Magic Touch (McCullagh up) winning the Revelation Trophy

Punters delighted as Srinath, McCullagh hit a purple patch
By True Blue

Mumbai
Feb 23, 2006

The day punters were desperately looking for took a long time coming and when it did arrive this Thursday the bookies were left in tatters. The trainer-jockey combination of Bezan Chenoy and Y. S. Srinath led the destruction of the bookies with three first time winners. Irishman Niall McCullagh rubbed salt into the bookies’ wounds by booting home a lucrative treble.

The well-bred filly Grantown (Razeen–Roccobarocco) moved to western India after having failed to leave the maiden ranks at Bangalore but success was not easy to come by at Mumbai either. The misery finally ended when she was placed in a weaker set and an extended trip. Esperante tried runaway tactics by establishing a long lead halfway through the journey. Her bluff was soon called by Srinath, who collared her at the top of the home straight and drew away from the field.

The same colours were prominent immediately in the next race giving Bezan and Srinath a back-to-back double. Portrush (Razeen–Husun), a full-brother to Live Legend, decimated the opposition in the Pyare Mia Trophy. Srinath had Portrush on the bit till entering the final stretch and then let him loose. Portrush kept going to win convincingly from the late moving Acceptance and Simply Smashing. Second favourite Secret Garden languished at the wrong end and ended a poor fourth.

The four-year-old filly Helmsdale (Royal Kingdom–Housewarming) apparently relished the use of blinkers on this occasion and scored a fluent victory in the lower division of the Six Speed Trophy. Helmsdale was given her head by Srinath when the destination was just a little more than a furlong away. The filly responded magnificently and sailed away smoothly for an authoritative win over Blue Spirit, who travelled wide into the straight to finish second ahead of All Or Nothing and Faster Than Light.

Niall McCullagh had three engagements during the day, High Opinion, Magic Touch and Orpheus. His riding skills came in handy for the Zadmal Singh saddled filly Magic Touch (Steinbeck–Magic Fountain) against the onslaught of top-weighted Thundering Power in the Revelation Trophy, the feature event of the day. C. Rajendra aboard Thundering Power came tantalisingly close in the dying stages of the race but Magic Touch’s resolve and Naill’s power-packed finish sealed the fate of Dallas Todywalla’s candidate.

High Opinion (Razeen–Finest Hour) scored his first victory after coming to Pesi Shroff’s barns when Niall had little trouble in gaining control of the race after no-hoper Heart of Danger had shot his bolt. The lack of interest shown by the other contestants helped Zephyrella usurp the runner-up slot while Star Divine rallied on to finish third ahead of Lionheart.

Orpheus (Razeen – Adored), now saddled by Vinayak, registered the most facile victory of the day in the concluding event. Defying the unwarranted surge in the odds against him, Orpheus shot ahead at 400-metre marker and the winner was sighted at that very moment. One Good Thing surprised many by staying on in the second place and was followed by Éclair Blanche and Queen’s Special. Star Destiny ran a pathetic race much to the chagrin of his followers.
Altaf Hussain saddled Natural Vision (Conquering Hero–Natural Spell) made ample amends for his two failures this season when apprentice L. Prashant steered him to a comfortable win over West Coast Eagle, who found the trip a trifle short to his liking and was also out-handicapped by the winner.

The roller-coaster performance of Naval Academy (Tecorno–River of Dreams) continued and Hosidar Daji’s ward wore his galloping shoes to shock Opium on the post in the upper division of the Six Speed Trophy. Earlier it was Running Machine who threatened to register an upset but was overtaken first by Opium and Naval Academy and then was pushed out of the third spot by Take On, the pre-race favourite who was sluggish at the start.

Orpheus (McCullagh up) winner of the Ich Dien Plate,
being led in by owner Mr.Byram N.Jeejeebhoy