Jockey Sandesh Akhade, who had dominated the Derby week end races with nine wins including three on Saturday.
Bengaluru: It was an absolute procession by the Suleiman S. Attaollahi-trained hot favourite Serjeant At Arms in front of mammoth crowd in the 29th running of the Kingfisher Ultra Bangalore Summer Derby on Sunday.
He gave no anxious moments to his large followers at any part of the race as he settled well throughout and stayed the 2000 metres trip comfortably. Jockey Sandesh Akhade, who had dominated the Derby week end races with nine wins including three on Saturday, rode a super confident race to the delight of his connections and his fans as well.
He settled his mount nicely in third behind Whomakestherules and Ice Glacier, being chased by Aika Aika Aika, Aster Rose on the fence, Star Nijinsky in the centre, Captain Morgan on the wide outside, followed by Star Cracker, Bold March, and England as Supreme General and Magistero raced at the wrong end of the field.
Entering home stretch, Whomakestherules brought the field in view being tracked closely by Ice Glacier and Serjeant At Arms with Aster Rose inching the gap along the rails, Aika Aika Aika and Captain Morgan making some progress on the outside. With 300 metres left to go, Serjeant cruised into lead through the centre of the track to romp home with a hefty Derby purse leaving his pursuers to fight for the crumbs. It was yet another unlucky story for Aster Rose as she was held up badly behind the front runners along the fence approaching the final furlong mark and by the time S. John pulled her off the rails and produced with a dazzling run the eventual winner had gone clear by yards. Aster Rose covered nearly seven lengths inside the final furlong to lose the race by little over a length with Ice Glacier, Whomakestherules and Aika Aika Aika finishing close on her heels. “He is a very a good horse and one of the best I have ridden thus far. The pace did not bother me much when I settled him in third all the way.
He has a good temperament, can come from any position and knows what to do. Once I took him to the front 300 metres from home he strode out nicely rest of the way” said jockey Sandesh. With this victory Suleiman completed a hat trick having won earlier back-to-back Kingfisher Derby through Angel Dust. Serjeant At Arms is the only third horse to win this event as a firm favourite in the past ten years after Set Alight and Be Safe.
Results: 1. The Mysore Cup (Division-II). 1400M: Legacy Dream 59½ (A. Sandesh) 1, Emancipation 55½ (S. John) 2, Rigelray 58 (Amyn Merchant) 3, Galino 58 (S. Zervan) 4. Won by: 4, 1, 2½ Time: 1:28.21
2. The Delhi Cup. 1600M: Amazing Skill 57 (Suraj Narredu) 1, Shivalik Girl 51 (Arshad Alam) 2, Pull The Plug 56 (T.S. Jodha) 3, Granada 51 (S.J. Sunil) 4. Won by: ½, Nk, 4¾ Time: 1:40.33
3. The Chennai Cup. 1200M: Tzar 56 (P.S. Chouhan) 1, Running Hand 56 (A. Sandesh) 2, Carinosa 54½ (S. John) 3, Romantic Helen 54½ (Amyn Merchant) 4. Won by: 2¾, 1, 1¾ Time: 1:13.22
4. The Kolkata Cup. 1800M: Quaker Ridge 53 (A. Sandesh) 1, Gabino 55½ (Suraj Narredu) 2, Dazzling Bay 58 (A. Ramu) 3, Zucchero 57½ (S. Zervan) 4. Won by: 2, ¾, 2½ Time: 1:53.67
5. The Hyderabad Cup. 1400M: Secret Pursuit 54½ (A. Sandesh) 1, Mahathi 56 (Akshay Kumar) 2, Buscadero 56 (S. Zervan) 3, Raw Gold 56 (Shobhan Babu) 4. Won by: Nk, 1½, 2 Time: 1:27.45
6. The Mumbai Cup (Division-I). 1200M: Back In A Flash 55 (Arshad Alam) 1, Havelock Princess 55 (P.S. Chouhan) 2, Emidio 56 (Prashant P Dhebe) 3, Tweedle Dee 56 (Neeraj Rawal) 4. Won by: 1½, 2, 2½ Time: 1:12.87
7. The Kingfisher Ultra Derby Bangalore. 2000M: Serjeant At Arms 56 (A. Sandesh) 1, Aster Rose 54½ (S. John) 2, Ice Glacier 54½ (Neeraj Rawal) 3, Whomakestherules 56 (Suraj Narredu) 4. Won by: 1¼, ¾, ¾ Time: 2:05.80
8. The Mysore Cup (Division-I). 1400M: Lord Darlington 56½ (A. Sandesh) 1, Rakshitha 60 (S. John) 2, Love For Life 56½ (Suraj Narredu) 3, Brave Minstrel 59 (David Bruex) 4. Won by: 5½, 8, 5¼ Time: 1:26.38
9. The Mumbai Cup (Division-II). 1200M: Arabelle 60 (Suraj Narredu) 1, Royal Sceptre 57½ (P.S. Chouhan) 2, Aquitania 57 (A. Sandesh) 3, Kapalua 57 (S. John) 4. Won by: 5¼, ¾, 4 Time: 1:12.52
Dividends:
1. Win: 24 Place: 12, 24, 22 Shp: 60 Fc: 160 Qn: 121 Trn: 561 & 211
2. Win: 20 Place: 4, 69 Shp: 137 Fc: 535 Qn: 312 Trn: 1,485 & 142
3. Win: 25 Place: 13, 13, 18 Shp: 36 Fc: 31 Qn: 14 Trn: 80 & 57
4. Win: 26 Place: 15, 16 Shp: 34 Fc: 52 Qn: 21 Trn: 115 & 86
5. Win: 17 Place: 11, 19, 22 Shp: 40 Fc: 44 Qn: 32 Trn: 161 & 88
6. Win: 50 Place: 15, 13, 14 Shp: 40 Fc: 78 Qn: 24 Trn: 155 & 76
7. Win: 16 Place: 12, 2s5, 58 Shp: 66 Fc: 77 Qn: 94 Trn: 847 & 491
8. Win: 22 Place: 13, 14, 18 Shp: 37 Fc: 60 Qn: 48 Trn: 100 & 52
9. Win: 38 Place: 14, 13, 26 Shp: 45 Fc: 68 Qn: 21 Trn: 112 & 123
Jackpot: 1,227 & 139. 1st Treble: 107. 2nd: 178. 3rd: 137. 1st Exacta: 1,321 & 614. 2nd: 5,294 & 1,906. 3rd: 234 & 132. 4th: 274 & 175. 5th: 1,723 & 951. 6th: 556 & 350. 7th: 2,797 & 940. 8th: 219 & 139. 9th: 352 & 173.
