Luck of the race deserts Retribution
By True Blue

Mumbai
Mar 18, 2007

Natural talent at times does not suffice for a horse that has the ability to win a particular race. Many a time racegoers have been witness to an event where luck of the race plays an equally important factor. A similar scenario was enacted again in the Shapoorji Pallonji Breeders' Juvenile Colts Championship (Gr.3) on Sunday.

Retribution, the odds on choice for the feature event, seemed perfectly poised for launching a full-scale attack after the eight-horse field had completed skirting the final curve. At this stage leader Maseeha was in the process of dropping back with Pillatus trying to wrest control from him. Assert The Right was also essaying his challenge on the outer lane flanked by Retribution on the inside.     K. P. G. Appu aboard Retribution saw an opening towards the inner rails and decided to go for it. He was to rue this decision after the race.

S. N. Chavan's left-handed whipping caused Pillatus to shift in and move on to Maseeha and seal Retribution's fate as trainer Padmanabhan's ward found the door being slammed shut and had to be checked. By the time Appu found another route to make a challenge, Y. S. Srinath driven Assert The Right (Razeen - Altitude) had stolen a march and held on to this advantage when Retribution came flying at him.

Retribution was not the only favourite to bite dust during the day. Desert Dust was the only odds-on favourite to win in the card of nine events. The big guns, Malesh Narredu, K. P. G. Appu, C. Rajendra failed to boom resulting in a disastrous day for punters. Even the solitary win achieved by Rajendra astride Rejuvenite was at the cost of the public choice Pampered Princess. Magansingh Jodha trained Pampered Princess had everything going for her right from the handicap to the distance of the Madras Race Club Trophy but sometimes appearances are deceptive. Dashrath Singh put Pampered Princess on the right track when taking off quickly from the blocks. C. Rajendra piloted Rejuvenite, who was conceding a monumental 13.5kg to Pampered Princess, ranged along side the favourite. It is unclear if Dashrath was overawed by the situation or the colours of Rejuvenite but the fact remained that he failed to bring the best out of Pampered Princess.

Pesi Shroff seems to have resolved to capture the season's leading trainer's crown. He saddled two winners: Deeleecious (Afternoon Deelites-Andestine) and Quest for Cash (Black Cash-Native Quest) but punters were reluctant to cheer him because the latter had vanquished Alvarita. Earlier they had burnt their fingers when following two of his candidates, Diego Rivera and Consuela.

Deeleecious moved with a resolute run when Neeraj Rawal decided to take a short cut home and collared Sparrow Hawk opposite the stands. The rest never came into the fray including favourite Royal Ballerina.

Quest for Cash's short-head win over Alvarita in the Grade 3 Forbes Breeders' Juvenile Fillies Championship had an element of luck in it as the latter was found to have broken her blood vessels. The Imtiaz Sait saddled filly was taken on a start-to-finish mission by Malesh Narredu and appeared coasting for a win when Suraj Narredu brought Quest for Cash into the picture. The Chacha-Bhatija duo of jockeys went stride for stride and were not separated till the winning post. Quest for Cash won the race on the bob-of-the-nose.

M. K. Jadhav saddled Sonic Boom (Placerville-Miss X O Lence) was ridden confidently P. Kamlesh. Sonic Boom took charge from Mister Fixit after Malesh unable to further the cause of The Praetorian in the home straight. Strathendrick then moved within striking distance of Sonic Boom and came menacingly close to toppling him. But Kamlesh was in a rare aggressive mood and at the receiving end was Strathendrick.

Saeed Shah's ward Desert Dust (Glory of Dancer-Warning Shadows) put to rest the doubts of his staying ability when R. Rupesh rode him in copybook style and kept late finishing Royal Panache at bay in the P. R. Mehta Trophy. Desert Dust was the lone favourite to score in the day.

S. N. Joshi trained Return of the King (Bee's Prospector-Amorous Dancer) earned an overdue bracket but in the unlikely hands of jockey V. Kotwal. More interestingly, he fought it out with S. Sameer who had nearly swept his rivals off their feet atop Multicultural. Thundering Hero came very close to gaining a victory but will have to wait for some more time. There was nothing to write home about the performance of favourite Consuela.

Narendra Lagad hit the final nail in the losing punter's coffin by saddling Win For Me (Don't Forget Me-Winning Dream), who shocked his rivals in the hands of Akash Agarwal. Helmsdale was in the vanguard but couldn't hold the challenge of the winner. The Dominator ran late to finish second. Favourites Red Amytheist and Pure For Sure were not sighted in the fray at all.