Kimberley Star's devastating run denies Star Wish success in the Pegasus Trophy
By Usman Rangila
Mumbai
Feb 05, 2004
Apprentice Anil Baandal’s superb riding effort aboard the 12 to 1 outsider Kimberley Star helped the five-year-old mare wrest the honours from favourite Star Wish in the Pegasus Trophy, the main event in Saturday’s card. Trainer Altaf Hussain’s decision to discontinue the use of blinkers on the daughter of Concordial out of Moving Image also proved to be crucial in the end. The sparingly raced Star Wish took charge as Blue Devil ran out of fuel in the straight but C. Rajendra’s hopes of gaining victory were short lived. Kimberley Star, who was nowhere in the picture till the bend, came with a devastating run on the wide outside to frustrate Shiraz Sunderji’s charge. Y.S. Srinath astride Shyboy also threw his hat in the ring but the S. S. Shah trainee was unable to accelerate when it mattered most and had to settle for the third place.
Niall McCullagh started the Derby weekend on a winning note with Amazing Power, who made a spectacular career debut. Tuned to the moment by Cooji Katrak, the son of Razeen was equal to his task as he gave a thrashing to his rivals. Allowing Easy Spirit and Star Millionaire to do the entire running till entering the final straight, Amazing Power took over and the race ceased to be a contest thereafter. Spirited Commander ran very poorly and finished off the board.
Sail Away (Greensmith-Keep Looking) from Nina Lalwani’s yard showed remarkable improvement and made every post of the Bookmakers’ Trophy a winning one in the hands of R. K. Mahesh. After gracing the rear end till the race took a serious turn, Somerset West looked threatening at one stage but weight told on the filly and she was forced to play the role of a bridesmaid. Portal of Victory ran far below par and it was indeed a rude shock to see such a dismal performance from this Imtiaz Sait trainee.
There was another flop show in the pipeline for the punters as Bezan Chenoy saddled Perugina ran like a dud and which was a big let down for the fans of Niall. The on-money favourite struggled all the way after a jumping out from the gates. The winner was led in by none else than Imtiaz. Sheen Falls (Tirol-Priceless Bond) galloped resolutely when alerted by Y. S. Srintath and foiled the intentions of Ace of Hearts, who made a half-hearted attempt to grab the race after Faster Than Light disappeared from the scene. The best from Srinath came atop Starscape (Alnasr Alwasheek-Sprucing Up), also saddled by Imtiaz, who snatched victory from Rose Petals in virtually the last couple of strides. Joint-favourite Seaport was shown early daylight by Malesh Narredu and ended a tame third. Happy Queen did a disappearing act on this occasion.
Moment of Creation (Tirol-Nica Libre) was packed with more speed than her two barn-mates Hot Tin Roof and Flames of Fire. Interestingly, these three horses from Hormuz Antia’s yard dominated the race right from the word go. Initially it was Flames of Fire who took the early initiative and called the shots as expected till the heads for home but this fire was soon doused by Moment of Creation. Apprentice Vikram Jodha partnered the filly as she earned her second career success at longer odds. Extraordinary ran on to be second ahead of Attia In Sunlight and Anchors Aweigh. In a candid revelation after the race, Antia disclosed that his owners had a put wager on all three horses and did not regret the victory of Moment of Creation although they would’ve liked Flames of Fire to score.
Pesi Shroff trained filly Sea Spray (Burden of Proof-Sea Gazer) ran true to the promise shown in her previous outing and took the Nanoli Stud Trophy in great style. The Colm O’Donoghue piloted filly put in a splendid run as Degas raised hopes of a victory that was never to be. Favourite Acindar’s appearance on the stage coincided with his owner-mate Degas’ exit from the scene. Glorious Spirit ran a game third and should not linger in the maiden ranks for long. Wine N’ Song put in her third spirited performance of the season to win in the concluding race of the day. The aged mare pipped Yvresse and Miraflores in a blanket finish.
