Bourbon King asserts his superiority in PBMM 
By True Blue

Mumbai
February 26, 2007

For the first time since inception in 1980, the Poonawalla Breeders Multimillion showcased a line-up of some of the most talented thoroughbreds currently in the racing circuit and Bourbon King proved an extremely worthy winner of this juvenile championship event. The stakes were a whopping forty-six lakh rupees for the winner which had attracted such a high-profile field.

Trainer S. Ganapathy was not present at Mahalaxmi on Sunday but he had two show-stoppers in Our Excellencee and Bourbon King among the field of twelve competing for fame in the 28th edition of Poonawalla Breeders' Multimillion (Gr.1). Although Bourbon King had won twice for the asking at Bangalore, the general tendency of ignoring such claims and instead showing preference for the local candidates by the racing community in Western India once again prevailed.

The eye-catching winning debut of Our Excellencee not only enticed everybody but also proved to be a distraction for a fair majority of the racegoers. The presence of Ryan Moore, Mystical's saddle-partner in Dubai, astride Our Excellencee was another factor, though irrelevant, that contributed towards the bias. No wonder Bourbon King (Diffident - Queen Ann) was overshadowed by Our Excellencee in the betting ring.

The dynamics of this event however did not change and those in attendance had the privilege of watching a truly enthralling finish. It was no surprise to see The Hurricane wanting to wrest the initiative when the gates opened but a similar attempt from Our Excellencee certainly raised many eyebrows. This act of hara-kiri saw The Hurricane fading out in the last two-furlongs but Our Excellencee was not done with as yet. His flame of hope kept flickering but the winning post arrived too late. Meanwhile Colm O'Donoghue ridden Bourbon King made steady progress and was soon in touch with both Our Excellencee and Niall McCullagh piloted Alvarita. The ensuing battle was made of the stuff not recommended for the weak-hearted.

The three horses went stride for stride and it was touch-and-go till the last few seconds where O'Donoghue spurred Bourbon King for that split-second surge which extinguished the hopes of Alvarita and Our Excellencee. As the discussion went on after the race and during the prize distribution ceremony, Bourbon King's victory was a perfect compliment to his master's hard work. Trainer Saeed Shah saddled Ganapathy's horses in his absence.

Shah had earlier sent out Ruben Star (Placerville - Forest Fantasy) to victory in the Rusi Patel Trophy where O'Donoghue was seen at his best. Ruben Star had almost surrendered to Samarkhand opposite the stands but O'Donoghue kept the pressure on his mount and found that extra bit of energy from the horse to keep his rivals at bay. Hugo Boss also looked threatening at one stage but he was unable to raise a fluent gallop when it was required most and ended a fair third ahead of Habat, who started moving when the race was all but over.

Ryan Moore though disappointed by Portrush and Our Excellencee had an armchair ride aboard Altaf Hussain trained filly Star Conquest (Alnasr Alwasheek - Star Concert), who won her third race this season.

Faisal Abbas trained Escravos (Don't Forget Me - New Europe) finally broke the jinx to earn a bracket when K. P. G. Appu timed his challenge to seize the initiative from Fire God and helped the bay gelding to kick on. Portrush threw a challenge at Escravos in the straight but Escravos proved a hard nut to crack for him. Rococo, it is reported, nursing sore shins and ended a tame fourth behind Simply Smashing.

Jockey Harish steered and Hosidar Daji trained Adrenaline Rush (Steinbeck - Stimulating) created a flutter in the opening event demolishing the small field including favourite Balance De Power. Both Balance De Power and Royal Flash were reported to have returned with bleeding nostrils and their poor performance is understandable.

Harish was involved with the success of Sonic Boom (Placerville - Miss X O Lence) hailing from Mansingh Jadhav's barns. The jockey, who has found himself on the wrong side of the law at RWITC, rode Sonic Boom resolutely and went on to win a hard-fought battle against the Niall McCullagh ridden favourite Pepe Junior. Elmwood ran thereabouts and finished fourth behind Thief of the Knight.

The other shocker of the day was provided by Magansingh Jodha saddled aged mare Battery (Bee's Prospector - Mists of Avalon) who came from nowhere to snatch the race from right under the noses of both Goldeen and Hard Rock. The latter horses too had made a late appearance on the scene but Battery fooled them all. The fancied horses proved once again that they are an unreliable lot and the punters should learn a lesson from this race.

Enceladus (Black Cash - Selerina's Song) was expected to have it easy against her opponents in the Hong Kong Jockey Club Trophy but she was scared out of her wits by debutant Fiery Fox. Harish brought him along side the favourite in the straight and appeared to be on the threshold of his maiden success. But Niall showed his nerves of steel and powered Enceladus to a narrow win over Fiery Fox, who was clearly short of a run. The Bezan Chenoy nurtured filly thus completed a hat-trick.