Stud Farm bred Fleeting Arrow won the Colts Trial Stakes and the victory of another of its produce, Arabian Knight was an icing on the cake. Not long ago, the Dr Vijay Mallya owned horses used to dominate classics in India and the beer baron had the distinction of winning 100 classics in 10 years time. Now that horses owned by the sporting owner are back in the limelight, one can see a revival.

The Jaggy Dhariwal trainee, Arabian Knight had finished more than five lengths behind Noble Prince in the Indian St Leger after winning the Gr 1 Stayers Cup at Hyderabad in record time. Since the field for Bangalore St Leger was identical to that of the Indian Classic and Arabian Knight had run just once and not done anything of note during the season, he was ignored in the betting ring despite his ability to last out this trip effectively. Noble Prince was the firm favourite to win while Sweeping Success who had finished a whisker behind him in Indian St Leger was next in demand at odds of over 6 to 1 while the rest were quoted at 10 to 1.

Jockey Malesh Narredu took Arabian on a start to finish mission and led by over five lengths, with Bourbon King racing in second position ahead of Sweeping Success, Noble Prince, Vanquish, Azureus and Classic Sky. Midway through the race, Noble Prince was not traveling well and was losing pace and had to be goaded to improve position but he was a beaten cause well before the final bend Arabian Knight who maintained a healthy lead right through, kept on increasing the lead in the homestretch to check in a distance clear of Vanquish and Sweeping Success. Noble Prince finished last and he clearly did not enjoy the ground.

The victory of Arabian Knight was the second graded success for the son of Brave Act. The dam Arabian Rose herself was an outstanding performer, having swept the classics at Calcutta, winning the Gr 1 Calcutta Derby Stakes among a host of other races. Arabian Rose (Razeen) was unlucky to miss the Indian Derby by a narrow margin to Indictment, the luck of the race going against the talented horse.  Arabian Rose finished third in the Gr 1 Indian Turf Invitation Cup.

The success of Arabian Knight has given a big boost to the Kunigal Stud Farm which is in the process of expanding its operations, with the induction of several quality mares. There is the exciting possibility of the son of Danehill, Admiral of the Fleet arriving in time for next year’s breeding operations.