Favourite Ryeback, who
had not been tested by his opponents during his solitary success this
season, curiously received lot of support in the
betting ring and his lacklustre fifth didn't come as a surprise for many
followers of form.
Trainer Bharath Singh led in
a profitable double for owner Harresh Mehta,
his chief patron in Western India, through Nimble Feet (Conquering
Hero-Attire) and Lone Trojan (Tirol-Trojan Lady), who were both
entrusted to Nirmal Jodha. After entering the home stretch there was a
minor skirmish between Nimble Feet and Native Strategy at the end of
which the latter held sway. But before Nirmal could breathe easy,
Patroclus and debutant Wotan, both sporting the colours of K.N.Dhunjibhoy, appeared on the scene. Nimble Feet then veered
out under pressure to make matters a little worse for Nirmal. The
decision of P. Kamlesh astride Patroclus to switch lanes and Wotan's
lack of experience aided Nimble Feet's cause. Runner-up Patroclus ended
a whisker ahead of Wotan. These two horses should not linger in the
maiden ranks for long. Wotan is a half-brother to the celebrated Zurbaran and appears to be equally talented.
Lone Trojan's task was made fairly easy when the Ivor Fernandes trained
filly Fantastic Feeling, the only other fancied runner in the
fourteen-horse field, decided to play truant at the start itself. Lone
Trojan was always in pursuit of Brezhnev who was on a mission to nowhere
and capitulated without much ado when asked the question by the
favourite. Lone Trojan was then threatened by Golden Key but the skills
of rider T. S. Jodha failed to compliment the ability of the mare
trained by veteran S. S. Shah. Lone Trojan faced no hurdles thereafter.
Arabian Lady's consistency on the racetrack has not ebbed and the Altaf
Hussain saddled bay daughter of Diffident out of Grundy's Flame produced
a sparkling run when urged by Vikram Jodha in the dying
moments of the Winged Beauty Trophy. At the receiving end of Arabian
Lady's late surge was last-outing winner Hidden Dragon whose encore bid
was foiled. Favourite Excellento faded out abruptly after being in the
vanguard till the turn. Amadomio ended third without any genuine intent
of throwing the gauntlet at the front-runners with Love And Be Loved
following him home. Sound of Silence ended a neck behind Love And Be
Loved and her weight-reducing mission appears to be reaching its logical
end.
Dr Anil Kumar nurtured Shadow Fax (Placerville-Nautica) earned his corn
bill right at the start of the day when jockey R. Rupesh seized the
initiative at the bend and won with a fair amount of ease.
Annunciation ended second followed by Born Destiny who refused to put
his best foot forward for reasons best known to either him or his
connections. The same held true for favourite Firey Future, who let down
his supporters badly after the steady drift in the odds against him.
Game of Power (Diffident-Grand It Is) made amends for his earlier
failure with the assistance of rookie Dashrath Singh in the saddle. The grey gelding from Nana Raghunath's yard stormed into the lead after the early leaders retired
and held on comfortably from the late-finishing Albany. Tribal Warrior
ran fourth behind True Beauty but this run should be taken with a pinch
of salt. Turf Crown, Highflying and Able Eagle were not duly punished in
this race.
The Hosidar Daji saddled Cocaine (Warrshan-Always Elite) carried the
public purse to victory in the lower division of the Samuel Nathan
Plate. The Malcolm Kharadi ridden bay mare got straight down to business
when the gates opened and showed a clean pair of heels to her rivals.
Rage of Angels found her rhythm far too late to give any headache to the
winner. Millennium King and Battery complete the frame. Storm Alert was
curiously never in the hunt and ran below expectations after showing a
lot of promise during her previous run. The mare probably does not
prefer carrying the singular burden of the punter's money on her back.
The chestnut mare Oceanic Zone (Diffident-Great Request), now entrusted
under the care of Shiraz Sunderji, found her way to the winner's
enclosure once again after receiving adequate support from jockey Aadesh
Kumar. Oceanic Zone was neglected in the betting as the flow of money
was directed towards Really Romantic. The Zadmal Singh saddled filly was
there in the hunt behind leader Charging Rhino till the bend but never
raised any hopes for her supporters. The Rebel ran on to take the
runner-up berth ahead of Degas and Power Zone.
