Trainers Ghatala, Quinn and Vijay Singh exude optimism - By Tom Krish
Posted on - 26 Feb 2013
Trainers Ghatala, Quinn and Vijay Singh exude optimism
Dwyer rides In The Spotlight in Thursday's Meydan opener
By Tom Krish
Ocean And Beyond has been racing this winter at Hastings. The son of Kingsalsa, now six, is trained by Patrick Quinn. The R K Wadhwan-owned Ocean And Beyond has two wins in high profilecontests in Kolkata. Pat Quinn took a few minutes from his schedule to take my call.
"The Invitation Cup was our long term objective. At six, he's good as ever. He is doing well. Imran Chisty will ride. I do not think the draw (post position) will matter. I firmly believe that Ocean And Beyond will run a mighty race. He has a short burst of speed. The relatively short Kolkata homestretch will suit his running style," trainer Quinn.
I am in Chennai. My wife and I take a morning place from Chennai on Thursday. We will be in Kolkata mid-morning. I am hoping I will be able to attend the official events including press conferences, if any.
Trainer Vijay Singh was next in my list. He greeted me warmly. "Both Dandified and Snowscape will race in the Invitation Cup. Chris Alford will decide who he will ride after work on Thursday. Snowscape came out of the Derby in Mumbai without problems. I am happy with their readiness." trainer Singh said.
We talked about post positions and the quality of the field. "In Mumbai, the first turn comes up quick. It is tricky. In Kolkata, you travel some distance before the horses take up positions.I am not concerned about the post. There is a minor home ground advantage in my case. You can't take anything away from Super Storm. After all, at the end of the day, he won the Indian Derby. Toroloco is in fine form. Wind Stream was impressive in Mumbai. An Acquired Taste was cut off in Mumbai when making his run. It is an interesting race..an open race," Vijay Singh concluded.
Early Tuesday, I caught up with Irfan Ghatala. "Toroloco and Wind Stream are as well as can be expected. In a 2400-metre race, post positions are not critical. With 800 metres to go, the field would have sorted itself out. I have drawn outside for the most part. Any break in the draw will be a welcome change. Paul Mulrennan will ride Toroloco. Wind Stream will again have Martin Dwyer," Mr Ghatala stated.
Jockey Martin Dwyer rides In The Spotlight on Thursday at the Meydan. He should be in Kolkata on Friday. Martin is being reunited with a horse (mare) he knows best. Let us all wish Capt Appoo, Z Poonawalla, trainer Padmanabhan and jockey Dwyer all luck. In The Spotlight is in the first race. The race will be run 8 15 PM India time.
Richard Hughes has several mounts at the Meydan on Thursday. The 2012 British champion should also be in Kolkata on Friday.
Red Baron and Ancient Wonder are out of their respective races. Fields are likely to be big. Every one of the four races has an open look.
Now let us take a look at the world racing scene. The greatest jumps festival at Cheltenham will be over four days. Post time is 1 30 PM each day. The gala begins on Tuesday, March 12 and ends on Friday, March 15. The Gold Cup, on the final day, is the biggest betting race in the English calendar.
In Saturday's Derby Trial at Lingfield, Planteur was the 2/5 favorite. Ridden by Adam Kirby, Planteur won by a neck over Miblish, a 20/1 chance. The time for the 2000-metre race was 2 1.20 seconds.
This is what happened at Caulfield on Saturday. The Cathay Pacific Futurity Stakes was won by the 9/10 All Too Hard. Dwayne Dunn was the winning jockey. The time for the 1400-metre grass race was 1 23.03 seconds. All Too Hard is by Casino Prince out of Helsinge by Desert Sun.
The Patinack Farm Blue Diamond Stakes was taken by Miracle Of Life, the 11/5 public choice. Lauren Stojakovic was aboard. She is a rising star in Australia. The 1200-metre turf race was run in 1 9.76 seconds. Miracle Of Life is by Not A Single Doubt out of Dazzling Gazelle by More Than Ready.
The final Grade I race, the Oakleigh Plate over 1100 metres on the grass, was won by Mrs Onassis, a 15/1 longshot. Kerrin McEvoy rode. The time was 1 3.16 seconds. Mrs Onassis is by General Nediym out of Miss Jakeo by Unbridled's Song.
Violence was beaten in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park on Saturday. Orb won by half a length. A post-race examination revealed that Violence had suffered a fracture to his right front medial sesamoid. Violence has been retired. Todd Pletcher, Violence's trainer expressed sadness. "It is such a disappointment to see such a promising colt sustain this injury."
The Citibank Hong Kong Gold Cup (Group I) over 2000 metres was run at Sha Tin on Sunday. There were 11 runners. The John Moore-trained Military Attack came away a winner. ZacPurton had the winning ride. Military Attack is by Oratorio out of Almaaseh who is by Dancing Brave. The time was 2 3/01 seconds. The Gold Cup was worth 362,192 pounds to the winner. Military Attack paid 92.50 on a ten (Hong Kong) dollar wager. John Moore was winning the race for the fifth time in eight years.
"We have always thought this horse could put together a run like that and the closing quarters proved he can be ridden off the pace," John Moore asserted.
California Memory, the 4/5 favorite, came home 10th of 11 runners. It was found that the beaten favorite had irregular heart rhythm. California Memory was a resounding winner in December at Sha Tin.
Military Attack is by Oratorio. An Aidan O'Brien pupil, Oratorio won the 2004 Jean Luc Criterium, the 1400-metre race for freshmen. It was on Arc Day when Bago won it for the Niarchos family. Jamie Spencer rode Oratorio. Nobody could touch Motivator in the 2005 Epsom Derby but Oratorio beat Motivator in Leopardstown's Irish Champion Stakes in September. Almaaseh is by Dancing Brave whose story is well known. Dancing Brave, with Greville Starkey, failed to catch Sahrastani in the Epsom Derby. Pat Eddery rode Dancing Brave to a well-judged win in the 1986 Arc.
