Warsaw Pact was ridden well off the pace and settled last but one in the field of thirteen as no-hoper Aerosat decided to set the pace. Campanero with the French professional Samuel Fargeat in
the saddle stole a march over his rivals opposite the stands and appeared to be in sight of an upset victory before Ronin and Warsaw Pact loomed large on the horizon. However it was the other French rider David Badel,
a late replacement for the indisposed Y. S. Srinath on Warsaw Pact, who got a fantastic response from the filly. Warsaw Pact first wore down Campanero and then foiled the spirited bid of Ronin. Sprungli ended a close fourth after her rider Pradeep Chouhan lost his whip at the most crucial juncture of the race.
Pesi Shroff was reportedly livid after the close defeat of his charge Ronin, something quite contrary to his composed personality. There were unconfirmed reports suggesting that the former ace jockey was not satisfied with the efforts of S. Rajesh and the rumoured cause attached to it was some ulterior motive. When asked about the veracity of this incident, Pesi was categorical in his retort and said "nothing of this sort has happened."
The googly or the ‘doosra’ is a potent delivery in the armour of all successful leg spinners. Trainer Hormuz Antia has gone a step ahead and developed a more lethal delivery: the ‘teesra’. The bookies’ clan would’ve been the ideal target of Hormuz. However, either by accident or design, the punters are being caught in the crossfire. Hormuz has developed a penchant for racing not less than three candidates from his stables and all sporting the same colours. If one chooses to go by the form, he is stumped. If one tries to become wiser and follows the "once bitten twice shy" maxim by following the betting trend of Hormuz’s horses, he is clean bowled.
Incidents of this sort have happened in the past, the most recent being the race where Moment of Creation won at nourishing odds at the expense of Flames of Fire and Hot Tin Roof. On Sunday, the betting pattern suggested that Against All Odd’s was the stable fancy. But it was Hot Tin Roof who ran pillar to post and Against All Odd’s finished a bad last as if to rub salt into the wounds of
racegoers. Hormuz has been a great horseman and he should seriously give a thought whether such tactics are beneficial
to the game and his reputation. The interest of his owners is undoubtedly paramount for Hormuz but he should not make sacrificial lambs out of unsuspecting racegoers. Coming back to the victory
of Hot Tin Roof (Portroe-Tin Roof), runner-up Acceleration shifted out to the outer track thereby losing precious ground and probably the race too. Adam’s Bounty was sluggish at the start, which marred his chances of winning the race.
Darius Byramji trained Aspinalls (Razeen-Zaya) made a smashing debut as C. Alford guided Deepak Khaitan’s property to a convincing win over Hugo, who warmed up late to his task. Favourite Rafaga look poised for success as she raced close on the haunches of the early leaders but she flopped when P. S. Chouhan tried to step up the speed. Shiraz Sunderji saddled Convenience (Storm Trooper-Clarisse) was ridden to a confident victory over favourite Highland Path at the start of the day. Shiraz completed a double when Alexandria (Major Impact-Lovely Fantasy) too shed her maiden status when taken on a successful start-to-finish mission by jockey C. Rajendra in the race for maiden juveniles.
The on-money favourite Happy Queen (Dark Nile-Happy Days) brought some consolation for
Mansoor Shah when Appu rode her to an authoritative win in mediocre company. Later, Hosidar Daji trained Asian Express (Young Senor-Miss Oriental) was partnered
by Malesh Narredu to gain a slender victory over Flag Bearer, Royal Hunt and favourite Sound of Silence. All these three horses who finished behind Asian Express were not disgraced in this defeat and lives to fight for another day.
