The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Horse : Good reputations will be on the line in Sprinters' Cup

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Saturday, Mar 04, 2006

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Sport - Racing : Horse

Good reputations will be on the line in Sprinters' Cup

Anil Mukhi

BANGALORE: As was the case last year, the best sprinters in India have lined up for the The Hindu Sprinters' Cup (1200m), the latest edition of which takes place on Saturday.

Six of the thirteen contenders have scored on at least half the occasions that they have faced the starter. What's more, runners like Caprese, Hesperus, Opera Queen, Romantic Fire and Stara Zagora have never finished "off the board", while Onnu Onnu Onnu has only twice missed the first four in his 34 starts, and Oyster Cove has mixed seven victories with three "stinkers". These, then, should form the core from which the winner should emerge.

The Hyderabad challenger, Onnu Onnu Onnu, has lived in the shadow of his paternal half-brother, Coral Gables, despite which the outstanding son of Young Senor has earned a winning bracket on 22 occasions, 12 of these having come in his last 15 appearances. Not quite as effective at Bangalore (one win from seven starts), he has to be in the fighting line and might even win. In Niall McCullagh he has the perfect ally to guide his chances.

Caprese is unbeaten from her three efforts at 1,200m and shapes as the probable winner. She has home track advantage, a trainer — Jaggi Dhariwal — who knows what it takes, and regular rider Mark Gallagher in the saddle. Hesperus (Appu) from Darius Byramji's yard is an admirable fighter, but is coming down in distance and is drawn widest of all. Those looking for value-for-money can side with Opera Queen (Y. S. Srinath), attempting course and distance for the tenth time — truly a specialist Bangalore sprinter!

Strong Western India support for Oyster Cove may not be misplaced. With a 70% win record, he can repel all comers if he gets a clear run. Similarly, the East will be rooting for the almost equally consistent Romantic Fire. The high class Spectacular Quest is the "joker in the pack", with the others remaining lack the required credentials. As usual, the luck of the race and the early pace are sure to have an impact on the ultimate result.

Aperitivo will add zing

A dozen stoutly-bred older horses face each other in the most gruelling event in the Indian racing calendar, the 3000m Stayers' Cup. Between them, they have scored 70 times, chiefly over long distances.

As a group, the stamina-oriented brigade is not as consistent as the speedsters. However, one whose overall win-loss record approaches a level normally found only amongst sprinters is Aperitivo. With eight wins and eight placings from 21 starts, he has perhaps the best record in the field and has brought home over Rs. 62 lakhs, making him certainly the highest earner in the field. The Manjri-bred has beaten Forever Elegance and Star Of Windsor at Bangalore last year, and sports the colours of Deepak Khaitan, which have enjoyed a tremendous run in this event over the years. Vijay Singh will saddle the gelding, with Christopher Alford continuing his partnership.

Better fancied, though, is the S. Ganapathy-trained pair of Forever Elegance and Star Of Windsor. The latter, already successful last year in this race, bids fair to repeat but the fact that Forever Elegance trounced him in a gallop and has been chosen by retained rider, B. Prakash, has made the local professionals opt for her. Certainly, they have every chance and might even run one-two.

Friendly Fire, the improving Perfect Mover and That's The Touch are others who are not too far off the principals in merit. It's hard to make a case for the remainder. Distilling the various form lines, Aperitivo, Forever Elegance and Star Of Windsor stand head and shoulders above the rest and it will come as huge surprise if all three fail. Those looking for a rank outsider might like to consider Thats The Touch

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