JOIN USDerby crown within Alaindair's reach
The seventh race of the Bangalore Summer Season’s 18th day is the Kingfisher Derby, and one look at the 18 horses in the fray is enough to assume that any one of them could have a crack at bagging the top honours at the Bangalore Turf Club on Sunday.
While all the runners in the quality field are in the reckoning for a shot at the Rs 1,35,36,000 winner’s purse and a trophy worth Rs 1,25,000, a closer examination reveals there are a few that stand out -- even if by only a nose.
That difference in margin is dictated by the fact that some of them seem better equipped to last the 2000-metre race and also their ability to overcome soft underfoot conditions. The conditions -- a result of the persistant rains in the city over the last few weeks -- is also the very thing that narrows the gap between the three-year-olds vying for glory.
Underfoot conditions and stamina taken into account, Altamash Ahmed-ward Alaindair is the one most fancied to bag the second richest race of the Indian calendar. Challenging Alaindair will be Murioi and Starry Eyes, eager to have a big slice of the Rs 2,25,60,000 stake money, which is second only to the purse offered at the Indian Derby.
This is the first time that Alaindair will be running this distance but if his pedigree -- Ireland’s long-distance champion Multidimensional and God’s Grace -- is anything to go by, he will have a major say at the finish line from Gate 2 when the starters’ horn blows at 4.10 pm.
The other factors that put this Usha Stud Farm gelding ahead is his stunningly comfortable win in the Colts Championship Stakes (Grade I) a little less than a month ago and his familiarity with upcoming jockey A Sandesh.
Sandesh, who is from the hill station of Matheran in Maharashtra, is considered one of the most naturally gifted riders on the circuit.
He had guided underdog Borsalino to an upset win at last year’s Derby, pipping LVR Deshmukh’s highly fancied Machiavellianism and Tintinnabulation. This year Sandesh is astride a fancied horse and it will be interesting to see if he can manage to hold off the challengers.
“This track really suits the horse and I am hoping he does well tomorrow,” said Altamash, while Sandesh was more confident. “We will surely win this Derby,” he said.
Sandesh, however, will do well to guard against complacency and have a close eye on Murioi and Starry Eyes.
Murioi, who recently won the star-studded Poonawalla Multi-Million (Grade I) in Mumbai, has done well in the lead-up races, barring one disappointing fourth-place finish at the Indian Oaks. Coming from S Ganapathy’s stables and to be ridden by B Sreekanth, he stands a good chance, while Starry Eyes, Suraj Narredu up, is the filly on everyone’s tongue this season with several wins in her kitty.
While the top three in the field demand attention, there are a few in the line-up with ability to spring a surprise or two.
Legendary jockey and trainer P Shroff, who has two fillies and a colt in the fray, put his hopes on filly Amelia to come good. Amelia -- also Multidimensional’s off-spring -- has shown good form this year and it will be interesting to chart her progress.
Apart from Amelia, Deshmukh’s colt Fastest Finger, Ace Bucephalus and Scenic Warrior could also leave their mark.
“We are not very good in soft conditions. Decathlon won’t perform too well but I don’t think Fastest Finger would have too many problems,” Deshmukh said with a hint of regret from last year’s disappointment.
Hours away from one of the biggest races in the country, everything looks in order for a grand spectacle. However, there is little anyone can do should the heavens open up and gatecrash what is expected to be a brilliant Sunday afternoon.
RACE CARD
1. Mumbai Cup (Div II) (rated 60-85) 1400M, 12.45 pm
1. Deep Blue Sky (S Narredu) 60 Srinath 7
2. Absolute Majority (S Attaollahi) 58.5 S Zervan 3
3. Chronicle (Prasanna K) 58.5 S John 5
4. Courage In Red (Sharat K) 57.5 A Imran K 8
5. Rich Celebration (JS Pillay) 57 Neeraj Rawal 2
6. Decorated (Nityanand) 56 P Trevor 10
7. Own Asset (Ganapathy) 55.5 B Sreekanth 4
8. Lads Gladiator (Warren S) 53.5 I Chisty 9
9. Mr Ambassador (Lokanath) 53 Ashok Kumar 6
10. Samara Sun (Dhariwal) 53 PS Chouhan 1
Absolute Majority 1; Deep Blue Sky 2; Own Asset 3.
2. Hyderabad Cup (terms) 1200M, 1.15 pm
1. Ace Mesmerise (Dominic) 56 PS Chouhan 8
2. Chilli Vodka (S Komandur) 56 Dashrath S 10
3. Crown Emperor (S Attaollahi) 56 P Trevor 12
4. Manta Ray (Warren S) 56 P Mani 3
5. Riverdale (L D’Silva) 56 A Sandesh 7
6. Star Kingdom (S Narredu) 56 Suraj Narredu 4
7. Summerville (Samar Singh) 56 Noornabi 1
8. Tiger Eyes (Sharat K) 56 H Rathod 2
9. Impressive Mode (Sirajuddin) 54.5 Neeraj Rawal 9
10. Ruling Passions (Puttanna) 54.5 Ashok Kumar 11
11. Spiritofchartwell (D Byramji) 54.5 I Chisty 5
12. Vigorous (I Ghatala) 54.5 Ashhad Asbar 6
Star Kingdom 1; Riverdale 2; Spiritofchartwell 3.
3. Mysore Cup (Div I) (rated 20-45) 1400M, 1.50 pm
1. Summer Sun (Amit Caddy) 62.5 A Ramu 11
2. Super Start (S Narredu) 62.5 Suraj Narredu 15
3. Vocation (L D’Silva) 62.5 P Trevor 4
4. Absolute Red (I Ghatala) 62 A Qureshi 8
5. Loyal King (Prithviraj) 62 Noornabi 6
6. Prom Queen (Narayana Gowda) 59.5 Rajesh Babu 2
7. A Game To Remember (Warren S) 59 P Mani 1
8. Jeyem’s Pride (Puttanna) 59 Mudassar 3
9. Brownie (Lokanath) 58.5 Vinod Shinde 10
10. Princess Lara (Manohar) 58 Sahanawaz 7
11. Smokehead (Babu Rao) 58 Rajesh Kumar 5
12. Strike The Stars (Ganapathy) 56 B Sreekanth 14
13. Mr Charm (Pradeep) 53 AR Pradeep 13
14. Starstruck (Sharat K) 53 Mallikarjun 9
15. Calligraphy (JS Pillay) 51.5 N Rajesh 12
Strike The Stars 1; Absolute Red 2; Vocation 3.
4. Mumbai Cup (Div I) (rated 60-85) 1400M, 2.25 pm
1. Sky Train (S Narredu) 62.5 S Hussain 10
2. Equine Lover (Padmanabhan) 61 S John 2
3. Diamonite (I Ghatala) 60 Anjar Alam 3
4. Raphire (Inayathulla) 59.5 Vivek 9
5. Sudden Magik (Puttanna) 58.5 Mudassar 5
6. Magnitude Star (Sharat K) 58 A Imran K 11
7. Gun Salute (S Narredu) 57.5 Shahbuddin 8
8. Thoughts N Actions (Prasanna K) 57.5 B Harish 7
9. Foswell (D Byramji) 56 Srinath 1
10. Astounding Gallop (Lokanath) 54 Indrajeet S 6
11. Alcazaar (Dhariwal) 53 P Trevor 4
Alcazaar 1; Raphire 2; Diamonite 3.
5. Kolkata Cup (rated 80 & above) 1800M, 3.00 pm
1. Camorra (S Attaollahi) 61 Srinath 4
2. Sun Kingdom (I Ghatala) 61 Anjar Alam 9
3. Montezuma (Shroff) 58 S Zervan 2
4. Field Marshal (Padmanabhan) 57.5 S John 8
5. Mountain Range (S Narredu) 56 Suraj Narredu 5
6. Star Marquess (Ganapathy) 55 B Sreekanth 7
7. Yourewindsofchange (Pradeep) 54 Vivek 3
8. Maths Baby (Dhariwal) 52 Dashrath S 6
9. Auburn Beauty (Neil Darashah) 51 Neeraj Rawal 1
10. Lad Star (Warren S) 50.5 I Chisty 11
11. Ace Dancer (Padmanabhan) 50 A Sandesh 10
Montezuma 1; Mountain Range 2; Ace Dancer 3.
6. Ambrosia BTC Anniversary Cup (Grade II) (terms) 1400M, 3.35 pm
1. Machiavellianism (Deshmukh) 60 PS Chouhan 4
2. Immense (A Mangalorkar) 57.5 S John 9
3. Ancient Wonder (P Quinn) 56 Suraj Narredu 1
4. Speed Six (Padmanabhan) 55.5 P Trevor 8
5. Successor (Neil Darashah) 55 C Alford 10
6. Atlantus (Sharat K) 54.5 F Da’Silva 11
7. Indian Bolt (Inayathulla) 54.5 Gnaneshwar 5
8. Deja Vu (IA Sait) 54 Ashhad Asbar 6
9. Archibaldo (Prasanna K) 53.5 I Chisty 2
10. Klipspringer (Padmanabhan) 53 A Sandesh 7
11. Storm Tracker (Shroff) 53 S Zervan 3
Machiavellianism 1; Immense 2; Klipspringer 3.
7. Kingfisher Derby Bangalore (grade I) (terms) 2000M, 4.10 pm
1. Acclaimed (Shroff) 56 Srinath 6
2. Ace Bucephalus (Bipin VS) 56 F Da’Silva 13
3. Agostini (Dhariwal) 56 DK Ashish 7
4. Alaindair (Altamash A) 56 A Sandesh 2
5. Charlatan (S Attaollahi) 56 P Trevor 11
6. Czar Of Romance (Dominic) 56 A Imran K 4
7. Decathlon (Deshmukh) 56 PS Chouhan 17
8. Fastest Finger (Deshmukh) 56 Ashhad Asbar 14
9. Gerome (Shyam S Habbu) 56 Sean M Levey 15
10. Murioi (Ganapathy) 56 B Sreekanth 12
11. Scenic Warrior (Ganapathy) 56 I Chisty 18
12. Turf Striker (Md Khan) 56 S John 8
13. Amelia (Shroff) 54.5 S Zervan 16
14. Highraz (IA Sait) 54.5 Neeraj Rawal 3
15. Mariinsky (Shroff) 54.5 C Alford 1
16. Southern Sky (Ganapathy) 54.5 Deep Shanker 10
17. Starry Eyes (CD Katrak) 54.5 Suraj Narredu 9
18. Trance (IA Sait) 54.5 Dashrath S 5
Alaindair 1; Murioi 2; Starry Eyes 3.
8. Chennai Cup (rated 40-65) 1200M, 4.50 pm
1. Sweet Secret (Puttanna) 60 Mudassar 3
2. Frenemee (Babu Rao) 59.5 Rajesh Kumar 10
3. Light Of Success (Ganapathy) 56 B Sreekanth 8
4. Refreshed (I Ghatala) 55.5 I Chisty 2
5. Cash My Way (Inayathulla) 55 Vivek 12
6. Speedy Girl (Pradeep) 55 N Rajesh 4
7. Truman (D Byramji) 55 Sahanawaz 5
8. Diamond Quest (Prithviraj) 54 Jagadeesh 7
9. Santa Monica (L D’Silva) 54 P Trevor 1
10. Biutiful (Sirajuddin) 52.5 G Adarsh 9
11. Grand Applause (Dominic) 51.5 PS Chouhan 11
12. My Favourite Voice (Sharat K) 51 AR Pradeep 6
Santa Monica 1; Frenemee 2; Light Of Success 3.
9. Mysore Cup (Div II) (rated 20-45) 1400M, 5.30 pm
1. Sherman Oaks (L D’Silva) 62 Anjar Alam 4
2. Spark Of Harmony (Warren S) 58 AR Pradeep 12
3. Cadogan (S Attaollahi) 56.5 P Trevor 15
4. Vijays Triumph (Deshmukh) 56.5 PS Chouhan 2
5. Amazon Bay (Nityanand) 55.5 N Rajesh 6
6. Flashing Colours (Ganapathy) 55.5 B Sreekanth 3
7. Nayan Star (Neil Darashah) 55.5 Ch K Chary 9
8. Zenica (D Byramji) 55.5 I Chisty 5
9. Assassin (P Quinn) 54 Suraj Narredu 11
10. Impressive Delite (Sirajuddin) 54 Neeraj Rawal 1
11. Mark (Puttanna) 54 Ashok Kumar 14
12. Cool Hand (Amit Caddy) 52.5 A Ramu 10
13. Hillton (Babu Rao) 52.5 Rajesh Kumar 13
14. Evershine (Sharat K) 51 Vivek 7
15. Windsor Park (Pradeep) 51 G Adarsh 6
Flashing Colours 1; Zenica 2; Cadogan 3.
Day’s best: Absolute Majority.
Double: Strike The Stars and Montezuma.
Jackpot: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. I mini-jackpot: 2, 4, 6, 8. II mini-jackpot: 3, 5, 7, 9. I treble: 4, 5, 6. II treble: 7, 8, 9.