Machine Gun Kelly bang on target

BANGALORE

MACHINE GUN KELLY has forced himself into the Calcutta Sprinters Cup equation. The Michael Eshwer trainee grabbed the centre stage on Saturday to put up the kind of display that would now leave some of the reputed sprinters in the country a bit uneasy.

Fashionably thought of as more of a seven-furlonger, Machine Gun Kelly found no qualms in adjusting to the conventional sprint. The Argyle Lake-Misty Way gelding showed plenty of toe in the hands of B. Prakash whose visit to Bangalore was a profitable double, coming as it did on top of his quadruple the other day in Mumbai.

The combination was near-perfect. An in-form jockey aboard an in- form horse from a stable which is doing exceptionally well. Prakash's main task was to keep the gelding within range of early pace. The speediest in the bunch, Specialist dashed across, scorched the turf till the turn and was soon a victim of his own audacity. For a brief while the luckless Tempt Me Not showed out only to be shown his habitual second place by Machine Gun Kelly who picked up speed at the first click of Prakash's tongue and the first feel of the whip-crack.

Somehow Barrier Ridge was never a force he was expected to be. From the jump off it was plain that Barrier Ridge had left himself a big ask and it was thus no surprise that the usually bristling son of Broto had the look of a horse whose heart was anywhere but on racing. Royal Aberdeen came closest to the act of throwing a real scare. But for Ryan Marshall swinging into action quite late, Royal Aberdeen would have been close though it must be said without jest that the winner seemingly had such risks well covered. It is rather difficult to gauge Royal Aberdeen's true intentions. One day he looks so forlorn and out of focus. All of a sudden he musters so much courage. May be his chequered career is drawing to a close but if the six-year-old for once shows the same amount of zeal he showed here, he should be winning before long.

The kind of silence that greeted Royal Contender's resolute win in the opener could only find a match in the eerie calm that normally surrounds the loss of the topseed to a virtual unknown in a first round of a Grand Slam. In the public perception, both Assertive Allies, a runaway winner last time and Telegram, an eye-catching second on his debut, were cut above the rest. So when both finished in the ruck, the stands went numb. Paradoxically, Royal Contender had a superior paddock air about him, in size and coat. The topline is that Royal Contender sports blue blood, his dam line being of proven mettle.

What stood against the Michael Eshwer trainee was the fact that he was making his debut while the most fancied ones in the bunch have had a feel of the track. When Kingston Heath shifted out alarmingly under pressure, the way was clear for B. Prakash to drive Royal Contender along. The response from this rangy gelding was striking. Assertive Allies dawdled out of sight and if he ever crosses path with the winner again, the Turtle Island gelding will never be such a short priced one. Same goes with Telegram, whose last run interestingly was in a race set apart for Karnataka-bred.

The most notable effort behind Royal Contender, who is set to go places, came from his stable companion Royal Steps who found foot very late but was a pleasing sight at the finish. Kingston Heath's wayward ways affected Sensational Lover more than most. Samar Singh's ward can build on this effort.

For a horse that had run loose in the betting at over 20s twice, outright favouritism as odds-on looked somewhat odd.!. On the other hand the flood of money was seen as a strong pointer that Chanel had put on a lot more condition after her leisurely fourth last time. Yet at crunch time, Puttanna's Contour proved a hard nut to crack. Chanel gathered herself quite well to have a go but Contour was decidedly the stronger of the two. Hanumant Singh is apparently working his way into prominence, troubled as he has been for a long time by that fall in Mumbai which put the skids on a career which was shaping well at the time.

One thing is certain, he has grown in confidence and that was abundantly evident from the way he handled Contour. Lovely Lips is gradually running into winning form.

Kartavyan had found himself an ideal handicap mark. Favoured strongly to win in a bunch that had no real depth, apprentice P. Ramesh did the wisest thing by hitting the front when the opportunity presented itself soon after the start. Kartavyan was always travelling that much better. Certain Ace put up an improved show. So did Admiral, who is the most frequently campaigned horse this season, this being his sixth outing.!

When short-priced La Unique lost a forward position and slithered back, there was understandable anguish in the stands. In fact till well into the straight, La Unique's bid looked highly unlikely to succeed. Yet in a sweet turnaround Ryan Marshall egged on the Placerville- La Bonne Vie filly who managed to catch and safely pass Princelene barely 50 metres from home. There is a definite hint of staying potential in La Unique.

Like a portrait hanging on the wall, Shafiq has been around for nearly three decades. He reckons, he has ridden over 900 winners and is hell bent on drawing up his winning list soon. He ticked another winner and like any oldtimer knows how hard it is to get one. His booking itself on Young Gentleman was per chance and he made good that opportunity by steering the Hidayat Khan's ward to a comfortable victory. Emmenbrucke could have been a much livelier threat if the five year old gelding had seen a clearer path. Lloyd Marshall woke up quite late on Divisional.

Bank Balance is leading a one-horse crusade for trainer Mohammed Abbas and true to his name has helped his master's bank balance swell with every passing run. The Libor-Springtime gelding nosed out Azilian who was shaping like a winner to complete his third win of the season. On either side of these three wins, Bank Balance was second once and then fourth, a good enough record to have a go at the horse of the season prize. Bank Balance strikes as a shining example of how a fast improving horse can have its say in handicaps. How encouraging a sign it would be if horses are handicapped to win rather than being handicapped to lose!Royal Glare almost immediately put trainer S. Pillay in the dock by winning the opener. Form swing in terms of figures was evident, the horse had run nowhere last time when the rider had taken its life out with the whip. Interestingly all but Sizzling Stamper were still maidens and it is foolhardy to expect horses racing in this class to ``hold their form''. If they do, then they wouldn't be here at all. In the light of this the fine on Pillay is rather harsh.

If Great Prince managed to neck out the opposition it was solely because Rajesh believed in perseverence pays. At one stage Great Prince had a load of work ahead. Somewhat unlucky to be worked out of the prize was Polish Power, whose short burst was prematurely used by apprentice Ramesh. Polish Power battled back but by then Great Prince had a clear edge. Rare Jewel threw everything into the finish and her loss by two protruding necks was a gutsy effort.

Montjeu Star treated the Ashoka Chakra Cup field with regal disdain. The Razeen-Kburaya progeny had it nice and easy. Strokes of Fire proved a notch too good for this level of competition. The grey, once presumed high profile, never quite managed to turn promise into achievement.

Nevertheless, the grey has won her share of races and the slide to this sort of company was indeed easy picking. That period when nothing tangible was to happen in Obession's form is obviously over. Obsession ran a suggestive second and is all set to use it as a lever.

Ponnappa-trained Alisa was indeed the talk horse of the race and like any such was quick to grab the initiative. Midway up the straight Alisa seemingly came under pressure as Chity Bang shot ahead. It was here that the best in Alisa came bouncing back and with a second wind she managed to wrest the lead from Chity Bang. Apprentice Koch stayed cool and calm. So he collected.

H. S. MANJUNATH

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Smart Chieftan claims Indian Derby with a late
           burst
Next     : So Royal sprints his way to victory