Calcutta: The Rajesh Narredu-trained Global Influence (S. Saqlain-up) effortlessly lifted the seven-furlong sprint the Hyderabad Race Club Cup at the RCTC race ground on Friday. The Roderic O’Connor colt dominated the field, pulling away in the final straight to win by an impressive margin of over five lengths, from the top-weight King’s Retreat. The chestnut colt is now gearing up for the North India Derby, scheduled for next month.
However, with nearly all the Derbies in the country over, the focus now shifts to the mother of all battles, the Indian Derby (Mumbai), to be held on the first Sunday of February. The results of the regional Derbies points to the fact that Duke Of Tuscany and Casteel are going to be cut above the rest in the February 2 field.
Coming back to Friday’s race card, trainer B. Rajender Reddy also had a profitable day, leading in a well-backed double. His first winner, Lucky Nine, put in a commanding performance in the 2,400m Angelo Handicap. The horse was ridden by a light-weight jockey, R. Manish, who excelled in the saddle. The five-year-old made every post a winning one. Felix (S. Saqlain) tracked the winner for a major part of the journey but never posed a serious threat.
Reddy’s second success came with Vincent Van Gogh (P. Tejeshwar-up), a recent import from Western India. However, the Gogh prevailed only after he had fought a close and thrilling battle with an alarmingly drifting out course-favourite, Sativur (Imran Chisty) close to the wire.Yes, Vincent Van Gogh was also lucky to have got a golden opportunity to slip through along the rails, and thus allowing Tejeshwar to seize an opportunity to executed a masterful finish that edged out both, Sativur and Main Street.
In the day’s final race, public choice Mathangi, from Dr Anil Kumar’s stable, redeemed losses after a narrow defeat in her previous outing. A. Ashhad Asbar rode a copy book race, after taking control in the final straight and securing a decisive victory over Superlative and Zucardi, more will be heard of them in the near future.
The afternoon opened with the Vikash Jaiswal-trained Indian Tiger receiving strong support to close as a favorite in the 1,100m Abs Fabs Handicap. The eight-year-old gelding, however, ran out of steam in the home straight, leaving the leader, Lucretius (Kritish Bhagat) to fight out the issue with the eventual winner, Memphis from Javed Khan’s stable. Memphis travelled stronger in the hands of R. Vaibhav who rode with grit and determination also timed his finish perfectly to pip Lucretius in her final stride.