Bangalore Summer 2017

            New season, fresh hopes. Despite many a hiccups the Bangalore racing seasons looks like is set for a timely start. With the lack of any action from other major centers, racing at Bangalore is likely to be competitive. Some outstation trainers have brought their wards mainly for spending the summer in salubrious clime and sharpen them up for gambles later in their parent center. A few of these outstation horses may figure in the classic & competitive terms races, more in hope than with confidence. My take is that those horses that train in Bangalore are always superior to that train in other centers in that the track in Bangalore is the most challenging one and getting success at this center gives an edge over others.

            As usual Trevor Patel & the local hero (or villain depending on one’s perception) Suraj Narredu will be hogging the limelight during the season. The other riders who will get the spotlight are Sandesh, John, Neeraj Rawal & the old war horse Y.S. Srinath. The trainers to watch out for will be the young guns Neil Darashah, Arjun Mangalorkar, Attaolahi & of course Padmanabhan with his superior string of horses. Irfan Ghatala has promised many a time to disappoint. Gregory Sandhu & S Narredu will have their share of success in handicap races though they may not offer much hope in the classic scene. The following are the players new to the scene and will encounter tough competition from established players and this season could prove to be one of learning than of success.

1.       NEIL B. DEVANEY

2.       PRAVEEN JESU

3.       DHEERAJ VENKATASWAMY

4.       M. RAJENDRA SINGH

5.       PARVATI BYRAMJI

6.       K.P.G. APPU

            The performance of the following horses will be keenly watched by me as these have shown good promise in their debut season:

Queen Latifa, 

Lady Barrington, 

Apache Sunrise, 

Glittering Gold, 

Streak Ahead,

 Mauritiana, 

Tutankhamun, 

Botswana Bolt.

I must confess however I have not been able to nominate with confidence any one of the above horses as outstanding. Queen Latifa with her record breaking performance comes close but the fact that she has been embroiled in a drug related controversy and the report that she has had a mild set back in training do not embolden me to assign the “outstanding” tag on her. More over I am wary of fillies and am slightly inclined towards geldings & colts for nominating the best promising tag.

            On the whole while the classic scene remains uncertain, there are many promising youngsters who would do well in handicap races where the real money lies for a serious punter.

            I shall continue to share my thoughts as frequently as possible in this space. My best wishes to my punting fraternity.