Tongues start wagging after Fear of Tears loses to Fedora in a tight finish
By Usman Rangila
Mumbai
Dec 26, 2004
Close finishes marked the two main events, the Maharaja Jiwajirao Scindia Trophy and the Heritage Estates Juvenile Million, on Sunday. Malesh and Suraj from the Narredu clan emerged victorious in the battle that could’ve gone either way. In the first event, the sparingly-raced filly Sprungli (Razeen-Treasured) gave a gutsy performance to steal the race from right under the nose of Severriano in virtually the last stride. Suraj Narredu was a picture of confidence astride the Zadmal Singh trainee as he settled the filly in the sixth position behind the leaders headed by Amazing Strides and Glensanda, who were relieved from their duties by Severriano at the final turn.
C. Ruzaan shifted gears on Pesi Shroff’s charge and established a slender lead. Protégé, Decent Proposal and Hawke Bay failed to make any impact on Severriano but Sprungli gained steady ground to pose a severe threat to the grey brother of Continual.
The two horses went stride for stride towards home and Severriano had the upper hand till the last stride before Sprungli stunned him on the post. All credit to Zadmal for keeping Sprungli fighting fit and also Suraj who didn’t let his guard down. It was hard to tell whether it was the better horse on the day that won or better skills in the saddle that gave Sprungli the winning edge over Severriano. As for Ruzaan, he is certainly having a nightmare in the saddle and that has had an adverse effect on his confidence. However, not many would know that Ruzaan was hurt as Crown Court played up in the gates earlier and yet he did not shirk from fulfilling his obligation astride Severriano.
An hour later, Malesh aboard Fedora (Diffident-Chloe’s Delight) had a tough time in quelling the aggression of rank outsider Evatina and later struggled for survival as Niall McCullagh brought Fear of Tears with a resurgent run in the closing stages of the race. Evatina created a flutter when she had the measure of the leader Excellento but she found herself in the company of Fedora, who was brought into contention by Malesh. Before running abreast of Evatina, Malesh did a craftsman-like job in effectively blocking the path of Fear of Tears who was tucked in towards the rails. Niall was clearly in a tight spot as he had to switch his whip-hand twice and it was too late by the time he get Fear of Tears into her stride. The Vinayak-nurtured Fedora, a half-sister to Estonia, held on to win by a head from Fear of Tears. A further neck away finished Evatina followed by Romantic Getaway, who gave a forgettable show. Fear of Tears should erase the bitter memories of this defeat shortly and Evatina should emerge stronger after this experience. Don Gama ran an encouraging sixth and should not linger in the maiden ranks for long.
Like in the case of jockey P. Kamlesh who lost astride Queen of Fashion to Cooji Katrak’s filly Venus Arising in the 1000 Guineas, no sooner had the replays of the race got over people began pointing an accusing finger towards Niall. They were apparently convinced that Niall did not do justice to Fear of Tears because he wanted to oblige RWITC chairman K. N. Dhunjibhoy with whom the Irishman has a second retainer. Tongues have been wagging in the past and will continue to do so till racegoers are reassured of the fact that races are not and cannot be fixed.
The other high point of the day’s game was Pesi Shroff saddling his first winner for Dr Vijay Mallya through Somerset West (Burden of Proof- Green Sum) and Irishman Colm O’Donoghue tasting his first success at Mahalaxmi. The two professionals were deprived victory by Flaming Bay on the racetrack and both had to fight another battle in the stewards’ room to set the record straight. Flaming Bay after overtaking Starlite in the home stretch had taken the ground of Somerset West, who was coming the shortest way home. The Irishman brought the filly with a second run but went down by the shortest of margins. He rightly objected against Pramod Belose who was astride Flaming Bay and very competently put his point across to the stewards. Being an open-and-shut case, the stewards did not take much time to decide in favour of Somerset West.
Y. S. Srinath started the day with a bang as he rode a back-to-back double astride God Mamma (Diffident-Stylish Bird) and Imtiaz Sait-trained Portal of Victory (Alnasr Alwasheek-Girl From Ipanema). The former was hard-ridden by the Bangalore-based rider to overhaul Chasing Destiny, who had slipped into the lead at the bend. Portal of Victory, in contrast, had an easy passage against Timely One. Star Gold ran disappointingly and ended a tame third. Bezan Chenoy-trained Monifieth (Razeen-Adored) was steered by Malesh to a comfortable victory over Noble Desire. King of Hearts, surprisingly, ran far below par to end a tame third.
Although Noble Desire denied them a double, the spirits of the Rattonsey brothers and their partners were raised by the fluent win recorded by Shyboy in the Ranjit V. Bhat Memorial Gold Cup. Appu kept Shyboy (Diffident-Dizzy Heights) in striking distance of Lake District and Blue Devil and took charge when the heads straightened for home. Veteran Saeed Shah completed a double with the bottom-weighted Shyboy, who was named Two Good earlier and has lost only once in his five starts since he was renamed at the start of the Pune season. Mansingh Jadhav saddled Wizard of Oz (Diffident-Mogul Madness) lived up to the expectations raised during his last essay and sauntered away for his maiden win in the hands of C. Rajendra.
