Star Strider impressive but has a long way to go
By Silver Hawk

Star Strider from trainer Ganapathy’s yard has always been kept in high esteem by the stable. Half-brother to last year’s Indian Derby winner Starsky, Star Strider is a late foal and as such, the connections were wise not to push him and have given sufficient time for him to be ready for the ultimate plum of Indian racing i.e. the Indian Derby. Bred to stay, Star Strider was tested over a Derby trip of 2400 metres in the Royal Calcutta Turf Club Trophy, which featured Wednesday’s races, and he came out in flying colours. But the only negative point was the fact that he beat only stablemates and the race went exactly the way it was planned out to be. Incidentally, perhaps for the first time in the history of racing in Mumbai, there was only one owner in the paddock, with all the four contestants belonging to Dr M A M Ramaswamy. When there are more bonafide interests in a race, things don’t run the way you plan and as such, Star Strider, despite beating form horse Royal Amaretto who is in the highest class, cannot be bracketed with some of the top contenders of the Derby so early and one has to be skeptical about his chances at least for the time being.

Star Strider (B Prakash up), winning the Royal Calcutta Turf Club Trophy.

Alustar and Resist were ahead of Star Strider and Royal Amaretto as the starter dispatched the field for the mile and a half trip. Star Strider cruised into the lead inside the final two furlongs and stretched away to win decisively. Royal Amaretto was about five lengths adrift, with the other runners who acted as pace makers finishing way behind. Star Strider is bound to run as one of the front-runners for the Derby but one has to wait and watch and not come to hasty conclusions. Star Strider is bred to stay but his win here does not definitely enhance his credentials a great deal. He needs to prove himself all over again as he may be short on class compared to his own stable mate Superior Force.

Altaf Hussain trained Fair Always was backed to the exclusion of her rivals as the daughter of Alnasr Alwasheek had impressed most in the workouts. Failed favourite High Ridge let the field into the straight but faded out under pressure. Jockey McCullagh managed to slip the favourite along the rails and Fair Always got better in the final furlong and won with ease. Brave Beauty was a faraway third.

Seventh Star had been a pretty consistent performer at Pune and the six-year old race mare had run an eye-catching second behind Shamaal in one of her outings this season. Her subsequent failure deserved to be ignored as she went into the Play On Plate (Div I), with the benefit of a five-kg claimer in Deepesh. Despite coming wide, Seventh Star gathered momentum close home to edge out the front-running Maratha Princess to win quite capably. 

Seventh Star (Deepesh K up) winning the Play on Plate Div I from Maratha Princess (Satish Nayak up)

Favourite Killarney, who graced the wrong end of the field till turning for home, warmed up late and missed the berth narrowly. In the lower division of the same race, another top-weight Marmalade was strongly fancied to win but the moody daughter of Placerville ran below par, finishing in the rut. Over The Ocean who has been pretty consistent, got the measure of Royal Secret, with a second wind, to win in a photo-finish. Royal Secret came from behind and swept past Over The Ocean who was warming up to the task and shaped like a winner. Apprentice jockey S Nayak was looking over his shoulders on his left but by that time, Prakash had changed course and slipped Over The Ocean along the rails. The latter fought resolutely and wrested the initiative again to win by a neck. The quality of riding made the difference to the outcome. Alice Charms was a surprise third ahead of Silver Blue who was not unduly extended.

Dallas Todywalla’s Star Carvel looked a cinch in the Springbok Plate (Div I) but surprisingly Going N’ Style attracted all the money so much so that the former ran at lucrative odds. Going N’ Style ended in a whimper as Star Carvel won with a measure of comfort from Precious Pearl. The lower division of the race produced a thriller. Energizer, full brother to the celebrated Wild Eagle, was the market rage despite running after a long lay off. Energizer appeared to justify the support but the son of Don’t Forget Me weakened close home to surrender to Think of Us who sprang a big surprise.

Renhanullah Khan trained Donegal Bay’s win was considered a formality going by the manner in which the son of Dark Nile attracted betting in the ring in the Bhishma Plate (Div I) but the favourite hurt himself at the gates and was withdrawn from the fray. Star Look then looked the most probable candidate to claim the honors but the front-runner could not sustain as Harry Potter, under the relentless whip of apprentice Bhagwan Singh, clinched the issue in the shadow of the post. There was a similar finish in the lower division of the race too. 

Star Carvel (M A Gallagher up), winning the Springbok Plate Div I from Precious Pearl (Samuel Fargeat up)

First timer Adam’s Gesture was backed with conviction to land the spoils but buckled when in sight of victory. Captive Heart who was tardy the start, was driven out to an exciting win by Bangalore based Appu. Irresistible You was a noteworthy third.

Seven-year old Avenging Angel decided to put his best foot forward and floored the opposition in the Ocean Park Plate. Just as Elusive Charm and Keytothevaults were disputing the supremacy, Avenging flashed home late to snatch the verdict, much to the chagrin of the supporters of the front-running duo who enjoyed a big chunk of betting in the ring.