Starry Scene stars in Guineas field

HYDERABAD

THE FIRST round of Classics during the winter season usually dominated by the big three, this time (Golconda 1000 Guineas) went to Dr. Ramaswamy's sleekly turned out filly Starry Scene. She stood clear favourite against her six rivals after her narrow victory over Adamile in the Karnataka Race Horse Owners Association. Mysore 1000 Guineas, the latter turning tables over Starry Scene in the 2000 Guineas.

It was a fitting start to a new classic season for the gold and brown belt colours for two reasons. The winner is bred by the owner himself which would give any breeder great satisfaction and secondly his local trained filly Native Quest made inroads into the chances of other aspirants by steadily overstepping the others to take the runner up spot.

The winner of TheHindu Gold Trophy at Mysore, Athabasca who won this 1800m event in record time had a dreadful experience at Malakpet when this Steinbeck filly was left in the gates and did not complete the course. Although she ran behind Starry Scene in the Mysore Derby, it would have been interesting to see whether she had improved since then.

KPG Appu riding for the Ramaswamy colours whenever the regular jockeys of the stable are unavailable was astride Starry Scene who remained a close second to Venus Star who cut an easy pace. The former a lightly framed filly darted ahead from the rails as Compliance with Shroff could not quicken and seemed one paced. Starry Scene shone brightly lighting up the way as she flashed past the post. Always a favourite with her trainer who has great faith in her, Satheesh mentioned that Native Quest will run close to his stablemate. The confidence of her trainer was because of the resounding gallop that carried her within 1 1/2 lengths of the winner. Both Native Quest and possibly Compliance may relish the longer Oaks trip. Starry Scene is by Mukaddamah/ Aravaia bred at the Chettinad Stud.

The smart and speedy daughter of Binkhaldoun from KRK Raju's yard, Royal Sign picked up her second win with consummate ease. This chestnut filly is in full flow with Raju taking the opportunity to rattle in as many winners before the bigger guns get into action. Mohican Chief is a high actioned colt and could profit over extended events later in the season.

Two races later KRK Raju made a double through Bonny Scot. Eight horses vied for the lead making the race exciting. Royal Tradition with others breathing down his neck had a slender edge but companion Bonny Scot shifted to a clearer path and suddenly responded as Narayan Rao was taken aback by the acceleration of the stablemate at the wire.

The grey son of Sizzling Melody, Adjure Syndic made it four in a row. This gelding having taken over from Independence Day, showed his upbeat mood with another powerful performance to hold the wayward run of Honey Well who could have been closer if Kannan had managed to steer a straight path. This 3 year old can win if raced in terms races. Agreeable lost six lengths at the gates to lose her Stall Certificate.

The chances of General Challenge to take matters to the wire fell through as he was given a very questionable ride by Ravinder Singh. The 10 to 1 odds Secret Deal who met with some problems last time had her way today, coming with an unhampered run to give Shamsuddin a well deserved victory. In this mile cup race, Twangs was the one to watch as the colt impressed by his steady gallop to fill the last berth on board. He should be noted over middle distance events.

Like Adjure Syndic, Cordon Rose has kept her monsoon form intact reeling off three wins. In the Ghulam Ahmed Memorial Cup this World Tour daughter who is turning out to be a real money spinner resolutely galloped ahead of Bette Noir but the pressure made Cordon Rose to curve inwards and disturb the former who rightly took an objection but after some wait the decision stood as per the norms that are followed at this centre.

Sitting on the sidelines due to his suspension, jockey Ravinder Singh was back in action to drive home his first winner of the winter meeting for S. Habeebullah. Next in betting to Fandy Design who packed up and disappeared, Fabulous Gem responded to Ravinder after being fitted with a hanging bit. The Kly Green gelding romped home ahead of Cool Edge and recently upgraded Battle On Grass, the latter a persistent and sound performer.

The sudden easing of weight on the back of Grey Thistle who was cleverly placed in Cat I handicap race, Shamlal Gupta Memorial Cup, on Saturday took the advantage as he led from the start to narrowly strike the right note. Racing in all black colours, Regal Rock who lost about a couple of lengths at the start was back into the fray when it mattered but the effort by Manohar Singh was feeble in the closing stages otherwise the results may have gone his way.

Coming out of the paddock in the youngsters race jockey Samad riding Tololing was hit on the face when this filly reared up and had to be replaced by Manohar Singh. Out for the afternoon Samad missed out on two winners that came his way. The quick actioned Tololing by Sir Bordeaux/Eagle Wind was smartly away and kept her position well under control to give Deshmukh his first two year old winner this season. Both Cavalero and Echo Star who finished behind the winner will be sharper and more experienced next time.

The second winner that he lost out was Nadir Shah for trainer MPN Babu who got off the mark. Both Nadir Shah and Somerset were at the wrong end of the field but quickly had their say with smart runs down the straight. It was the former who just got up in time to settle the issue. Academy Award dropped down to this lower category may be given another chance.

Not to deny and take away credit from Golden Galloper for her excellent effort to land the Generosity Plate narrowly, it has to be said that much of the 6-year-old's victory was due to the overconfident attitude of Manohar Singh on Xiphoid. It was sheer careless riding and the Stipes were quick to latch on to this incident, reporting him to the Stewards who slapped a three day ban on the jockey. Journalist may be better off with lesser weight in Cat. I races as he has been always there at the finish but not able to grab the winner's prize.

Only last week Mighty Gift had run unplaced. Out today the filly was on target and her mind focussed to give her owner/trainer KRK Raju a surprise gift. Selvaraj riding this 10 to 1 chance filly lasted out by 1/2 length from favourite Skimble who had made a strong bid but faltered narrowly at the finish. Just look up her record and you will notice that this is the fifth time she has been runner up. Is she to remain a permanent bridesmaid? When questioned for the vast improvement of Mighty Gift, trainer Raju had a ready answer. Mighty Gift last time when making her run was interfered in the straight at a crucial moment that is why she was unable to finish closer to the front finishing horses. Watch the whereabouts of La Crosse who put in a late rattle to come up a close third.

The Ardent Knight Plate was wide open with backers unable to decide and pick an easy winner when three runners Rustom, Super Impose and Ancient were joint favourites at 4 to 1. In a ding dong battle Super Impose and Denver came together, each striding alternately as heads bobbed up and down. It was Denver who got the stride right to score by a short head from Super Impose while Rustom was a bit unlucky as he got stuck in a jam, extricated himself and closed the gap at the finish to place third.

With no recent form to go by, Scenic Empress having come down in scales was able to oblige her owners with a start to finish run. Both Oscar Lady and Firing Guns lost their Stall Certificates, being slow away by about five lengths at the gates. The 1100m trip was a bit sharp for Noble Task who made a strong bid but needed extra ground to be productive.

Not a single first favourite obliged the backers last Saturday. There was only one ticket in the fourth leg that got carried over in the next with an amount of Rs. 2,51,408 lying unclaimed.

ARIEN

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