Niall McCullagh flounders on Oscar Star, Shockwave but Flavius Victor helps him to avert a complete rout
By Usman Rangila

Mumbai
Jan 13, 2005

Flavius Victor was one of the three favourites that did not crumble under the weight of money they were asked to carry on their backs. The prospects of the day didn’t appear too dreary for the punters when the Altaf Hussain trained Sugar N Spice, who shared favouritism with Lamplight in the betting ring, just about managed to deliver the goods in the curtain raiser. But the realisation of the impending disaster’s bitter truth came only when favourites started falling like nine pins.

Sugar N Spice (Diffident-Untold Story) should consider herself lucky to have emerged unscathed from the scary encounter in which she was engaged by the unfancied Teaser. Jockey Imran Shaikh, mercifully, saved the day for his maternal uncle by spurring Sugar N Spice hard enough to stretch her head in front of Teaser’s at the wire. In contrast, Zameer Sayyed astride Teaser allowed Sugar N Spice, who was unfavourably placed in the early stages of the six-furlong journey, to slip away from his clutches. Lamplight struggled to keep pace with the leaders initially but ran on to end a close fifth. Uber Alles and Back In Action completed the frame and should be doing serious business soon especially the latter whose true abilities were obscured by the assistance rendered in the saddle by K. Prasad.

The grey mare Etoile (Metal Precieux-So Smitten) from Narendra Lagad’s yard lived up to the promise shown in her last essay as she swept past her rivals opposite the grand stands and went on to register a convincing win over Tribal Warrior, Divine Romance and Dilnawaz. After finding himself in troubled waters before the heads turned for home, apprentice Anil Baandal kept his nerve and pushed Etoile towards the shortest way home. Etoile showed tremendous acceleration as she drew away from the pack.

Earlier, Flavius Victor (Storm Trooper-Indrayani) made it three in a row as he bagged the General Obaidullah Khan Trophy, the feature event of the day. Although Cooji Katrak was unable to saddle his charge, Flavius Victor did not miss his date with success. Jockey Niall McCullagh was nearly tripped aboard the favourite for an usual third time during the day and were it not for the Irishman’s steely resolve to avoid this disgrace, Flavius Victor had defeat staring in his face in the form of C. Ruzaan ridden Aerosat. Before this face saving act, Niall gave a rude shock to his die-hard fans and the moneybags by floundering astride both Oscar Star and Shockwave.

Unfortunately, it was trainer Hormuz Antia who had to carry much of the shame on account of the loss suffered by Oscar Star and Shockwave. Yet, it would not be out of place to mention the fact that both the losers had came across one better. In the first instance, jockey B. Prakash was in full flow astride Timely One (Greensmith-Act In Time) and he brought the Dallas Todywalla nurtured filly with a second run to foil the intentions of Oscar Star, who had gained the upper hand for a few moments. Giving due credit to the tenacity shown by both Prakash and Timely One, it was obvious to the naked eye, however, that Oscar Star found herself short of exposure as she battled every inch of the last two furlongs with her conqueror. As such she will not be licking her wounds in the stables for long. Sea Port, who was sporting a dry coat, defied his paddock looks to finish a game fifth on debut.

Shockwave, on the other hand, found herself chasing the shadows of the Bangalore challenger Star Qualities. Rashid Byramji’s protégé took a smart jump from the gates and jockey C. Rajendra literally got an armchair ride as the bay filly left her rivals stranded. The sprightly daughter of Diffident, and who is out of Quality Exchange, gave an astounding display of the blinding speed she has inherited from her sire by thrashing Shockwave, who had exhibited a similar trait in both her previous starts. One Way gained ground in the straight late and deprived Shockwave the second berth.

Colour Bearer (Tejano-Littleover) from the yards of Pesi Shroff had a dream debut as he strode out majestically to win the first division of the Capital Risk Plate by a wide margin in the hands of C. Ruzaan. Bred as half-brother to Camarioca, Colour Bearer allowed Magic Spell to call the early shots till the final turn and stormed into the lead thereafter. The chestnut colt unleashed a terrific burst and put daylight between himself and his nearest rival Pine Crest. The Malesh Narredu driven on-money favourite Troyen toiled hard during the race and the best he could do was to get the fourth place. 

The cramped odds at which the Imtiaz Sait saddled grey filly Snow Tiger was quoted by the bookies suggested that the second division of the Capital Risk Plate would be a one-horse affair but Admiral’s Force (Placerville-Astreus) proved them all wrong. Forsaken in the betting ring because of his gross looks, the chestnut ward from S. Ganapathy’s yard ran with gay abandon when B. Prakash took him to the front and stayed on without any problem whatsoever.

Eternal Beauty sent out by Magansingh Jodha gave jockey Joy Chinoy his first winner on comeback to this centre. Joy played a waiting game on this occasion and gave the mare her head only when Maid of Money had tired out. The White Crown progeny spurted well and went away for an easy win. Priceless Place and Maid of Money both ran like duds.