From the Horses Mouth - Race form Analysis Guide for Saturday, 14th April 2018 - By Cyrus Naterwalla
Posted on - 13 Apr 2018
From the Horses Mouth - Race form Analysis Guide for Saturday, 14th April 2018
- By Cyrus Naterwalla
Race No. 1 :- The Glory of Andhra Plate – Class V, 5 Years Old & Over – Distance :- 1200M
AQUARIUS :- Formerly known as Wild Jack, this 5 year old gelding from the M.K. Jadhav stable is a maiden after 15 starts having finished runner up on 3 occasions and having gone close a number of times over this trip without winning. He has run only thrice this season, getting a lung opener in December and then running a promising race over this trip in the higher class in February where he finished on to be a close 3rd to Alyaties and Ridgewood Star. Down in this grade last time out, he was expected to put up a good show but ran inexplicably poorly to finish 11th of 12 to Transform. That run was just 2 weeks ago so it is unlikely that he can improve enough to win this but T.S. Jodha is replaced in the saddle by 5 kilo claimer M. Ayyar and if allowed to run freely from his wide draw, he looks capable of running into a place as he is very well handicapped on the pick of his form.
ISINIT :- 6 year old mare trained by S.N. Joshi, she has gone a total of 27 runs without making it to the winner’s circle but has been knocking on the door for quite some time now and is sure to win one of these contests very soon if not today. She has been quite consistent in the latter part of the season save for one poor run, going agonizingly close to winning back in January over this trip where she was pipped by Lilac Time in the last couple of strides. She comes out much better than Ricardus on that run as he was well beaten in 6th that day and last time out she again made late headway to finish a very close 4th to Highland Woods. K. Nazil now takes over in the saddle from H. Zeeshan and she looks to have a strong chance today to gain a long overdue maiden success.
RICARDUS :- Nicely bred 5 year old gelding from the S.K. Sunderji yard, he has shown some improvement this season but his runs have been inconsistent and he does not appear to be a reliable sort. He gained his maiden success over 7 furlongs on his penultimate run but then ran dismally when upped to a mile last time out and he now drops back to 1200M after possibly not seeing out the mile. The switch from C.S. Jodha to Parbat Singh is also a negative and he is well held by Isinit on their last meeting in January over this trip. He may try and dominate today over this shorter trip but the percentage call is to oppose him.
KOMODO DRAGON :- Unexposed 5 year old gelding from the stable of H.J. Antia, he looks to have been brought down to a reasonable mark and showed the first glimpses of some form last time out in a weak contest when making the running and kicking on to finish 3rd to Golden Horde over course and distance. He is expected to build on that last effort and if he is able to find some improvement and build on that run, then he should fancy his chances today. Hanumant Singh is replaced by improving apprentice G. Amit who claims a useful 3 ½ kilos in the saddle and from Stall 2, he looks set to try and win from end to end.
STAR SCHOLAR :- Exposed 5 year old gelding who comes from the stable of Dallas Toydwalla and has run 29 times so far with 2 wins and 6 placed efforts to his name. Both his wins however have come over much longer trips and he is likely to find this on the sharp side. However, he did finish on to be a close 3rd to Fencing and Lorraine over 1400M last time out and if he runs upto that level then he does have a chance to make the frame. Vishal Bunde takes over in the saddle from Neeraj Rawal which is a negative and he looks to have an outside place chance.
WESTERN LIGHTS :- Maiden 6 year old gelding from the in form stable of Mansoor Shah, he has done absolutely nothing of note in 19 runs so far but has come down to the lowest possible mark as a result and now returns from a short break after 2 mid season unplaced runs earlier in the season. He could have been rested and prepared since his last start and H. Zeeshan has been booked and has a fine strike rate for the yard this season. The only logic to back him would be the recent good form of the yard in similar contests but otherwise it is probably best to pass him by and he looks a good outsider.
CONCLUSION :-The unexposed Komodo Dragon seems to have found a weak field to take on and if he can progress from his forward run over this trip last time out, he has more scope to improve than many of these and can gain his maiden success. Isinit is becoming frustrating to follow but she has been running well over this trip and looks to be the main danger.
Race No. 2 :- The Lei Plate – Div. I – Terms Maiden 3 Year Olds – Distance :- 1000M
JULIO CESARO :- Appears to be the more fancied of the 2 runners from the Narendra Lagad yard but this 3 year old Diffident gelding has not really gone on from his promising debut run where he ended up 3rd to Divine Power and in fact seems to have gone back on that in his next 2 runs. He finished a very disappointing 5th of 6 last time out behind Between The Waters when strongly fancied and has something to prove after that. The only encouraging point is that his recent workouts have been quite impressive suggesting that he has improved. He appears to be the best of the horses who have already raced and T.S. Jodha takes over in the saddle today from J. Chinoy. As none of the youngsters appear exceptional types, he merits each way consideration but the suspicion is that he may find one or two of the debutants to be too good today.
QUAIL HOLLOW :- One of the first 3 year old from the Bezan Chenoy yard to be seen this season, his dam Neath raced for the same connections and was usually effective over longer trips but Phoenix Tower seems to impart some speed into his juveniles which should compensate. This is her first foal to race and he has been showing out quite well in his preparatory work. He has had enough work to be fit and ready to go first time out and although a paddock check is advised as would be the case with most of these, he looks set to give a good account of himself on debut and should run well with C.S. Jodha taking the ride.
BERNICE :- Another promising looking debutant from the S.K. Sunderji yard, she is a full sister to Eternal Sunshine and is owned by the Syndicate who were so successful with Rochester so looks a promising type on paper. She has had just a couple of easy pieces of work from the gates so may be a touch short on fitness but nonetheless must be respected especially if she is looking well. S. Zervan is a good jockey booking for her debut run and she should be considered if looking fit and well.
RED FIRE :- Sired by the highly successful Burden of Proof, this debutant from the Dallas Todywalla yard appears to be a forward sort and has done some good pieces of work recently to give herself decent claims of having a bold show on debut. She is a full sister to Ignition who was a maiden after 21 starts and could only finish runner up twice while her half sister Stella Mari did slightly better winning one race and finishing runner up twice in 3 starts in Bangalore and Mysore so the pedigree pointers are not so encouraging. However, the best form from her siblings has been over 1100M so she is likely to possess the speed to tackle this trip. P.S. Chouhan has been booked to ride and she looks to have a decent each way chance here.
ROSE GOLD :- Comes from the strong yard of Vishal Gaikwad and is another promising debutant out of relatively new sire Net Whizz. Her half bother Brave Soldier was unplaced in 4 starts in Kolkotta so there is not much to go by on the pedigree front but she too appears to have been given enough work to be fit and ready on debut. Her last couple of workouts alongside Glyndebourne have been impressive, and with A. Sandesh booked to ride, she has strong claims to make a winning debut in this company and is strongly fancied.
SHE IS A SPY :- Daughter of Phoenix Tower from the stable of S.S. Shah, she comes from the speedy and successful family of Autocop who has already produced some useful types trained by the same trainer. She is a full sister to Lady Sergeant with other well performed types from the family including Papakura, Born To Win and Doc Holliday so she looks a useful sort on pedigree. She too appears to have been working well in the build up to this run, she has bagged the plum rail draw and will have the assistance of Kishore Kadam in the saddle. A paddock check is advised to ascertain her condition but she looks a promising sort and is expected to make a good debut.
CONCLUSION :- This appears to be an ordinary maiden with no real showy pedigrees and with the raced horses not setting the world alight, the winner is likely to emerge from one of the debutants. Those worth shortlisting are Rose Gold, She Is A Spy, Red Fire and Bernice.
Race No. 3 :- The Lei Plate – Div. II – Terms Maiden 3 Year Olds – Distance :- 1000M
BAYMAX :- Got abroad 3 year old from the small stable of trainer Vinesh, he made a pleasing debut over course and distance back in March when travelling well for a long way in spite of looking green and inexperienced and ending up a fair 3rd to Between The Waters. He is sure to have learnt plenty from that educative run and is likely to be fitter and sharper today. His recent workouts suggest that he has indeed improved for the run and he sets the form standard here out of those who have raced. P.S. Chouhan takes over in the saddle from P. Trevor and he looks to have a strong chance to gain a rare juvenile success for his tiny yard.
NIGHT HAWK :- Debutant from the yard of Faisal Abbas who catches the eye on pedigree, being a half brother to 1000 Guineas 3rd Portia and also half brother to the speedy Peritomoreno and Stardom Calling. The booking of Amyn Merchant first time out suggests that he may be out for an educative run and he has had only 3 workouts so may not be fully fit. However, he must be respected on his bloodlines and could be a dark horse who could spring a surprise and looks interesting.
STORMBORN :- Comes from the yard of S.K. Sunderji and made his debut a couple of weeks ago over 6 furlongs, running prominently and keeping on to finish 5th behind Dazzling Star in what looked to be a decent maiden. He is likely to have learnt from that experience and should strip fitter from that run and with S. Zervan in the saddle, looks to have a good each way chance here with the benefit of experience. He is working well and must be considered.
FRIEZE :- Bred in the purple debutant from the yard of Altaf Hussain, she is owned by the Poonawalla family and is a half sister to the well performed Mauna Kea and Shaoqing with Excellent Art imparting plenty of speed to his progeny. She has shown terrific speed in her preparatory work and has also bagged the No. 1 rail draw which is a big advantage. C.S. Jodha has been booked to ride, she looks a leading fancy to win first time out and is strongly fancied to make a winning debut. The one to beat.
MYRCELLA:-Half sister to Centaurus who comes from the stables of young Shazaan Shah and has been working quite pleasingly in her lead up work. She will be ridden by H. Zeeshan and although she is likely to eventually do better over longer trips, she looks a promising sort and is worth keeping an eye on if she looks well in the preliminaries.
PRIMUM NON NOCERE :-Trained by Altamash Ahmed, she too has an attractive pedigree, being a half sister to the highly rated Merveilleuse so this trip looks plenty sharp for her on debut although she has been given plenty of preparatory work and should be fit and ready to go. She has been pushed in most of her workouts over 5 and 6 furlongs and clearly is expected to come into her own at a later stage over longer trips. However, she is a nicely bred sort so must be respected in this field and with S.A.Amit in the saddle, is likely to be powering home towards the close. Dark horse
CONCLUSION :- Easily the stronger of the 2 divisions this should go to the well bred Frieze who looks a speedy sort on paper and has bagged the plum rail draw to boot. She appears to have been well prepared and should take all the beating. Baymax appears to be the main danger after his promising debut run but Primum Non Nocere and Night Hawk also must be respected.
Race No. 4 :- The Kailashpath Singhania Trophy – Class II & III – Distance :- 1200M
SUMMER RAYS :- Very well performed 4 year old filly from the yard of Imtiaz Sait, she has finished in the first 2 in 8 of her 12 starts till date, winning on 4 occasions and this is clearly her pet trip over which she has run her best races. She has been holding her form very well all season, running 5 times and winning twice and last time out finishing a good 2nd to Timeless. She has to concede weight all round here but seems to have maintained her condition and in the absence of P. Trevor, C.S. Jodha will ride her for the first time. She appears to be fit and well and looks a strong each way player in spite of the heavy impost.
KRAMER :- Another well bred and progressive sort from the Malesh Narredu yard, he has won 4 of his 9 starts till date for an excellent strike rate and is already a winner over this trip this season when showing good resilience to hold off Governor General and Excellent Gold. He was not so good last time out when upped to 7 furlongs and only finishing 5th and is out handicapped with Summer Rays on a line through Excellent Gold. He has been sharpened up with a recent Mock Race where he moved quite well and the drop back to 6 furlongs should suit. P.S. Chouhan takes the ride and back down at this trip, he looks a danger to all.
ALLORA :- Consistent5 year old mare from the yard of Sanjay Kolse she has won 3 of her 16 starts and has also placed on 8 occasions for a good overall record. She has run 4 times this season, the first two over 1000M and the last two runs, upped to 7 furlongs and she went very close last time out when running on late to be a close 3rd to Turning Point and Moonshine, only beaten ¾ length and dead heating with Flag Flying with whom she should confirm the form. She currently looks to be in fine form, and the drop back to 6 furlongs and the booking of A. Sandesh are both positives. She is working well and must be considered.
CHAPLIN :- Rapidly improving and progressive 4 year old gelding from the yard of Dallas Todywalla he has really come into his own this season and has won 3 of his last 4 starts and comes into this bidding for a hattrick. He was an impressive winner over this trip last time out, easily beating Star Comrade in the lower class and the 5 ½ kilo penalty is offset by his rider’s claim of 3 ½ kilos. He has an apprentice boy up for the first time today as Neeraj Rawal is unavailable but may yet be ahead of the handicapper and is hard to oppose with further improvement likely.
FLAG FLYING :- 5 year old gelding trained by H.J. Antia, he has won 2 of his 14 starts till date, one of the wins coming over this trip this season when he got the better of Triple Threat and Moonshine in the lower class. He has been holding his form well and been quite consistent over 7 furlongs the last twice and has H. Zeeshan booked to ride today. He likes to dominate proceedings from the front and runs off a low weight so could be dangerous if allowed an easy lead.
CONCLUSION :-The progressive and improving Chaplin is the selection in spite of his 5 ½ kilo penalty as he seems to be improving with every run and looks set to win again. Top weight Summer Rays is most feared along with the consistent Allora
Race No. 5 :- The Volkswagen Radio One Cup – Class IV & V – Distance :- 1200M
PHILADELPHIA :-Exposed 5 year old mare trained by Dallas Todyawalla, she has managed to win only 1 of her 15 starts till date and has been running quite consistently since gaining that win early in the season, last time out finishing runner up to Wilshire over this trip. She has been holding her form well without really improving and today has in form claimer K. Nazil in the saddle claiming 3 ½ kilos. She looks in good form and is expected to be involved in the finish but looks vulnerable to something more progressive and place seems a safer option.
POLYNEICES :- Improving 4 year old gelding trained by Shazaan Shah, he is a winner of 1 of his 10 starts but has been in excellent form of late and seems to be progressing nicely with his racing. His maiden win came over this trip back in January where he easily beat Epiphany in the lower class and then returned from a 2 month break under a penalty to finish a good runner up to Rincon last time out over 1400M. P.S. Chouhan takes over for the first time this season replacing Kishore Kadam and back down to 6 furlongs now, he looks a leading contender to resume his progress.
ROYAL CLASSIC :- Aged 7 year old gelding from the M.P.Jodha yard who has managed to win 2 of his 26 starts, his last win coming early in the season in the lower class but he has struggled in 4 runs since when upped to this class. Out station rider Hindu Singh has been booked to ride but he seems to be taking on mainly younger horses and looks unlikely to be able to win in this company but can fight it out for minor honours.
FIREWINGS :- Earlier known as Cherry Blossom she has been sold out of Pesi Shroff’s yard after just 4 runs and is having her first start for her new connections with a change of name. It is still very early days so she has the potential to improve and last time out over 1000M, she finished runner up to Epiphany. She may be able to find some improvement for her new Trainer and hence is worth considering although she does need to improve on the bare form.
WABI SABI :- Relatively unexposed 4 year old filly from the yard of Adhirajsingh Jodha, she is still a maiden after 6 starts but has run well on a couple of occasions and is potentially better than her current handicap mark. A close 2nd to Aurelia over this trip on just her 3rd start in Pune, she was fancied in 2 early season runs but ran disappointingly and was given time to improve since then. She returned from a 2 month break and looked rusty when finishing 6th to Tenerife over this trip and is likely to come on for that run and strip fitter. S.A. Amit has been booked to ride today, she is expected to improve and if she can come back to her best form then she looks to have a good chance to shed her maiden tag.
CONCLUSION :- Polyneices has been progressing nicely with his racing and in the strong hands of P.S. Chouhan is selected to get the better of the unexposed WabiSabiwho is expected to improve from her last effort which came back from a short break.
Race No. 6 :- The Classic Jewel Plate – Class IV & V– Distance :- 1400M
TIMELESS DEEDS :- 4 year old filly trained by Narendra Lagad, she has won 2 of her 16 starts so far, both her wins coming over this trip and she has come back down to very close to her last winning mark. She gave an indication that she was coming back to form last time out when finishing a fair 3rd to Glyndebourne over this trip in the higher class and is now eased in grade and K. Nazil who has been booked claims a useful 3 ½ kilos more. She looks likely to build on that last effort and has a strong each way chance over what seems to be her pet trip.
GRAND TENTON :- Well bred 4 year old gelding trained by Vishal Gaikwad, he began his racing career just this season and built on his educative debut run when finishing an eye catching 2nd to Untitled over 1200M on his penultimate start. He was a hot favourite over 1400M last time out but caught a tartar in the unexposed Bronx, ending up 2nd again that day. He was unlucky to run into an unexposed improver last time out and now looks to have an excellent chance to make amends. A. Sandesh who was up last time out retains the ride and he looks to be a leading contender to go one better and score .
MY PRECIOUS :- Fashionably bred but enigmatic maiden 4 year old filly trained by Karthik G, she is relatively lightly raced having run 9 times so far without a win but does not seem consistent and runs in and out races. She ran an excellent close 3rd to Rain Dance and Massimo over this trip on her penultimate start but then flopped badly last time out when ending 10th behind Star of Thea in similar company which was perplexing. She returns from a short break with rookie apprentice M. Ayyar replacing Bhawani Singh in the saddle and looks an interesting outsider who could spring a surprise at lucrative odds.
EBONY :- Lightly raced and progressive 4 year old from the stable of Altamash Ahmed, she returned this season after a long break having made her debut in Bangalore way back in June and has been knocking at the door without quite making it first past the post. She has run 4 times and save for 1 poor run in between, has finished runner up on all 3 occasions and looks sure to win one of these before too long. She was a distant runner up to Star Bright last time out over a mile but should run well dropped back down to this trip and looks an each way player with S. Zervan retaining the ride.
BHAKTAWAR :- Fashionably bred 5 year old gelding who comes from the yard of Arif Patel and clearly has ability although he does not appear to be completely sound. He has run just 3 times till date and showed good improvement last time out against Grand Tenton when running a forward race and kicking on to finish 3rd with the same rider up. That run came after a break so he is expected to improve for it and strip fitter and is closely matched with Grand Tenton on the scale. Kiran Naidu keeps the ride and he is likely to improve and looks a big threat to Grand Tenton on paper.
CONCLUSION :- Grand Tenton and Bhaktawar are closely matched on their last run and should fight out the finale. For those looking for more value at a long price, My Precious looks an interesting outsider
(Disclaimer : Views are entirely that of the correspondent only and RWITC takes no responsibility for the same)
