It's just another day of racing as new racing season is ushered in at Mahalaxmi racecourse 
By Usman Rangila

Mumbai
Nov 18, 2004

There was some good news and some bad news for all racing buffs on Thursday. The good news was that the sport resumed at Mahalaxmi racecourse. The bad news: the Mumbai racing season 2004-2005 took off without any fanfare and it was just another day’s racing on the inaugural day of the season. 

Gone are the days when the ardent followers of horseracing in Mumbai would eagerly await the return of the sport to the grounds of Mahalaxmi. The enclosures, both for the members and the public, would be a hub of bustling activity. The joy of recognising old faces around the lawns and greeting those newly initiated to the game would be the business of many on the opening day. Some would get excited simply for having got to hear the mesmerising sound of the thundering hooves while there would be others feasting their eyes on the magnificent sight of the majestic steeds fighting for glory on the green turf. Sadly, all these have faded to become part of one’s sweet memories.

Although Friendly Gift and Pleasure Palace failed to carry the public purse to victory in the card of six, there were no rude shocks for the punters on the betting front. Blue Horizon, Stunning Effort, Dazzling Queen and Wolverine all fulfilled their obligations and so did Storm Alert and Airwave who were preferred next to Friendly Gift and Pleasure Palace.

Storm Alert overcame a sluggish start as also her saddle-partner Anil Baandal’s extravagant move to bring his mount wide into the straight when he start his quest to claim the curtain raiser. Favourite Friendly Gift found favour in the betting ring from certain quarters but there was nothing store for them except some more heartburn as the Saeed Shah trainee failed to secure the winner’s place. Friendly Gift flattered briefly close to the winning post but the Narendra Lagad-saddled ante post favourite squashed his hopes with a spirited challenge.

Storm Alert (A Baandal up) winner of the Responsions Plate

Blue Horizon (Srinath up) winner of the Revelation Trophy

Y. S. Srinath had a profitable double via Blue Horizon and Wolverine. The former, sent out by Imtiaz Sait, lay handy in the mid-bunch as Incomparable called the early shots. The chestnut daughter of Placerville out of Star Spangled came with a smooth run in the home stretch and was cruised away for her second straight victory. Incomparable and Get Fresh had the good fortune of keeping the second and the third berth respectively as none of the other runners including Path of Fortune and Magic Honey were interested in creating any roadblocks for Blue Horizon. Srinath very nearly found himself in a messy situation astride Dr Anil Kumar’s ward Wolverine in the last race as he tried to take the shortest route home. However, Srinath showed great presence of mind before any serious harm could befall on Wolverine’s chances. He switched lanes and brought the Cruachan progeny four horses wide and a couple of cracks later the bay three-year-old gelding was flying towards the wire for his maiden victory.

Imtiaz saddled another emphatic winner in Dazzling Queen (Razeen-Regal Star) who lifted the Mathradas Goculdas Trophy with confident assistance in the saddle from C. Rajendra. The bay filly encountered some resistance from Our Own Girl in the straight but was equal to her task when Rajendra dug into her reserves.

Looking at the manner in which the odds against him were hammered down, Victory for Stunning Effort (Tirol-Craquelle) seemed to a forgone conclusion. Yet the supporters of the Hanut Singh-trained Stunning Effort had their hearts in their mouths as the four-year-old gelding groped to raised a fluent gallop and then veered out when jockey Harish Rathod applied pressure. They let out a huge sigh of relief as Stunning Effort stretched out to land the spoils.

Dazzling Queen (C Rajendra up) winner of the Mathradas Goculdas Tropy

Suraj Narredu-piloted Airwave (Warrshan-Riverine) from Arti Doctor’s yard defied the heavy impost on her back as she raced on the inner rails and Caring engaging her in a duel which she was destined to lose. Dallas Todywalla nurtured Pleasure Palace got the maximum support on the back of her excellent show in the mock race held at Pune but she ruined the rejoicing mood prevailing in the camp of the moneybags. There is certainly hope in store for those who would like to persevere with Pleasure Palace despite her dismal show in this race. The filly has the ability to recoup the losses and it will not be long before she does that. High Opinion, Castle Pride and Timely One were all part of the beaten brigade but their runs held a lot of promise for the future.

Stunning Effort (H Rathod up) winner of the Reason To Smile Plate

Airwave (Suraj Narredu up) winner Deepali Plate

Wolverine (Srinath up) winner the Season's Best Plate