Sadly, however, the other two fancied horses sporting the colours of
Dhunjibhoy failed miserably.
Aldeburgh, who returned to the racetrack after a failed attempt at
stallion duties ran a pathetic last after failing to make an impact in
the Mulraj Goculdas Trophy. Entrusted to Naill McCullagh, Aldeburgh was
seen struggling to be in touch with the pace set by Pitlochry. It was
Dancing Image (Diffident – Moving Image), who interestingly was ridden
to a narrow victory by McCullagh earlier, who improved gradually as
Cyrille Stefan wished and wrested control over the race after a keen
tussle. One O One looked menacing at one stage but found the winner too
good.
The way Mallesh hit the front with the 10 to 6 on favourite Degas it
seemed as he was intent on recording the fastest timing for a sprint on
this planet. The Vinayak trainee came a cropper in the straight when
Mallesh asked him to quicken. Charging Rhino tried to assume command but
Rajeev Pandey spurred Dallas Todywalla trained Crystal Queen
(Tirol-Crystal Girl) on to foil his intentions. Prashant didn’t do any
favours to the chances of Blue Butterfly by dropping his whip at a
crucial juncture. The mare ended a close third with disgraced Degas in
close tow.
The poor fitness levels of four out of the six horses in the fray for
the Governor’s Trophy stood exposed when the last minute entrant,
Dynasty (Conquering Hero – Scossa), made a mockery of her rivals. The
Pesi Shroff trained filly had made her debut just three days back when
she ended a faraway third behind Petronella. She had stripped fitter
after that run and it came handy for her as McCullagh drove her
purposefully to overcome the challenge of runaway leader Persephone. The
rest did nothing to deserve any mention.
Soon after Aldeburgh ran last, punters had to suffer the sight of
witnessing Girl From Ascot meeting the same fate where Sea Spray
provided Pesi his second winner of the day. The Imtiaz Sait nurtured
mare flopped after trying to cut the pace with Thundering Star and
proved to be a major disappointment for the students of form. The filly
obviously likes to come with a run from behind and this could be one of
the reasons behind Girl From Ascot’s poor show. Sea Spray meanwhile
gathered momentum when Mallesh alerted to her task and went sailing past
Thundering Star and the rest. Exotic Fantasy lost the runner up berth to
the late burst of Tarascon, who graced the wrong end of the field and
appeared on the scene when it didn’t matter at all.
The removal of blinkers on Rivaaz (Binkhaldoun – Taj Mahal) helped the
Sanjay Kolse nursed filly give a turnaround performance and graduate
from the maiden ranks. Frenchman Samuel Fargeat gave Rivaaz, who
attracted smart flow of money in the betting ring, a copybook ride and
won untroubled after taking charge at the bend. Celubrious ran on to
finish a tame second ahead of Viceroy and Sky Hunter. Master Planner,
who was ridden by McCullagh and thus found his way in the betting, ended
in the rut. Oddly enough, the odds for Rehanullah Khan’s candidate had
moved in the opposite direction whereas those of Rivaaz were hammered
down relentlessly.
