Rajinder gets the best out of The Proletarian

BANGALORE

WHEN THE Proletarian quickened for home in the well regarded Karnataka Cup at the first crack of Delhi-based Rajinder's whip, it marked the beginning of a new phase of racing life for the Conquering Hero-Nice Libre gelding.

Srinath stole the Saturday thunder with a lucrative four-timer which included Royal Satin who is slowly pulling himself back into the mainstream.

The Proletarian has been a frequent traveller, opening himself up to different terrain and different climes. He has emerged from these assignments down South with a modest grade, distinctly unlucky as he was at Malakpet and caught unawares by a gale named Storm Again at Guindy. Obviously the gelding has learnt his travel lessons well. Having tackled varying distances in the company of some of the best in his own age group, the gelding has developed an amount of flexibility that goes well with his generally upward looking physique. Nothing but a mile would have brought the best out of The Proletarian. The terms nicely threw him in at 50. His regular and zestful work ensured optimum fitness which carried him along despite lack of that crucial feel of the track.

Even best of imports have often run into rough weather the first time they set foot in a race on the Bangalore track which is no friend for strangers. But one professional who has surmounted these logistical challenges more than once is Imtiaz Sait. Remember his coup of sorts on Count the Steps?. Astana was another of his specials. Imtiaz was at it again on Sunday. He expects The Proletarian to take off from here.

At the back of the trainer's mind was this thought that The Proletarian may be short of that vital run but he crossed it out with the express belief that his ward's versatility would carry the day. It manifestly did.

The booking of Delhi-based Rajinder, whose first professional visit it was to this centre, was a speculative element. With his first ride barely 24 hours earlier, would he rise to the occassion and fit the bill?. In the end, Rajinder did an exquisite job on The Proletarian, timing his final run to a nicety once the frothing front runners Bold Chieftan and Antwerp cut each other's throat and the hugely favoured Hello Brother cut a sorry sight. A gallant bid came from Tempt Me Not who made light of 60 kgs to whittle the lead down to just under two lengths over a distance which is not to his taste.

The market itself leaned heavily on Hello Brother whose eye catching third in the Indian Turf Invitation Cup at Guindy was so firmly etched in the minds of form clerks that they refused to look beyond him. If you flip through Hello Brother's form chart, it has one winning entry that hauled him past the maiden ranks. Incidentally, the horse he beat then, Melodeon, is yet to win a race! But what adds value to Hello Brother's stock is the Young Senor gelding's string of placings on the big stage, the Bangalore Derby and the Invitation Cup to name just two. It would be churlish, even cruel, to dub them as ``freak runs'', but the soul of the matter is that the merit of those efforts simply did not cut ice in this open company. One hunch perhaps is that the distance was too sharp for Hello Brother's style of running. The gelding dawdled into third from a long way back to strengthen that line of argument. If it holds, Maharja's Cup would be an ideal stage for Hello Brother to hit back at his critics.

Did the crackling pace unsettle Hello Brother. Some analysts are not ruling out that possibility. But if it adversely affected the favourite, The Proletarian relished every blade of it. Who else could have sent the field on such a spin than Bold Chieftan. But what is baffling is C.Alford's rush of blood in chasing the leader so hard on Antwerp who with some restraint should have at least placed. The rider practically rode Antwerp to the ground. Sendawar's leisurely stroll into fourth is indicative of the gelding's want for longer course. Native Tactics presented a sad figure as the five year old mare burst blood vessels and trotted back in distress. The placing may not say much. But for someone whose last run was as far back as last year's Super Mile Cup, Acrobat's fifth is not so disappointing.

After five straight meetings of monopoly by favourites, theory of probability just wouldn't allow the streak to continue. Senora Jade's thrilling win over Prowl was a pointer and down the card Brave Deed, The Proletarian, Spark of Life and Alassio cocked a snook at followers of money. Grapevine had it that the procession of favourites had forced some bookmakers to shut shop and driven a few more towards it. On Sunday the stalls looked considerably brighter. The sports' lifeline is this undeclared war between the punters and the turf accountants!

Prowl wasted a chunk of energy in the paddock with his wayward ways, twice bringing Harish down. The rider then got a lift to the starting gate even as calm returned to Prowl. But once Senora Jade stole the first run into the straight, Prowl's task of making a race of it looked harder. Yet the finish went all the way to the wire where the print favoured the dry coated Senora Jade for whom the cooler clime at the time was such a big relief. Native Red showed early speed and bowed down to two superior ones. Blushing Star got stuck in the gate.

Half the battle for Silvanus was lost when the grey was slowly off the gate. Added to that was the piece of misfortune that hit the grey when Appu sought to cover lost ground. Silvanus clipped the heels of a runner in front of him for the loss of some more precious time and ground. Though Silvanus finished on with great purpose, Brave Deed was comfortably home. The heavily backed Anzac huffed and puffed in his chase of Brave Deed who was blessed with a rails run and despite a slight shift to the middle of the track had a good cushion to fall back on. Anzac's workline had been so brilliant but the end result so pathetic. It clearly left the connections totally disheartened.

The spark that was so brazenly missing last time had assumed the proportions of a full flame when Spark of Life rendered Spirito's spirited challenge hopeless. Mohan Valavi's ward made every yard of the running and at no stage slackened his grip. Interestingly in their previous meeting, Silvano, who firmed as the favourite here had finished a fair way in front of Spark of Life over a conventional sprint. A furlong longer being taken as Silvano's forte more than Spark of Life's, it is amazing that Silvano finished last this time. A reversal of form that is as puzling as it is shocking. The poor performance of Silvano has again brought criticism to trainer Irfan Ghatala's doorstep that inconsistency wrought by strange running patterns have been the hallmarks of most of his trainees. As if to take the argument further, Donna Mia seemed a most disinterested runner all the way until in the last 100 metres or even less, Mrs. Silva seemingly woke up and decided to run into money. The ride itself had a certain amount of ``indifference'' written all over it in that winning was clearly not a priority. The two day suspension on the rider is ostensibly for ``incompetent riding'' but the knowledgeable could easily detect a level of competence in restraining Donna Mia to perform to her full capabilities. What a contrast it strikes to those winning rides on Donna Mia last season!

The step in class obviously didn't go kindly with Superbe Asset. She was completely outshone. Arroganto found the trip stamina sapping. The tail-swishing Arduous called the shots for a brief while in the straight before Alassio raised a strong run in the hands of Mallesh Narredu. Alassio had no worthy form to go by but one plausible explanation is that the gelding at last may have got the trip of his choice. Argyle Gold missed the kick. Anxiety must have got the better of apprentice Shobhan Babu who rather foolishly thought excessive whipping as a remedy.

Young Mansoor Hassan survived a few anxious moments before darting across to lead his first winner in Bangalore. He moved base from Mysore recently. Shafiq ridden River Bed gave up a furlong out when Samanzar joined issue. The big-made Dusty Street covered a lot of ground suggesting that she would be better off over longer distances.

It had happened once before. When the entire world thought All Above had held on, the magic eye differed and said Added Asset had won by the tip of his nose. It was the kind of an outcome that left everyone, including the winning jockey himself, Pesi Shroff, startled. Then there were murmurs about how tricky Bangalore's close photo verdicts were, the debate stretching as far as questioning the camera angle itself. Similar sentiments were expressed when Pettalumma, the shortest priced favourite to get beat in recent memory was disregarded by the eye of the camera in favour of Flaming Tower. Aslam glanced a couple of times back in sheer anxiety over his mount's flagging spirit even as a backhander from Srinath acted as a spur for Flaming Tower inside the final 100 metres. For a pair of bare eyes, Pettalumma seemingly held on, but the print told a different story.

The three year old filly Hope And Faith stretched her winning streak to four races and she has reasons now to target the fillies classic with greater degree of confidence. Darashah has kept her in high spirits. The Broto filly clawed her way back when seemingly collared by Refresher to win much more easily than the narrow verdict suggests. She did sway a bit while turning in when she cut across Weapon Alpha's path. But she rallied gamely along the rails to peg back Refresher who was shaping like a winner. Now that Weapon Alpha has reached the frame and was clearly hampered rounding the bend, the five year old should do well in a company of his own.

Srinath has been fighting an enemy within - weight. Overwhelmed by a road accident in which he was injured and his constant effort to hit the scale at least in the region of 55, Srinath has been losing out on precious rides. Srinath is one example of how international exposure could bring about a sea change in attitude and artistry. Having ridden with distinction in Macau, he has ironed out most of the rough edges and is today presenting a picture of absolute assurance in the saddle. Back in business after a break of nearly six months spent tending injuries from that accident, Srinath struck a patch of purple on Saturday. Among his four winners was Royal Satin schooled by Arjun Mangalorkar. Royal Satin needed a win of this stature to rebuild his reputation as a strong contender for middle distance prizes.

By emerging at the top of a highly competitive field, Royal Satin has now held reassurances that he would be a force to reckon with during Summer. At this time last year Allocated was being touted as a bright classic prospect. Though the gelding pushed his claim here and there he ended up achieving less than he had set out for. So his reappearance this season was watched with more than usual interest. Still a bit soft. He ran a good forward race that should be of great value next time. Whether Axe felt his legs or was overawed by the strength of the opposition, he was never quite close to the thick of action. In fact the one who gave a thrilling twist to the race was the game five year old Comet Star. She nearly threw a scare at Royal Satin before Srinath muzzled the challenge as he only could. Bank Balance flashed home third after a lethargic take off, indicating that the five year old is better off over a mile and possibly beyond.

Apprentice Jagdish Shukla rode a competent race on One So Wonderful to steer Lokanath Gowda's charge to a comfortable win over Psychedelic who despite making his move at about the time her conqueror moved had to settle back for second.

Brought down to Bangalore by trainer Michael Eshwar after a couple of placed runs in Mumbai, Judge Jules proved too strong for St Lucinda's comfort in what was a two-horse duel. The well bred Brar Property, Judge Jules has scope for vast improvement.

Arjun Mangalorkar trained Jungle Cat formed Srinath's winning quartet. Like any tacktful cat, Jungle Cat covered her tracks so well that when she grabbed the chance to seize the first opportunity in the straight, she had a goodly lead thus pre- empting Forest Boy's grand late swoop. Discuss flopped, confirmation that she is pretty ordinary. With better saddle assistance Suhasini should have finished a lot closer.

H. S. MANJUNATH

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