The Hyderabad filly Lady In Lace justified the confidence of the trainer when she annihilated her 13 rivals to win the Grade 1, Kingfisher Ultra Pune Derby yesterday
The Hyderabad filly Lady In Lace, who was ambitiously pitched in by her trainer SVK Prasad Raju by paying a hefty late entry fee, justified the confidence of the trainer when she annihilated her 13 rivals and raced to the winning post in solitary splendour to win the grade 1, Kingfisher Ultra Pune Derby, the most prestigious race of the monsoon campaign.
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Jockey Suraj Narredu who rode Lady In Lace for the first time settled her in mid-bunch, gradually moved up to the outside around the final turn to avoid the traffic of front-runners falling back after setting a rather fast pace, and then asked for an effort from the filly. Lady In Lace was quick to respond, and lengthened her stride to leave them stone cold. Such was the electric acceleration by the filly that by the time she crossed the winning post, she had opened up almost a nine-length gap between herself and runner up Rochester (CS Jodha up).
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Fourth time lucky
Winning trainer SVK Prasad Raju, in an interview after the race, described how he had finally won his first Derby after three unsuccessful attempts at his home track Hyderabad. "I am happy I broke the jinx," he said, "happy to win my first Derby here in Pune."
Jockey Suraj Narredu said that he felt sure he would win even before passing the 800-meter marker. "I sensed the front runners were going too fast, and they would fold up soon," the ace jockey in a post-race chat, "all I had to do was ask her to go, and she responded magnificently."
Hayem wins Rs 2 lakh
The first big cash prize in the history of Tote betting, the "Quinella ka Dhamaka" contest offering of Rs 2 lakh, was won by one Mr Hayem from Pune, who said he was always a fan of the winning filly Lady In Lace, and therefore, clubbed her with each horse in the field to crack the Quinella with a small investment of only Rs 250.
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