Samarkhand, who had let
down his master when going down in close finish to Hugo on the Indian
Derby day and which was certainly not his own making, brought a smile
back on Asad Siddiqui`s face when Alford followed the instruction to the
'T' in the Sweet Memories Trophy. Alford settled Samarkhand in the
second spot as B. Prakash once again attempted to go wire-to-wire atop
Star Millionaire. Everything went according to his script till Alford
stepped on the gas in the final furlong. Samarkhand pounced on Star
Millionaire and at the same time contained the challenge of favourite
Asiatique as he bounded towards the winning post. The chestnut son of
Greensmith out of Anthalia won his fourth race on this ground and thus
booked a special place in Asad's heart and his life. Wall Street
couldn't achieve a hat-trick despite his futile attempt in the dying
moments of the race and had to be content with the berth ahead of
Asiatique.
Band of Gold (Don't Forget Me-So Amazing), helped immensely by the pace
set by Cracker, outwitted High Rising in the
curtain-raiser. Cracker (formerly known as Sparkle) expectedly faded out
in the straight allowing the Sunderji trained chestnut filly to be
whisked into the lead by Alford. Band of Gold stretched well and held on
gamely despite the vain attempts of High Rising and Thief Of The Knight. The decision of the connections of High Rising to play a
waiting game surely cost him the race and truly speaking the efforts of
rookie Riyaz Shaikh simply didn't compliment the ability of the horse.
Forces of Destiny (Concordial-Momentous) made amends for his last-outing
failure and was confidently assisted by jockey Aadesh Kumar in the
saddle. The bay colt lay in wait behind early leaders Smarty Pant and
Pleasure Zone and swooped down on them in the last furlong. Forces of
Destiny made light of the heavy impost on his back as he then cruised
away for an emphatic win.
Good fortune helped the bay filly Cosmic Flower (Tecorno-Classic Tune)
score. Her nearest rival Pride ran green throughout the race and
crucially when it mattered most. Jockey R. Rupesh tried relentlessly to
keep Pride to race on an even keel but the debutant refused to budge and
lost a certain race. Gold Craze was not disgraced when ending fourth
behind Elmwood, who ran leisurely.
Trainer Vijay Kasbekar pulled off a profitable coup with Easy Spirit
(Tirol-Have I Loved), whose seemingly endless search for success finally
ended. The generous odds offered by the bookies against Turf Crown had a
story to tell of its own and the worst fears of the punters who bet on
the Narendra Lagad trainee came true. The Anil Baandal ridden Turf Crown
flattered till about a furlong away from home when T. S. Jodha spurred
Easy Spirit to assert his authority. The dark bay gelding had something
in reserve as he spared two-lengths to Open Season. Priceless Hero
entered the picture when the race was virtually over to be third
followed by Master Zahir.
It required a mile-and-a-half journey for Pesi Shroff trained Royal
Panache (Royal Kingdom-Au Panache) to taste his maiden victory with a powerful burst that stunned Adrenaline Rush virtually on
the post. Royal Panache was ridden well off the pace and Neeraj Rawal
decided to make his move when the field turned for home. Esperante was
in an unrelenting mood after playing her customary front-running role
and fought till the last stride. Indian Fashion tried to overpower her
but her tendon problem surfaced and she fell back. Adrenaline Rush came
with a second run and real-time viewing suggested that he had thwarted
Royal Panache but the RWITC`s digital camera had a different verdict in
store.
Trainer Hormuz Antia`s property Only For Don (Classic Tale-Military
Girl) earned his corn-bill when the 5kg-claimer T. Atul rode him to a
shock victory over favourite Game of Power, who refused to accelerate
when asked by his rider. Storm Alert ran fourth closely followed by
Great Giver. The rest were mere also ran's without any exploitation of their
true potential.
The got-abroad filly Celubrious (Fly So Free-Winning Spurs), now
entrusted to trainer Dallas Todywalla and given a new identity as Flying
Rani, flourished under the whip of Rajeev Pandey and wore down leader
Imogene, who happily relinquished the responsibility close home. Golden
Key relished the extended trip and ended runner-up followed by Fantastic
Feeling, who found her rhythm far too late to make any material
difference to the race. The Imtiaz Sait nurtured
favourite Force Nine let down a large following for reasons which are
extremely difficult to fathom. He appears to be an unreliable commodity.
Or is he?
