Small field for last leg of Triple Crown

Few know that the test of stamina for the classic generation known for decades as the Indian St Leger actually began as the Governor Gene...

Few know that the test of stamina for the classic generation known for decades as the Indian St Leger actually began as the Governor General8217;s Cup. The race, which began as a mile and three-quarters run some 55 years ago, remained a season-end feature at Mahalakshmi until it moved to Pune in 1970. There it was contested in late September or October, when the contestants were almost five years old! Wisely, the Royal Western India Turf Club restored it back to Mumbai in 1991, and it has remained here ever since.

Of late, McDowell amp; Co, the flagship company of the UB Group, has been sponsoring the race and indeed the first two legs of the Triple Crown as well and has been awarding a bonus to any horse that wins all three legs. There is no prospect of the bonus being won in 1999 as Continual, who won the first leg, is hors de combat and is out of action indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Saddle Up, who finished first in the second leg, the McDowell Indian Derby, is still uncertain of retaining that prize. As alreadydocumented, he had tested positive for a dope test. The connections have been given time till this Sunday to nominate the laboratory where the confirmatory sample is to be tested. Subsequent to his Derby effort, Saddle Up had further ill luck, in that, his almost certain surge to victory in the Wills Indian Turf Invitation Cup was blocked at a critical stage by his own stablemate.

With just five runners in the field for the St Leger, Saddle Up should have no such traffic trouble this time and should wind up in the annals of the turf as a classic winner on merit at Mahalakshmi. It8217;s hard to neglect Running Flame8217;s claims, yet it is tough to expect her to be at her very best after an arduous season. Look for Flowersoftheforest to run a better race than she did in the Invitation Cup.

In the two maiden events, there is a huge disparity between the sprint 8212; which has a capacity-crowd of 22 8212; and the metric mile, which has drawn a mere five runners. This just shows how little interest there is in the morechallenging task of training horses to perform over a distance of ground, even though a vast majority of Indian-breds inherit genes that make them well-suited to such trips.

San Carios has made just the one start, but as he was a mere half-length behind Jeweller 8212; who went on to run an excellent and courageous third last week in the Shapoorji Pallonji Breeders Colts Juvenile Championship 8212; he should be too good for his four rivals in the Rusi Patel Trophy. What8217;s more, he has hit the headlines with his track work. Legendary Lover and Azurica shape as the dangers. Both have appeared just once and the quantum of their progress since can only be guessed.

Several of those in the sprint are making their initial appearances. Apart from these, the race appears to be between a trio of runners whose names begin with the alphabet quot;Squot;, namely Sonalika, Satellite, and Seville Star, who are preferred in that order. The first-named has shown ability and appeared to have been given too much to do the last time out,while Satellite is speedy and has been consistent.

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Only half a dozen remain in the Sweet Memories Stakes, from among 11 entered. Star Warrior is a shadow of the top-notcher he seemed to be last year, and has run some dismal races this season. In contrast, Noble One has been the epitome of consistency and is the progressive type. Vijay Khanna8217;s ward shapes as the day8217;s best bet.

The remaining three races contain modest runners with variable form. Trainers have an uncanny knack for determining when their charges are at their peak, and naturally try to exploit any weight advantage that can be gained by putting up riders entitled to claim allowances. Two such riders that have shone this season are PS Chouhan and P Kamlesh, and whatever mounts they are declared for not certain at the time of writing are more than likely to be prominent at the business end on Sunday.