After having failed to
deliver the goods over a seven-furlong journey Pesi Shroff decided to
trim Cromwell’s travelling distance this time but didn't get the desired
result. In a bid to outsmart his rivals C. Ruzaan took favourite
Cromwell on a start-to-finish mission. He appeared to be on course till
the last furlong where Frenchman Samuel Fargeat made his move astride
the second-in-demand Goodness Gracious. There was a minor scuffle and
just as Goodness Gracious was establishing his supremacy California
appeared from nowhere and Vikram Jodha celebrated his return to the
saddle by stealing the race from under the nose of Samuel. Cromwell
barely managed to retain the third berth from last-outing winner Oprah.
Fall Of The Hammer and Touch A Star, who had twice proved to be the
“bookies’ delight” during their previous appearances came face to face
at the start of the day. The former carried the public’s purse on this
occasion but it was Touch A Star for whom it proved to be third time
lucky! The Pesi Shroff nursed filly brought in-foal to Baby Diamonds and
who is by Sword Dance produced a scintillating run in the straight to
catch Fall Of The Hammer by the scruff of her neck and went sailing
clear for her maiden victory.
Czarina was so well-tuned by veteran Imtiaz Sait that market price
reflected his confidence in the debutant filly’s ability to make a
winning debut. Czarina, who is the younger sibling of Saeed Shah trained
filly Flying Glory, justified her master’s faith when she wore down
Culture Shock, who surrendered far too meekly to suggest that she was in
no mood to oblige her followers. Torque, also making her debut, matched
strides with Culture Shock in the initial stages and retired to end a
graceful third.
Dallas Todywalla saddled Glorious Fantasy (Razeen – Magical Moments)
defied the handicapper to complete a glorious hat-trick and also gave C.
Alford his first success of the day. The bay filly called the bluff of
See The Truth when the heads turned for home and won untroubled despite
runner-up Siroco’s late flurry appearing dangerous for some. Thief Of
The Knight woke up to his task only when the winner was home and dry
whereas Caring managed to dodge the judges’ board by a hair’s breadth.
The four-year-old filly Empire Star, who was being saddled for the first
time by S. Ganapathy and had twice lost narrowly, showed no improvement
and ran down the field. Empire Star’s performance was so pathetic that
it definitely deserves to go under the scanner of the stipes. Who knows,
it might reveal some mysterious ailment which prevents him from
performing to his ability! Empire Star had lost to Royal Hunt under
controversial circumstances and by a strange coincidence it was the
latter’s stable-mate Rejuvenite who was the winner. The bay son of Tirol
out of Liebestraum, who was overshadowed by Snow Tiger earlier, came
with a terrific burst as the field skirted the false rails and joined
the issue with West Coast Eagle. C. Ruzaan found keeping Rejuvenite
under control extremely difficult and crossed West Coast Eagle’s path
nearer home. The latter was cramped for room as a result of which he
stumbled and his rider miraculously escaped being dislodged. Rejuvenite
however sauntered towards the wire for an easy win over Get Fresh and
Don Gama. Jockey P. Kamlesh’s protest against the winner was based on
formality rather than conviction and its subsequent rejection by the
Stewards surprised few.
Horseracing is not only full of uncertainty but also has a funny side.
Culture Shock and Empire Star, who were both fancied by the punters,
suffered from the lack of vigour earlier in the day but Airliner, who
was available at lucrative odds, had enough energy to land the spoils in
the lower division of the Thanksgiving Trophy. The daughter of Diffident
out of Aerogramme piloted by Imran Chisty unleashed a powerful down the
straight and came with a lightning run to take toll of Strawberry
Fields, who disappointed her supporters once again.
With money flowing like water towards Running Machine (Local Talent –
Munizah) in the betting market, there was an obvious hint that the J. K.
Gor trained bay gelding would rise to the occasion. He surely did and
Amyn Merchant steered him to a comfortable win over Live It Love It,
whose bid came a trifle late. Ancient Secrets opened as an ante post
favourite despite her lacklustre show earlier which proved misleading
and costly for many punters, who didn’t seem to have learnt a lesson
from the previous experience. She ended down the field after her
blood-vessels broke.
Ivor Fernandes’ ward Understanding (Don Michelleto – Sweet Aunty),
assisted by Neeraj Rawal in the saddle, rallied from an impossible
position from the rear end of the field and stunned Dilnawaz in
virtually her last stride. Glory led briefly at the turn and was easily
overtaken by Prince of Hearts. The favourite however failed to sustain
allowing Dilnawaz to assert his superiority but Understanding pulled the
rug from under his feet with her final burst.
