Sprungli's swan song
By Usman Rangila
Mumbai
Feb 20, 2005
Although her connections were undecided on how long Sprungli should remain in business, the sprightly daughter of Razeen out of Treasured it seems had made up her mind that her appearance on Sunday would be her swan song. So, Sprungli produced a game performance for one last time when she added the Eclipse Stakes of India (Gr.2) to her kitty. The message from the mare didn’t go waste as her master Zadmal Singh took the cue and announced that they (Sprungli’s connections) were not going to be greedy and Sprungli was going to retire to stud.
The dozen strong field for the Eclipse Stakes had an exciting mix of young talent competing against their experienced and well-versed peers. With four successive victories this season to his credit, it was not surprising to see the bookies conferring the "most-favoured" status on Bezan Chenoy trained Monifieth. Monifieth, with jockey S. Rajesh (substitute for Anthony Whelan) in the saddle, tracked Fiddle Faddle all the way up to the top of the straight and took charge of the running. Sprungli in the meanwhile had made gradual progress to provide her rider Pradeep Chouhan a launching pad. Pradeep was equal to his task as he threw his challenge at Monifieth, who was unwilling to retreat. The two battled it out even as Malesh Narredu was seeking a clear run for Decent Proposal along side. The lion-hearted Sprungli put the dispute to rest with a final surge that saw her spare half-length to Monifieth at the winning post. The luck of the race continued to dodge Decent Proposal as Malesh was frustrated in his search for room to manoeuvre his way through and the Vinayak saddled mare was forced to make do with the third place just a short-head behind Monifieth. Flavius Victor finished fourth and was followed Campanero, who had a cluster of horses in close tow. Sprungli’s success should serve as a great confidence booster for young Pradeep Chouhan, who was out of action after a near tragic fall towards the end of the Pune racing season.
Talking about confidence, it would be worth mentioning the positive effect it has had on apprentice Vikram Walkar. The lean-framed lad paled the efforts of experienced Y. S. Srinath when snatching a short-head verdict astride Arctic Zone against Splendid Smith in the K. M. Munshi Trophy. Since the time he was assigned as an apprentice to trainer Mansingh Jadhav a couple of years back, the rookie had been struggling to make his mark and took an excruciating long period to earn the right to use the whip i.e. completing ten career wins. This, Walkar managed to achieve earlier this season and Sunday must have been a memorable one for him as it was his best day in the saddle so far. Walkar rode a brace of winners for his master and then steered Hormuz Antia trained Aerobic’s to complete a fantastic treble.
Walkar astride Wizard of Oz (Diffident-Mogul Madness) had an easy passage once Eternity abdicated in his favour in the final stretch for home. In a thrilling finish later in the day, Walkar spurred second favourite Arctic Zone to overwhelm both Splendid Smith and Flag Bearer at the wire. Arctic Zone thus avenged his earlier defeat at the hands of Splendid Smith, who was clearly done in by the weight difference between the two horses. Walkar took favourite Aerobic’s (Tecorno-Aerobica) on a start-to-finish venture and the gelding kept going on this occasion to recoup the losses suffered during his previous mission.
There was one more outstanding display of riding skill seen during the day and Malesh Narredu was the man who showcased this feat. Malesh hit the front with Pesi Shroff saddled favourite Some Time (Tejano-Indian Mission) and almost succumbed to the unfancied Romantic Hero close home. C. Alford astride the Imtiaz Sait trainee had gained the upper hand after a nerve-racking conflict with Some Time but Malesh had not given up as yet. He raised the bar for himself and summoned all his experience to wage a pitched battle with renewed vigour. It was this indomitable spirit shown by Malesh, which enabled Some Time to regain supremacy in the Elusive Pimpernel Trophy. Flag Bearer looked threatening at one stage but couldn’t accelerate thereafter and finished third, a short-head in front of King of Hearts, who suggested that the day is not far off when he would be celebrating his success in the confines of his new home.
Rejuvenite (Tirol-Liebestraum), a half-brother to Columbus, was not among the fancied candidates for the Chevalier Prince Plate but that didn’t stop the Mansoor Shah trainee from making a winning debut in the hands of K. P. G. Appu. The bay gelding rallied well in the last furlong of the race and won warding off the late threat posed by Cote D’Azur, who lay last till the turn before raising an effective gallop. The Rashid Byramji schooled daughter of Gaswar out of Baywatch ran green but for which she would have surely turned the tables on her conqueror. After two encouraging outings previously, Imtiaz Sait trained favourite Perfect Attraction let down a vast majority with her dismal show. The filly ended fourth behind Don Gama, who should not linger in the maiden ranks for long and so should Cote D’Azur.
Making it known to the racing world that he does possess a sound handicapping sense, ex-jockey Hanut Singh fashioned the success of Sound of Silence (Tirol-Silent Tale), who was given a confident ride by apprentice R. K. Mahesh. The bay filly spurted well to collar Lapwing, who assumed command after favourite Shockwave had shot her bolt, and stretched out to gain a convincing victory over Get Fresh, who as usual was late to warm up to his task. The day’s last encounter saw apprentice Towfeeq Shaikh atop Jayantilal Gor saddled rank-outsider Castle Beauty spoiling the party of Ace of Hearts. Well Versed ended a tame third but joint favourite Habibi ran disappointingly to finish in the rut.
