There are so many facets to horseracing that keep manifesting themselves
at regular intervals and this probably could be one of the reasons why racegoers don’t regard the statement ‘this is truly a fascinating game’
as a cliché. One such aspect of horseracing came to the fore when
Democraticus (Royal Kingdom – Mea Culpa) earned his first bracket of the
year beating Holding Court in the Haig Gold Label Maharaja Jiwajirao
Scindia Trophy (Gr.3).
Democraticus had made a splendid winning debut at Bangalore a couple of
years back which made everybody sit up and take notice of his talent.
Not only this, it was Democraticus who sounded the arrival of his sire
Royal Kingdom in India as a stallion of immense potential. Around that
same time Padmanabhan saddled another Royal Kingdom progeny Holding
Court. Interestingly, Padmanabhan played a pivotal role in scripting
Royal Kingdom’s arrival in India. After his spectacular win Democraticus
suffered a setback and was laid off till he made a resounding comeback
by winning two races last winter. Holding Court meanwhile held centre
stage beating Flashing Star to claim the Bangalore Derby before finding
his nemesis in Mystical in the Indian classics at Mumbai.
Democraticus always lived in the shadow of Holding Court though both
thoroughbreds never battled for supremacy though racing together twice
at Mahalaxmi. Democraticus, in his last appearance, was the main
challenger to Mystical with the distance and the terms of the race both
in his favour. But Mystical remained elusive for Democraticus. His
defeat however turned out to be Democraticus’ last stint under
Padmanabhan’s care as he was then sent to Nosher Cama’s yards.
Come Christmas Day and the two former barn-mates, Democraticus and
Holding Court, came face to face to vie for the feature race. Both
enjoyed equal support in the betting though it must be mentioned that
the terms were once again in favour of the former. Flareon set the pace
for the ten-horse field followed closely by Thundering Power. The latter
was in command once the heads straightened for home with Holding Court
also in the process of making his presence count. His racing fitness
probably a minor irritant but the volume of lead in the saddle
definitely took toll of Holding Court as he struggled to pull along side
Thundering Power. Colm O’Donoghue meanwhile executed a workmanlike job
astride Democraticus and came charging down the straight to snatch the
verdict from Thundering Power. Holding Court ended a length away.
It was difficult to guess the thoughts that were running through Padmanabhan’s mind as he stood in front of Holding Court, just metres
away from the winner’s stall where Democraticus stood victorious. The
same horse whom he had nursed and nurtured all along till just a couple
of weeks back. Well, isn’t horseracing a truly fascinating game?
Earlier Balthazaar (Alnasr Alwasheek – Lorne) also celebrated first
success after shifting his residence to Imtiaz Sait’s barns. The
three-year-old bay returned to form with a smashing victory in the
supporting event of the card. It was one of the bread-and-butter rides
for jockey C. Rajendra as Balthazaar didn’t require any exceptional
steering skills in this victory. Alamshaara, Don Gama and Desert
Conqueror and the other runners were all reduced to mere spectators once
Balthazaar headed the field opposite the grand stands.
Two of Dr M. A. M. Ramaswamy runners Definite Spice and Sensuous Touch
made a belated entry to the winner’s enclosure. But it was not B.
Prakash who fetched victory for these two maidens but Irishman Colm
O’Donoghue who was allowed to hog the limelight. Before his conquest in
the feature race, the Irish rider booted home a brace for S. Ganapathy.
Definite Spice (Diffident – Pure Spice) decimated her rivals including
Red Dawn and Dance Diva, who didn’t make any impression on the winner.
The strong finishing efforts of O’Donoghue came in handy for Sensuous
Touch (Greensmith – Sensuality). Last outing winner Pure For Sure very
nearly upset the favourite’s applecart with a start-to-finish mission
which would’ve succeeded but for O’Donoghue’s dogged pursuit.
Elusive Pimpernel’s daughter Clairet, who is out of Goulaine, made an
impressive debut in the hands of Niall McCullagh. Trained by Pesi Shroff
for Dr Vijay Mallya, Clairet chased no-hoper Fairy Fantasy and Star of
Paradise into the straight and went surging past them when Niall shifted
gears. Reflected Glory did show any overt interest in the race and her
plans seemed to be shelved for some other day.
With the scales in his favour and having got a dream opening towards the
rails near the bend, Sanjay Kolse trained Born To Lead (Diffident –
Charente) stole a march over his rivals to register an upset. Ante post
favourite Schubert’s odds charted a straight upward course in the
bookie’s ring and then ran wayward on the track to the chagrin of the
punters. What’s more Schubert and Oojah collectively extinguished the
chances of Helmsdale, who was denied a clear passage close home. Magic
Spell produced a late run when the race was all over bar the shouting.
Last’n Impression (Reasonable – June Show) from Magansingh Jodha’s yard
with Dashrath Singh in saddle snatched victory from the jaws of defeat
as his flared nostrils stopped Flying Glory from hitting the tape first.
It was a cliff hanger as a blanket finish took place for this sprint
after Red Amytheist made the entire running. Red Amytheist was initially
challenged by Flying Glory and Really Romantic with the former gaining a
slight upper hand. Meanwhile Last’n Impression found his rhythm late and
flew towards to the wire to stun Flying Glory and Really Romantic.
Shiraz Sunderji led in a well-backed double in association with jockey
K. P. G. Appu. First Cakravana (Cruachan – Sheikh Chillee) showed vast
improvement over his last run to clock an easy win over Wild Vegas and
Sphinx. Later, Forces of Destiny (Concordial – Momentous) made rapid
ground in the straight to go sailing past Englehart. His task was made
easier by the feeble attempt of Hazelhead in the straight.
Asad Siddiqui saddled filly Dancing Diva (Brave Hunter – Dance Move)
scored her second successive win of the season and had the services of
Malesh Narredu on this occasion. The filly had no difficulty in tackling
early leader Incomparable and then stretched out for a comprehensive win
over Druids Glen and Orlando Bloom. The latter ran below par but the
punters could see it coming after Ganapathy entrusted the saddling
responsibility of Orlando Bloom to Saeed Shah. As far as Orlando Bloom’s
chances in the race were concerned, the writing on the clearly on the
wall.
