THE FILLIES CHAMPIONSHIP STAKES, Gr.1

Bangalore is sweltering, with an occasional thunderstorm to temporarily cool things down. Keeping in tune, is the pace of racing. Two weekends down, and results have shown that there are new entrants on the Classic scene. This year it appears that the Fillies Championship Stakes, Gr.1, the first Classic of the season has many worthy, well performed contenders vying for glory. We take a look at the form and talent of the contenders that should face the starter for this race.

ANJEZE

ANJEZE (Win Legend-Angelique)
The frontline contender for the fillies Classic will be the unbeaten filly Anjeze who has won all her three starts effortlessly. Her first win was by 10¼ lengths over 1100m, then the Bangalore Winter Million over 6f by 2½ lengths and her first start this season, the Sir Cecil Youngsters Million by 5¾ lengths in 1:24.19s. Her dam is the winner of the C N Wadia Gold Cup, Gr.2, who has shown her prowess over distances, finishing second in the Stayers Cup, Maharaja’s Cup, Idar Gold Cup and the Nizam’s Gold Cup. Her sire has left his mark on the Bangalore Classics in the recent past and will be hoping to achieve this with this filly that carries the birth name of Mother Teresa.

COSMIC RAY

COSMIC RAY (Burden of Proof-Corsican Girl)
This stallion is sure to have his say till the very end. He has produced a smart winner in Cosmic Ray who won on debut over 7f when racing with fancied runners Sir Supremo and Southern Ruler. Will add to the excitement of the Classic should she run here.

HUNT FOR GOLD

HUNT FOR GOLD (Leitir Mor-Pleasure Hunt)
This filly impressed all when making her first two appearances at Mahalaxmi winning ones, beating Trouvaille on both occasions. Her performance made it hard to look past her in the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi Million where she finished third to Missing You by two lengths. Trouvaille maintained her bridesmaid status finishing just ¾ lengths ahead of Hunt For Gold. In her warm up for the fillies Classic she was seen in the Karnataka Juvenile Million run over the 7f trip and seemed to have traffic problems finishing sixth to War Hammer and ¾ length behind Missing You while giving her a 2kg advantage. Her connections feel that she did not get the run of the race and will be in the fighting line once again.

MISSING YOU

MISSING YOU (Arazan-Change Of Luck)
She showed her disdain for the 6f trip on her first two outings where she placed second on both occasions, then showed her appreciation for being tried over the 7f trip winning the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million where she beat Trouvaille and Hunt For Gold. She took on two fillies and seven colts in the Karnataka Juvenile Million over 7f, finishing fourth to War Hammer. She was unfortunately taken to the front, leading the field for most of the trip. She has taken her race well and is better suited for the mile, so with more prudent riding she should be right there at the finish.

STAR APPEARANCE

STAR APPEARANCE (Western Aristocrat-Tatbeeq)
The winner of two of her three appearances was second to a good colt War Hammer in the Bangalore Juvenile Million run over 7f, finishing 6 lengths behind the winner however, and then came out and won over the same distance in a Class 3 race by four lengths in 1:25.27s. She will have to improve on that performance to take on the better fillies in the race.

STAR AND GARTER (Multidimensional-Allspice)
This well-bred filly was second to Well Connected by 4½ lengths and should improve on that performance to be better over the mile. Her dam is the winner of three races in a rather short racing career, once over 7f and twice over the mile.

THAILAND

THAILAND (Top Class-Immortal Story)
The first race of her career run over 6f was won in a stylish manner, and she was naturally thought very highly of by her connections. Unfortunately, she has not been able to score again. In her fourth career start and first in Bangalore, now under the care of trainer Arjun Mangalorkar she finished 5¾ lengths behind Anjeze. She is sure to win her share of races this season.

WELL CONNECTED (Arazan-Guest Connections)
A winner on debut this season, she won her race over 6f impressively by 4½ lengths from Star And Garter in 1:13.92s and is sure to make the lineup for the fillies Classic. Her dam is by Placerville-Crown Collection, who was the winner of two Group races, the Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1 and the Fillies And Mares Stakes, Gr.3, so she has what it takes to go the mile and more. How she takes the extra 2f on her second outing is left to be seen.