Mallesh found his winning touch towards the fag end of the day when the
punters were preparing to go home with long faces and empty pockets.
Mallesh booted home a back-to-back double through Degas and Crown Court.
Dashrath Singh's good form continued and he made most of the opportunity
provided by trainers, who wanted to cash in on his weight allowance.
Jockey Aadesh Kumar too managed to squeeze in a brace astride Snap
Dragon and Nanjing, who claimed the two divisions of the Exhilaration
Trophy. Aadesh missed out on the opportunity of a grand treble as
Battery played spoilsport and vanquished the favourite Siroco in the
shadow of the winning post.
Dashrath started his day with the well-oiled Running Machine, which
recorded a hat-trick for ex-jockey Jayantilal Gor. Running Machine
(Local Talent-Munizah) slipped into the lead when favourite Britney
veered out under pressure and won convincingly over Truth Prevails and
Naseebdar.
Caring (Binkhaldoun-Careforallseasons) from Don Surti's barns scraped
through in a tight finish in the Al Marzouk Plate. Zameer Sayyed handled
the mare admirably to eliminate the threat posed by Captive Heart and
Pine Crest. Born Destiny and High Rising were both highly fancied in the
betting ring but they failed to live up to the expectations of the
bettors. Thief Of The Knight ended a tame fourth.
The slide for the punters continued when rank outsider Grey Storm (Meritocrat-Roho
Caliente) made every post of the seven-furlong trip a winning one and
gave rider K. Deepesh and master Adil Dajee their first win of the
season. The grey gelding went streaking into the lead when the gates
opened and was never headed at any stage of the race. Tribal Warrior and
Rare Look fought for the minor places close home. Magical Moon who was
expected to make amends for his earlier failure disappointed once again.
Colour Bearer with Mallesh in the saddle was a big hit among the
followers of big money and also those who were trying to chase their
losses. The odds for Pesi Shroff's candidate got hammered down but the
horse himself could do no better than finish fourth. Cromwell, who was
sent out by Pesi and carrying the same colours as Colour Bearer, made
the entire running in the hands of Vijay Kadam and lasted out to win
from Zroom much to the chagrin of many. Atmosphere failed to accelerate
in the straight and ended third ahead of Colour Bearer.
With the withdrawal of Avernus from the fray, it seemed that a favourite
would finally click. But Narendra Lagad saddled three-year-old filly
Snap Dragon (Major Impact-Cymbidium) had other ideas. She managed to
wrest the initiative at the start and then showed a clean pair of heels
to her rivals including the favourite Red Dawn, who seemed to be in
futile chase throughout. Mantovani rallied on in the final stages to
deprive Red Dawn the runner-up berth.
Rage of Angels start-to-finish mission came to a nought when she
succumbed to the pressure applied by favourite Siroco and Battery. It
was the latter who eventually managed to gain the upper hand at the
wire. Priceless Hero followed the footsteps of his barnmate Magical Moon
and made a big hole in the pockets of his followers.
Aadesh rode a confident race astride the well-bred debutant filly
Nanjing (Razeen-London Cries) to humble Steel Butterfly, who had the
services of Malesh. Favourite Zuetina gave another roller-coaster
performance to finish off the board.
Degas (King of Kings-Slide By) became the first public choice to hit the
bull's eye. Interestingly, Degas had lost as an on-money favourite in
his first appearance this season when he was sent out by Vinayak and
ridden by none other than Mallesh himself. The four-year-old gelding
trained by Amjad Khan took off smartly from the barriers and held on
gamely from Golden Flowers and Thunderella. The Rebel came in for
sustained support in the betting but could only console himself with the
fourth place.
Some strong finishing from Mallesh and the superb response given by
Crown Court (Burden of Proof-Queen's Rule) frustrated Star Galaxy in the
Racing Officials Trophy. The filly was being hailed as a winner about a
furlong from home but Crown Court came with a devastating run to halt
her winning march. Simply Gorgeous ended a fair third with Absolute
Dominance close on her heels. Happy Queen ran a dismal race.
Lady Trooper (Storm Trooper-Lady In Red) provided the proverbial icing
on the cake for Dashrath Singh when she won end to end in the concluding
race of the day. The Rehanullah Khan nursed filly won by a widening
five-lengths from Only For Don and High Voltage. Highland Path couldn't
provide any succour for her rider Rajendra, who drew a blank at the end
of the day.
