Tempt Me Not delivers a sucker punch

BANGALORE

IF LOOKS tell a tale then one close look at Access All Areas in the paddock would have left no one in doubt that the filly's coat was as dry as bone ash. She has been turning in pleasing morning work and that is what swayed public fancy towards her. Ironically, she was the first to throw in the towel in Sunday's feature.

Summer's first week-end quite literally belonged to the Darashah- Appu combine. The toast went out to Royal Liberator on the equine front. Darashah goes to work with his lot much earlier than the rest of his ilk and is as quick in pushing his wards through. It has generally brought him good results. Probably very few have managed the kind of early season strike rate Darashah has had in recent times. Appu was in his elements and of the six winners he booted for Darashah, including a four-timer on Sunday, his ride on Machrie Bay in blinding rain and near zero visibility was the most challenging.

If at all there is one quiet achiever in training today, it is Tempt Me Not. Neither this gelding is purple blood nor is it a celebrity but in his own consistent ways has always delivered a sucker punch or three and has never fought shy of fighting reputations on its terms. By a fair way Tempt Me Not has been Ponnappa stable's leading light and a veritable money spinner for his owner Mr. M. M. Parthasarathy. On Sunday, Tempt Me Not was back again, rising above a drug-taint which cost his trainer a spell of suspension and a mouth injury that shut him out of prime contention in the Sprinters Classic at Guindy. Least perturbed by a steady flow of support for Access All Areas which seemed somewhat puzzling given the fact that seven furlongs by no means was the Padmanabhan filly's cup of tea, Tempt Me Not was his usual unhurried self as Rajesh managed a lovely cover at the back stretch and run of the race in the straight. Till then lying low on form, Axe decided to put his best foot forward and nearly rocked the form fancies before Tempt Me Not settled the issue close home. The Sprinters Cup winner Symphony Of Fire was at least five kgs worse off this time in relation to the winner. It told. Besides Symphony Of Fire also looked a bit dry. Since she is more ideally suited for a conventional sprint a furlong more was clearly to her dislike. While Axe demands consideration next on this showing, it would not be a bad idea to forgive Access All Areas for this poor run.

With half a dozen or more wins to his name, and two creditable seconds behind Polar Falcon who has created a favourable impression in Singapore, it is no surprise that Tempt Me Not is in the short-list for a haul to Malaysia.

The Sunday opener saw Marcus Aurelius neck out St Lucinda, who ducked and veered out to make matters easy for the winning pair. The grey filly has scope for improvement and looks a good handicap type. Having placed behind some good horses during the first season Marcus Aurelius obviously had a strong claim though there was equally good support for Good Hope who ran without one.

Masti was a surprise packet. Despite a noticeable drift Masti managed to pull wool over the eyes of two of the most favoured runners, Water Baby and Scenic Song. While Samar Singh trained and Rajesh ridden Masti's win was fairly conclusive, Water Baby suffered at the hands of a wayward Cat Catcher who moved away from the rails and nearly made physical contact when Water Baby went in.

Arroganto proved too speedy to handle as the Tejano bred left his maiden ranks. If placed well again, the colt will have its say. Rush was outpaced while Native Red who was up and about gradually disappeared from the scene suggesting that next time around the gelding should be a different proposition. Gopal Rao's free use of the whip on a first timer, April Ace, was totally unwarranted. There is this inherent danger that such brutality may cause irreparable damage on tender skin.

Darashah-trained Barassie set at rest a sizeable plump on Win Ameen. For some reason, Barassie hadn't been able to do justice to his good bloodline. This win in the lowest class for the gelding may bring about a refreshing change.

A load of public money went the wrong way when Chity Bang performed like a damp squib. The stage was thus set for Harish Puri saddled Grisogono to pull off a quiet gamble. For a considerable length of turf in the straight, it was Musselburgh who called the shots until tackled strongly by Grisogono on whom Warren Singh struck a confident note. Classic Belle lost a forward position to slip back in the backstretch yet the filly, whose abode is now Ponnappa's stable, was finishing on with great purpose. It was Silvano's first run after being gelded. But that was no cover for a tenderly ride. That's how the stipes saw Silvano's rather leisurely run into fourth. The rider was pulled up with a fine of Rs 2,000 which taken in conjunction with the gingerly manner in which Silvano went through the race, indicates that the grey gelding's next run should be profitable.

Trainer Lokanath Gowda's hunch of letting his ward Private Emotions take on open company rather than go for a maiden's event paid off. His choice of a five kg claimer was an added advantage as Private Emotions beat the opposition pointless. Tongue strap was thought of as a possible remedy after Private Emotions had blown herself up after her last run during winter. The change of equipment seemingly did a world of good as Jagdish Shukla dashed to the front from the word go and was never threatened. The hugely fancied Go Honey Go was so hopelessly outshone that the grey filly couldn't even stay in the frame. Semoran covered a lot of ground to finish a far away second. Royal Caribbean came up from a hopeless position to peg back Go Honey Go in the last stride suggesting that this well bred gelding may gradually be running into winning form. Another well backed runner in the race Crystal Ocean was found woefully wanting for pace once Rakesh lost his prominent position three furlongs into the race.

There was no hint of a massive cloud burst when the runners made it to the starting gate for the penultimate race. At the stroke of race time, rain was at its fiercest and visibility very poor. It came as something of a surprise, shock to some, when the field was off.The racecaller had a torrid time as he tried his might to pick the colours. In trying to read the unreadable he nearly slipped out of his seat yet managed to tell the world that Winelight and Machrie Bay were going at each other! In fact the well backed Sprito was not far away from this pair but in the straight Machrie Bay endured the testing conditions and tormenting rain better than Winelight who made a grand bid to win the race from the front. Whitehall covered good ground to get into place. Majority were of the opinion that given the tough conditions, the authorities should have delayed the race instead of running a huge risk for both horses and men in such poor visibility. The official defence is that there was no guarantee the rain would subside and delaying a start would have in all probability worsened the underfoot conditions. Surprisingly despite the heavy downpour, the going was not so adversly affected since the timing returned was near normal.

Srinath did the wisest thing by hitting the front. It is always a safe tactic to go to the front when the conditions are such. Not only is it insurance against the slush hitting the horse and rider, somehow horses tend to run well when they are free and not chasing any one though they do squint their eyes to avoid the sheets of rain hitting them in the eye. In a way Srinath's wisdom just about served Appu right because by chasing Winelight, he had his own risks well covered. When it came to test of endurance Machrie Bay proved that much stouter at heart. One or two in the race may not have relished the conditions one bit. So the relevance of the placings here may not serve as a guide when the conditions are normal. Whatmore had no worthy rival. Anchor ran a suggestive race but the one who can build on a good forward run of his is Figaro.

Hit by a bout of lung infection, Royal Liberator was downhearted in his last winter run. But news for him in summer is cheery. The son of Green Forest-Figure Libre has come out afresh to renew his bid for big races. Arjun Mangalorkar has obviously nursed him to his strengths and Royal Liberator is the first among his age to stake a reasonable claim on the Colts Classic coming up in a month's time. Srinath handled the Brar standard bearer with aplomb. A stint abroad has made Srinath a completely different rider, more mature in his horsemanship and remarkably less whip- happy. So smooth was Srinath's handling of Royal Liberator that the gelding probably enjoyed every bit of it. One of the sob stories concerns Imperial Legend for whom demand had been steadily growing ever since he made a good impression on his debut. Despite a poor showing in the Poonawalla Million at Mumbai, he was thought of as a bright prospect with a huge price on offer to match this expectation. Trainer Lokanath Gowda himself reportedly spurned several juicy offers to trade his ward but he was clearly disappointed with Imperial Legend's laboured third. The horse seemed to be too keen with the blinkers. Amber Dancer's second was noteworthy. Pick Strides of Fire for an early surprise.

The first day of the season proved highly profitable for followers of money. Angie set the trend in the opener, the Darashah trainee winning untroubled.

Soldier of Fortune firmed up very fast as an overwhelming choice and duly won with a measure of comfort. Fiesba had immediate form to strike.

Kilkemny staved off a determined bid by Hayate in a race where Another Crown was handled without imagination by apprentice Amit. The narrowness of the verdict supports the theory that had Another Crown managed a trouble free run, the result may have been different.

The run away Red Quartz was holding out a serious threat until Appu worked hard on Almost Heaven to produce a winning run. The focus of betting was Desert Gold but after being up in the van, Desert Gold lost touch with reality. What A Pleasure was closing in towards the end.

A strong stretch run saw Superbe Asset down favoured Kirkcaldy whose humiliation was complete when Crystal Delight came up with a long stretch run to deprive Appu of even second place. A drift in the odds on Superbe Asset may have been a cause for concern but in the end it played no significant part.

Loads of money came down on Golden Connection to knock the Mangalorkar trainee down as a firm favourite. It cut no ice with Ma Baker who put to use a distinct handicap advantage. At one stage in the straight it looked as if Golden Connection would make a race of it. But that was not to be. Ryan Marshall goaded Ma Baker on and the margin in the end was decisive thus giving young Arjun Mangalorkar and the Brars a creditable double. Star Beauty was a notch too good for the bunch. Mera Ladlaa received some sustained support but could offer nothing in return. Atomic Fusion has scaled down a great deal and at a nourshing return on the tote, Ryan Marshall filed in second ahead of Step In Time who did the early running.

H. S. MANJUNATH

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