The racing season at most of the race clubs in India has closed due to the hot summers. The only racecourse still holding events in May is in Ooty, the cool hill station nestled amidst the Nilgiri Hills of South India. Held under the auspices of the Madras Race Club, the races at the picturesque Ooty Race Course for this weekend are spread across Saturday and Sunday. For today’s Indian horse racing tips, we will be looking at two races scheduled for Sunday, May 5th.
What Are Our Indian Horse Racing Tips For The Weekend?
1. The Madras Regimental Centre Challenge Trophy
Scheduled for 12 noon, this is a 1500m race open to Indian thoroughbreds. A Class 2 race, the competition here will be quite intense since the participants are all horses with a rating between 60 and 85. This marquee event has a prize purse of INR 5,25,000 (GBP 5760), and has eight horses signed up.
Here are our Indian horse racing tips main contenders who we think have a good chance of winning this race on Sunday, along with a long shot pick:
– Top Picks
Optimus Commander
A five year old thoroughbred sired by How’s Your Halo (USA), Optimus Commander has had a decent career so far. This includes one win and two places out of five starts. This chestnut stallion comfortably won the first race of his career in Ooty in April, ahead by nearly six lengths in a 1400m race. After a good week’s worth of rest, he looks ready for Sunday’s challenge, with jockey Rohit Kumar in the saddle.
Semele
Semele has three wins out of five, all of them in the 1400 -1800m length events. The horse should therefore rightly be the top pick for Sunday’s race. But this 4-year-old bay mare has had 11 weeks out of action since her last win in February. She looked slightly off the pace in her return to racing last week, finishing fourth (out of 8) in a 1400m event. R Foley has trained Semele, while Imran Khan is the jockey on Sunday.
Royal Protocal
Royal Protocal is a four-year-old mare sired by Net Whizz (USA). She is also quite a string sprinter with two wins out of six starts. Both her wins were in the 1000-1200m events, but she also has some experience in the longer 1600m races. With jockey C P Khanal in the saddle on Sunday, Royal Protocal looks well set to improve on her recent races which have finished 1 – 3 – 5 so far.
Our Pick – Despite her recent break from racing, Semele still looks like the best horse out the of eight in the running. That’s provided the odds-makers list her at 5/1. Optimus Commander would be our second choice. Meanwhile, Royal Protocal is well worth a punt as a long shot pick for the Sunday event.
2. The Western Catchment Plate
This Class 3 race is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 1 PM, with a race card that features nine horses. All of the contenders are rated between 40 and 65. We should therefore see some experienced beasts out there. The length of the race is a balanced 1300m, and the total prize pool for the horses is worth INR 4lakh 50 thousand (GBP 5000 approx). Here are our top Indian horse racing tips for this race:
– Top Picks
Star Fling
With a race record that reads 4 – 1 – 1 – 4 (with a 12-week break in the middle), 3-year-old Star Fling has shown some level of consistency in her short racing career. This chestnut filly won both her trophies in the 1000 and 1200m races. Therefore, her sprinting skills should come in handy for the Sunday event as well. Trained by B Suresh, she will have jockey Altaf Hussain in the saddle on Sunday.
Fort St George
This 4 year old bay gelding is no stranger to winning, having secured top place in two races so far (both 1200m) in five starts. With a record of 1 – 5 – 1 – 6, he looks ready for yet another strong showing on Sunday. Sired by Varenar (Fr), Fort St George is trained by R Karthik.
Royal Symphony
Royal Symphony is yet another horse with a couple of wins under her belt. She will need to up her game to have any luck on Sunday, though. This chestnut mare last won a race back in February. Her record since then shows 4 – 5 – 5, all in 1400 and 1600m races. If jockey Imran Khan can coax something out of her on Sunday, she could find herself in the top three easily.
Our Pick – This is a tough race to predict, with many of the horses on an equal footing, at least on paper. If we had to pick a winner, it would be one of either Star Fling or Fort St George, provided that bookies list them at 5/1. Due to her underwhelming runs in recent races, Royal Symphony is out long shot pick for Sunday.
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