be quite as foregeone a conclusion as Becket’s victory was in last year’s derby. Kilimanjaro, a temperamental colt, can give the favourite a run for his money. The Padmanabhan-ward will be ridden by seasoned jockey David Allan and on his day can be a concern for any opponent.
“I think my horse has what it takes to win the Derby. The staying power is there and I’m quite confident of doing well,” Padmanabhan, winner with Becket in last year’s Derby, said.
Another horse that looks good on paper and could be right up there is the Ganapathy-trained String Along. Winner of two classics in Mysore and Hyderabad, String Along is capable of coming up with another Classic victory.
A Vijay Mallya-owned horse will always be up there in the running and this time, Airplay, schooled by Jaggy Dhariwal, could fetch the liqour baron another Classic triumph. Chris Hayes, who will ride Airplay, felt the horse’s staying power could cause concern in the 2400M race. “If he can go the distance, then I’m sure that we are in with a chance. He has never run this distance before,” Hayes said.
The other horses will be long shots at best. There will also be plenty of prizes on offer for the punters, with the one predicting the top-four Derby finishers in with a chance to win a Maruti Swift Desire car, Hyundai i10 and Karizma bikes among other prizes.
The card
1. TeD Fordyce Cup (terms, 3 years old) -- 1200m: 1.00 pm
1. Ben Ten (D Byramji) 55 S De Sousa 8
2. Arabian Gold (Dhariwal) 55 Gallagher 3
3. Speck In The Sky (Prithviraj) 55 PS Chouhan 6
4. Own Empire (Ganapathy) 55 A Imran K 1
5. Hillsbord (I Ghatala) 55 R Hughes 7
6. Shoot Out (S Attaollahi) 55 CD Hayes 2
7. Simply Best (A M’galorkar) 53.5 S John 5
8. Rhythmic Dancer (N’yana Gowda) 53.5 I Chisty 4
Shoot Out 1; Hillsbord 2; Simply Best 3.
2. Vidhana Soudha Cup (Div ii, rated 40-65) -- 1400m: 1.35 pm
1. Mr Ambassador (Lokanath) 62 I Chisty 5
2. Youre Kiss’s Due (Pradeep) 61 T Bernard 7
3. Kripa (JS Pillay) 56.5 P Mulrennan 10
4. Savvy Concept (Mangalorkar) 55.5 S John 9
5. Prashastha (Prithviraj) 53.5 Jagadeesh 1
6. Mystere (S Komandur) 52.5 Vivek 4
7. Super Spectacle (S Narredu) 52.5 Suraj Narredu 6
8. True Impression (Mahesh) 52.5 Appu 2
9. Vayuputra (Dominic) 52 Khurshad A 3
10. Yamaguchi (Amit Caddy) 52 Md Shafiq 8
Super Spectacle1; Mr Ambassador2; Kripa 3.
3. indian republic trophy (rated 60-85) -- 2000m: 2.10 pm
1. Camelot (Dhariwal) 61.5 Nausad Alam 5
2. Cavalry Charge (S Attaollahi) 59 CD Hayes 2
3. The Last Samurai (D Byramji) 58 Suraj Narredu 1
4. Lush Lashes (A M’galorkar) 58 S John 3
5. Sweet Caroline (S Attaollahi) 51.5 M Kumar 4
Cavalry Charge 1; The Last Samurai 2; Sweet Caroline 3.
4. N R C E cup (rated 20-45)-- 1200m: 2.45 pm
1. Royal Surprise (Amit Caddy) 62.5 VR DeSousa 1
2. Enduring Speed (Britto) 62 R Bharath 12
3. Sky Glider (A M’galorkar) 62 R Hughes 11
4. Elusive Speed (S Narredu) 61.5 Appu 9
5. Star Of Desire (Hidayat K) 60.5 N Rajesh 10
6. Gurujosh (Md Khan) 59 C’ndrasekar 3
7. Man United (Sharat K) 56 Ramesh Kumar 4
8. Tribal Queen (Inayathulla) 56 Vivek 8
9. The First Bullet (Mangalorkar) 53.5 Gopal Rao 5
10. Gold Tern (Prithviraj) 53 PS Chouhan 2
11. A Game To Remember (Warren S) 52.5 Gautam Raj 7
12. Beautiful Dancer (N’yana Gowda) 52.5 Md Shafiq 6
Elusive Speed 1; Enduring Speed 2; Royal Surprise 3.
5. vidhana soudha cup (div i, rated 40-65) -- 1400m: 3.20 pm
1. Cash Is King (Amit Caddy) 62.5 VR DeSousa 2
2. Redshift (Lokanath) 62.5 I Chisty 6
3. Saddle Queen (Dhariwal) 62.5 R Vaibhav 5
4. Spark Of Solitaire (Pradeep) 61 P Mani 8
5. Table Mountain (Md Khan) 60.5 C’ndrasekar 3
6. Brunetta (I Ghatala) 60 Suraj Narredu 9
7. Modern Art (Padmanabhan) 58.5 David Allan 4
8. Luckynumberslevin (Hidayat K) 57 Vivek 1
9. Voice Of India (Sharat K) 57 S John 7
Saddle Queen 1; Brunetta 2; Modern Art 3.
6. mysore race club trophy (4 years old and above) -- 1600m: 3.55 pm
1. Aboline (A M’galorkar) 61 C Alford 6
2. Splendid Surprise (Mahesh) 57 Vinod Shinde 1
3. Spearhead (S Attaollahi) 56.5 CD Hayes 2
4. Criminal Lawyer (I Ghatala) 55 R Hughes 5
5. Firezone (I Ghatala) 55 Suraj Narredu 7
6. Atlantus (Sharat K) 55 I Chisty 4
7. Couleur Rouge (Dhariwal) 52 S De Sousa 3
Criminal Lawyer 1; Couleur Rouge 2; Aboline 3.
7. VIF bangalore derby (grade i, 4 years old and above) -- 2400m: 4.30 pm
1. Astounding Gallop (A M’galorkar) 57 S John 11
2. Fist Of Rage (Babu Rao) 57 Daniel Grant 4
3. Braavo (D Byramji) 57 S De Sousa 9
4. Unleashed (D Byramji) 57 C Alford 3
5. Airplay (Dhariwal) 57 CD Hayes 1
6. Sunnys Secret (Faraz Arshad) 57 McLaughlin 6
7. Sun Kingdom (I Ghatala) 57 R Hughes 2
8. Business Tycoon (withdrawn) -- --- --
9. Deep Blue Sky (S Narredu) 57 Appu 14
10. Rezoom (Neil Darashah) 57 P Mulrennan 15
11. Kilimanjaro (Padmanabhan) 57 David Allan 10
12. Spark Of Atan (Pradeep) 57 P Mani 5
13. Dante Rossetti (Shyam S Habbu) 57 B Prakash 7
14. Mark Of Genius (Warren S) 57 PS Chouhan 8
15. String Along (Ganapathy) 55.5 A Imran K 12
16. Spark Of Desire (Pradeep) 55.5 VR DeSousa 13
Sun Kingdom 1; Kilimanjaro 2; String Along.
8. nethravathi trophy (rated 20-45) -- 1400m: 5.10 pm
1. Dance N Celebrate (Amit Caddy) 62.5 VR DeSousa 1
2. Black Super Star (Warren S) 60.5 P Mani 6
3. Sunset Grill (I Ghatala) 60.5 Suraj Narredu 4
4. Athabasca Star (S Attaollahi) 59 CD Hayes 5
5. Stud Muffin (Lokanath) 57 Gopal Rao 8
6. Snow Peaks (Mangalorkar) 55.5 Vivek 10
7. War Artist (Dominic) 54 Khurshad A 2
8. Bon Giorno (Dhariwal) 53 Gallagher 11
9. Segomo (Mahesh) 53 Vinod Shinde 9
10. Sukanti (Prithviraj) 52.5 Md Shafiq 12
11. Youre Chilubuli (Pradeep) 51.5 T Berbard 7
12. Attaturk (Sharat K) 50.5 Nassar Alam 3
Sunset Grill 1; Athabasca Star 2; Dance N Celebrate 3.
9. swaranamukhi stakes (3 years old) -- 1100m: 5.50 pm
1. Hackett (Amit Caddy) 55 VR DeSousa 3
2. Summer Sun (Amit Caddy) 55 S Babu 11
3. Free Law (A M’galorkar) 55 S John 9
4. Ultimate Fantasy (Britto) 55 Khurshad A 4
5. Samajdaar (Nityanand) 55 Vivek 6
6. Sunday Cruz (Prithviraj) 55 S DeSousa 12
7. Perfect Speed (Sharat K) 55 Vinod Shinde 8
8. Heart Of Gold (N’yana Gowda) 55 Gopal Rao 5
9. Ability (Warren S) 55 PS Chouhan 10
10. Mi Amor (Dhariwal) 53.5 Gallagher 1
11. Free Styler (Ganapathy) 53.5 A Imran K 2
12. Unique Show (Lokanath) 53.5 I Chisty 7
Sunday Cruz 1; Free Law 2; Ability 3.
Day’s best: Sunset Grill. Double: Super Spectacle and Elusive Speed. Jackpot: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Mini-jackpot: 3, 5, 7, 9.
I treble: 2, 4, 5. II treble: 6, 7, 8. Exacta pool: 4, 7, 8, 9.