Pesi Shroff closes his 2006 account with a treble
By True Blue

Mumbai
December 31, 2006

A friend in need is a friend indeed it is said and were it not for a helping hand extended by a couple of Pesi Shroff’s pals, Blue Ribbon (Alnasr Alwasheek – Endorsement) would’ve been unable to win the Resolute Plate, which was all but declared void due to paucity of runners. Be that as it may, Niall McCullagh atop Blue Ribbon played the waiting game as Leonora took the responsibility of doing the donkey-work for her ownermate till the bend. Here Comes The Don then led on sufferance until Blue Ribbon ended his misery by producing that much-anticipated winning burst. Blue Ribbon ended a street ahead of stablemate Britney, who played her role to perfection and didn’t do anything silly so as to spoil Blue Ribbon’s party.

If one attributed Pesi’s first winner to his public-relation skills, the credit of the other two should go to his placement expertise. The three-year-old filly Dynasty (Conquering Hero – Scossa) had been frustrated time and again in the past six months but she finally found her way out of this depression after Pesi got rid of the lead in her saddle. In the process Pesi had to pick in Class I race for her but more importantly it was the sprint event which seemed to have done the trick for Dynasty. C. Ruzaan didn’t waste the rare opportunity Pesi threw at him though not for possessing any extraordinary riding skills. True to the script, Ruzaan took Dynasty to the front and her stay in that position remained uninterrupted till the wire. Three of Arts the hat-trick bidder was no-where in sight hence Shyboy tried to challenge Dynasty but in vain. Mysterious Land ended in the money to have her share in the stakes.

Royal Princess (Royal Kingdom – Tiddly Widdly) not only fetched Pesi his third winner but also brought handsome gains for every punter who risked his money on her ability to face the might of both Real Excellence and Lombardia. Those in the know however had a big touch on Royal Princess. Niall adopted start-to-finish tactics on Royal Princess which eventually paid off. Julpha turned out to be her unexpected adversary but the winner held on adroitly. The manner in which Lombardia toiled to finish fourth indicated that she was not fully fit for the fray. Real Excellence ran a tame third. It is absolutely certain that Real Excellence had neither advertised anywhere her inability to win nor were there any signs to interpret her unwillingness to return victorious, yet her mounting odds hinted that the bookies possess supernatural powers to get the premonition of her eventual fate.

It may be recalled that Open Opinion (Razeen – Excentrique) had been humbled by Mathematica on debut. A three-week break and S. Ganapathy’s protégé was totally transformed animal. He demolished a field of thirteen to win the Orra Sparkle Million. Malesh Narredu astride debutant Covenant tried to unnerve his rivals with a frisky display of speed but Open Opinion didn’t allow him to steal the show. He soon joined the issue with Covenant and overpowered him after a brief tussle. B. Prakash always seemed to be in full control of the situation and never in doubt himself about the final outcome. Habituated accelerated towards the end to divest Covenant of the second berth. Just for the record, Mathematica ended seventh over five lengths behind his erstwhile victim. Most of the other runners ran in close order and will be in the news sooner or later.

C. D. Katrak saddled Sea Storm (Diffident – Livardi) was the medium of a good gamble and the element of surprise lay in his connections’ decision to entrust the horse to Zameer Sayyed. Sea Storm smoothly slipped into the lead at the final curve and was home and dry before any rival could trouble him. Queen of the Turf got all the attention she deserved in the betting arena but ran far below par to stun her followers. Her ownermate Simply Perfect ended runner-up followed by Viceroy and Brezhnev. Sea Storm had something in reserve when passing the winning post and can repeat subject to the approval of his connections.

Jockey Harish piloted West Coast Eagle (Don’t Forget Me – Rio Anna) found his rhythm and some success after two outings this season. Hosidar Daji’s candidate grabbed the lead from Mister Fixit at the turn and kept going despite Zephyrella’s late flourish. Star Millionaire did some rag-picking in the rear for most of the mile journey and woke up late to his task that remained unfinished.

Gatravat (Barood – Back From Heaven) from Robert D’Mellow’s stables fought a spirited battle with Spiritual Hymn and nailed him on the post as Amyn Merchant drove him diligently. The favourite was relegated to the third slot after the objection of Harish astride Sound of Silence was upheld. Gatravat has the ability to earn bracket provided the handicapper is not too harsh with him.

Fall of the Hammer (Razeen – Mirabelle) went wire-to-wire to catch favourite Royal Panache flat-footed over the Derby distance. The Shiraz Sunderji trained filly gave apprentice D. K. Ashish a jolly ride and a winning one too.