Punters got a rude
shock in the first race itself when the fancied duo of Priceless Place
and Maugisa failed to hit the bull’s-eye. The six-year-old mare Tafeta,
trained by ex-jockey Amjad Khan, wore her galloping shoes and cleared
the accumulated dues of her corn-bill with the assistance of Anil
Baandal. Danger In Sight, the eventual runner-up, was being hailed as
winner till she was forced into submission by the flourishing run of
Tafeta. Satish Nayak-ridden Diamond Princess, a 15 to 1 long shot from
Narendra Lagad’s yard, then hit the wire first in a blanket finish
involving runner-up Celestial Fantasy, Dudleys and Millennium King.
Faster Than Light was, allegedly, not ridden according to the
instructions given by trainer Hormuz Antia to T. Atul as a consequence
of which the apprentice had to face the wrath of the Stewards.
Stunned by the outcome of the first two races, the market forces refused
to look beyond Perpetuate and King Of The Turf, the latter gaining more
support from the moneybags. One O One, who had migrated from the yards
of Imtiaz Sait recently to those of Shiraz Sunderji’s, showed a quick
reversal of form and galloped resolutely in the final furlong to the
chagrin of many including Malesh and Rajendra who were till
then engaged in a fierce battle astride Perpetuate and King Of The Turf
respectively.
As favourite Premier Star, to be ridden by Malesh, bolted riderless
during the stalling process, Rajendra astride Atmosphere received a heaven-sent opportunity to
draw level with his opponent in the lower division of the Winged Beauty
Trophy. The Mansingh Jadhav saddled filly wore down Money Stream in the
home stretch and drew away from her rivals to make a winning debut. Mind
The Gap with the whipless L. Prashant in saddle made every post of the
Racing Journalists Trophy (Div-II) a winning one despite the nagging
attempt of favourite Crown Affair to divest her of the lead. Back In
Action, as usual, found his rhythm late and his effort could only
deprive Crown Affair the second berth. Swift Sword, Confident, Glory Of
The Family and Vision Remains all seemed to have saved their best for
the forthcoming Pune season.
A performance from the top draw saw Malesh annihilate the on-money
favourite Six Stars, who had the services of Rajendra, in the first
division of the Winged Beauty Trophy. The favourite made an attempt to
go start-to-finish which proved futile as Malesh packed enough punch in
his riding to overpower the leader close home. Habit made up for his
owner-mate Crown Affair’s failure by claiming the upper division of the
Racing Journalists Trophy. For the umpteenth time in his brief career
Cosmos failed to overhaul the leader and had to be content with the
second slot. Wild Vegas, another fancied horse in the set, was never
sighted in the fray at any stage of the race.
Happy Queen was the lone winner of the day with maximum support coming
her way in the Racing Officials Trophy. This success, however, did not
come as easily as anticipated by Rajendra who was surprised to find the
R. Rupesh driven Solar Flower in an unrelenting mood for a while. The
rest of the field came in a procession behind these two and looked more
content in being spectators rather than competitors. Malesh’s mount
Starscape was declared withdrawn on veterinary grounds in the early part
of the day.
Hormuz Antia refuses to mend his ways and once again had a "doosra" in
the form of Realism whilst favourite Well Versed served the purpose of a
decoy. Antia’s plans were foiled by Imtiaz Sait saddled Activisto, who
dug deep into his reserves when Pramod Belose asked him the question and
snatched the verdict from Realism in virtually his last stride.
Apprentice Y. S. Faizan’s feeble handling put paid the hopes of
Moonlight Fantasy, who fought with great determination till the end but
could do no better than finishing third ahead of Well Versed.
