Six Speed shows her class

BANGALORE

A VISIBLY rejuvenated Six Speed had a point to prove. That she has not lost an ounce of her bubbling enthusiasm for speed races despite running her first sprint in nearly seven months. A handicapper through and through in all her previous outings, Anagram picked up a terms race in taking style and is now eyeing the Maharaja's Cup.

When Six Speed skipped the Invitation Cup week-end at Chennai it was obviously to restore her tissues after that vigorous Mumbai campaign where her sheer class carried her to a gallant victory in the 1,000 Guineas over Lady Moura before Allaire beat her pointless in the Indian Oaks. Sunday's switch-back to a conventional sprint was obviously a strategic move to get her going for the more demanding Summer plums. It is interesting to see how well Darius Byramji would tap the best out of such a resourceful customer, who is indisputably Mr. Vijay Mallya's flagship.

Understandably Six Speed's reappearance was watched with more than usual interest. Her workline was indicative of her eagerness but conclusive proof of that came almost at the wave of the starter's flag in the Chief Minister's Cup. She bounded out of the gate and was never headed though in the dash to the line Averoff added a touch of theatre to the finish by whittling the margin down to a mere half a length, that after being tightened rounding the bend. Even if Six Speed had ended up ``blowing'' a bit it was but natural. Comfort of a stable for as long as she was confined to could easily make the most robust a bit rustic. As was glaringly evident, Six Speed carried with her that unmistakable touch of class which instantly made all others look so complyingly respectful. Curiously enough, Symphony of Fire, who literally breathed fire at Guindy in the Sprinter's Cup quite unusually had not a spark in her belly. Appu was lost for words. All he could say was that he had never ever seen Symphony of Fire so submissive all her racing life. Yet he is not prepared to totally write her off and he himself would rather forgive this game filly for one bad performance. But is Symphony of Fire sending a message of sorts. Is she craving for some rest?

Shroff was confidence personified. As he always is when it comes to a big race. Knowing Six Speed's instinct for awesome early speed, Shroff willingly took the field on and grudgingly beat all his rivals for that sheer speed. When Symphony of Fire cried off, Aslam induced Averoff to one strong gallop inside the final furlong but that would only carry the pair upto Six Speed's quarters. On the strength of this showing Averoff, who herself needed to drive away self doubt, has also pushed her own claims for a lucrative strike before the season winds up. Up against two classy contenders, Bold Chieftan could do no more than dutifully end up third and in doing so had to stay well awake to a strong thrust by Royal Satin.

When Endorsement was sent to the post as a piping hot favourite, the filly unwittingly added fuel to a debate that is raging over the relative merits of Mumbai imports vis-a-vis locals. So often in the past Mumbai imports have run into rough weather on the Bangalore track. Of course there have been some notable exceptions. But generally Bangalore track has acquired notoriety for smashing Mumbai's supremacists reputations. Endorsement happened to be the latest in that casualty list, beaten as she was by one of the local oldies, One So Wonderful. Endorsement's defeat is indeed an endorsement for one of racing's long-held beliefs that every horse whatever the odds, whatever the reputation, is eminently beatable. What has stayed long in memory was Endorsement's near defeat of a highly regarded Lady Moura but what escaped public attention after that glorious show was a distinct loss of condition on the part of Endorsement who had her share of niggles which led to a slight loss of her aplomb as well.

No doubt Endorsement has worked her way back under Michael Eshwer's tutelage probably inducing her connections to over-rate her after her modest show in the Indian Derby which to a large extent contributed to the filly being touted as a moral certainty in a race which had no real hot shots. All the way up the straight, Mark Gallagher had to keep working on Endorsement. She even nosed ahead. But from the back of the field came One So Wonderful, raising a fluent gallop in the hands of Jagdish Shukla who remained unruffled even when Endorsement showed signs of a fightback. Lokanath Gowda was among a legion who had presumed Endorsement to be past the post but before the race he did point out to this writer his hunch that One So Wonderful would have to be right there on his previous showing. Gallagher for one thinks the distance was decidedly sharp for Endorsement and has no doubt that the filly would make her mark soon. After a string of nowheres Resist The Force showed promise of getting somewhere near winning form.

One look at the runners and riders for the opening race of the day would have told you that Krugar Park was by far the best performed and Warren Singh the best among the rest in the field. So the combination duly struck. Anonyme covered lot of ground towards the end to suggest that in similar settings Inayathullah's ward may have a say.

The well backed Luca Brassi met a tartar in Ankole on whom Krishnan adopted a start to finish tactics and in doing so badly hampered Cosmic Strip soon after the start. The ruffling effect was passed on to Luca Brassi. That break in the stride was of such vital importance when Luca Brassi covered swift ground to come within a length of Ankole. Krishnan got away with a fine. He was not far away from a suspension. The waywardness was such.

Srinath rode a tactically good race on the well supported In A Flash. Deciding quickly after the jump out to set his own terms, In A Flash was seemingly travelling well in the straight when Pink Squirell showed the agility so famous with that small creature. Perhaps sensing the danger of opening up a smooth passage for the fast finishing Pink Squirell, Srinath cleverly held his ground forcing Krishnan to take a slight deviation. By then Abdullah's ward had found the comfort of the winning post. Just Do It hung on to be third ahead of Acharya on whom Shekhawat made a very light effort.

It is hard to believe that the very racing prospects of Dee Emm looked dim when as a juvenile a knee chip was detected in the filly. It required surgery. It was done at Hyderabad. When things were not as smooth as expected, she spent her time in the confines of the farm. It greatly helped. ``When we realised that things were okay with her. We sent her here'', Mr. A.K.S. Brar recalled. The filly had kept Time-keepers in great humour by clocking some excellent workouts and she reproduced that promise to down Star Splendour, who despite being beaten square would probably do well over longer distances. Incidentally the connections stuck to S. S. Bhati because he alone had been able to get Dee Emm on to the track for her workouts. She had generally been so stubborn. Dee Emm was yet another Green Forest progeny with whom Arjun Mangalorkar seems to have a way.

``B. Prakash's riding reminds me of Vasanth Shinde of the old''. This remark sounded instinctive and it came from an old-timer who has at least four decades of racing behind him. What prompted this reaction from the grand old man was Prakash's driving finish on Great Occasion who had managed to snout out a luckless Mark Gallagher on Royal Mission. Gallagher had himself got to the skin of Royal Mission so to speak and what should have been a downright loss had been turned into an exciting needle finish. At a critical stage Timeline cut into Royal Mission, who despite being taken out of that groove still managed to put up a brave fight. A run to the good, things would have been that much better for Royal Mission who is a good type with a bright future and by no means seven furlongs is an ideal trip for him. He needs a lot more. There was inspired betting on Calcutta's Calorescence, who was no where to be seen. One notable runner in this race was Grassisgreener, who emerged from the back of the field to run a grand third.

The Stewards Cup on Saturday was billed as a straight contest between the local giant Il Diablo and the Mumbai agent Anagram. It was reduced to a sham the moment Il Diablo packed up in the straight as if he was on punctured legs. It left the stage open for Anagram to sail clear for her fifth win in 10 outings and her first win in a terms affair. Imtiaz Sait almost instantly decided on a Maharaja's Cup heist in the full knowledge that the extra distance should work to Anagram's advantage. Il Diablo's abject failure is baffling. Mark Gallagher just cannot come round and pinpoint what exactly went wrong or where since Il Diablo had followed the same pattern of running that had brought him two glorious references last winter - A narrow defeat in the Derby and a smashing win therafter. Aerobee managed to peg back Alameda in the toss for minor honours.

Veteran Shafiq was at his best when snuffing out Sateesh Narredu's determined bid on Stamford. Shafiq on board Ampersand had a tricky draw to deal with. Having been forced to the centre of the track, Shafiq had to contend with a first timer who took time to learn the ropes. Contemporaries tell you that Shafiq is at his strongest when he gets down to his whip with the left hand. Here he was all brawn and a little brain too. The moment he saw Ampersand travelling well when given a respite from the whip, Shafiq forcefully finished the job off a stride from home.

A gush of money on Royal Hunter saw the Arjun Mangalorkar trainee justify that immense faith but disaster hit the public fancy in the next event. Star Pride was given pride of place in the betting market but the unraced Quorum made a winning debut at crunchy odds of well over 20 to one on the tote. As if to rub salt on the wounded pride, Actuate covered acres of land and denied Star Pride even the second slot. Srinath's decision to dive in and make his final run on the inside of Star Pride who was clearly struggling, was well borne out by the turn of events.

In blinding rain, Winelight had run a fair second to Macherie Bay earlier in the season. But not many were swayed by that performance. Instead, the Public heart seems to be on Breaking News whose last outing was a runaway win. Winelight's initial speed has always been a talking point. It again was. Prithviraj lost little time in taking the Mohan Valavi-trained Winelight to the front and the pair would never be challenged. Classic Belle tried her might to bridge the gap but to no avail. Carnival Craze was an impressive finisher holding off Breaking News who was slightly hampered for a clear run but for which would have run a lot closer.

The got abroad Minstrel Star chose the right day to strike. She is by Dr Devious who is now standing in Ireland. A happy coincidence is that Dr Devious was an Epsom Derby winner nearly 10 years ago. One of his progenies hit purple on the day the Epsom Derby was to be run that evening!. Blue Gardenia took the fight to the enemy camp before calling off. First timer Lucifer was putting up a pleasing show long after the race had been practically won.

Just when Ma Baker was being hailed as a comfortable winner came that piece of grand stand finish which saw B.Prakash haul Our Ambition to a thrilling victory. It boosted the Prakash stock even further. One more winner and one more reason to brand him as the jockey with the hottest streak going in Indian racing today. On one count though officials found him guilty. It was excessive whipping, which Srinath also ended up doing on Royal Debut with little or no change in the gelding's fortunes.

Golden Fellowship attracted huge investments. People in the know tended to believe that the weight of money more than outweighed any logical assessment of form since a familiar pattern could be seen among horses wearing those silks. They seldom lost when shouldering such a huge public purse. For a brief while this notion seemed to fall apart but in a trice Shakti Singh had settled the matter in his own favour. Till Srinath applied pressure Anandini gave an impression that she was ready for the kill. When Srinath put pressure, Anandini buckled and seemingly regained her willingness to fight on when the rider sought the more conventional hands and heels. But it was too late.

H. S. MANJUNATH

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