Star Admiral fills in the void created by Secret Warrior in the Indian classics' scene
By Usman Rangila

Mumbai
Nov 28, 2004

Like every organisation, the turf baron Dr M. A. M. Ramaswamy conducts regular brainstorming sessions with his team, both off and on the field, to put a strategy in place that maximises his chances in his classic conquests around the country. Dr Ramaswamy’s camp identifies its classic prospects for each racing centre and have quality substitutes lined up in the yards. 

There are times when a certain horse fails to live up to the expectations of his connections in the early stages or is forced to quit the scene to due to lack of physical fitness. The trustworthy commanders of Dr Ramaswamy are adept at marshalling their resources effectively in such a scenario. And, since the firepower of the racing baron from down south is second to none, the camp does not lose any sleep.

Secret Warrior’s defeat against Starynsky a week ago disappointed his connections but not to the extent of causing any panic. The reason: Star Admiral was waiting in the wings to carry on the mission. 

S. Ganapathy, one of Dr Ramaswamy’s most trusted lieutenant, arrived at the battle grounds of Mahalaxmi racecourse with Star Admiral (Placerville-Queen To Conquer) this week to annex the Super Mile Trophy and making his intentions clear as far as the Indian 2000 Guineas is concerned.

Star Admiral (b Prakash up) winner of the Super Mile Trophy (Gr 3)

The last-minute withdrawal of the Western India challenger Proteus certainly robbed some of the competitive glow from the event, which is considered as a prep-race for the 2000 Guineas. Ministrel Heights set a scorching pace for his barn-mate Star Admiral, who was settled in the third position by B. Prakash, with Suraj Narredu astride Gold Star (Steinbeck-Dazzling Star) stalking the leader all the way. The pacemaker had already shot his bolt as the five-horse field swung into the home stretch. Gold Star was then spurred into the lead by Suraj Narredu but he had a fight on his hands as Prakash got busy aboard Star Admiral.

The final furlong of the Mahalaxmi stretch was set alight by the ensuing battle royale fought by Gold Star and Star Admiral. Gold Star gave a valiant fight and even had a slender advantage in the ding-dong duel but Star Admiral asserted his superiority by snuffing out the spirit of his adversary with one final burst in his last stride. Adam’s Star and Romantic Fire tried to make their presence felt opposite the stands but were reduced to being bystanders as the two "Stars" pulled away from the pack.

There was a slight increase in the attendance at Mahalaxmi but certainly not enough to warm the hearts of the RWITC committee members. Nevertheless, apart from being entertained by the exhilarating finale provided by Gold Star and Star Admiral, their spirits were kept high by Niall McCullagh. The Irish rider kept his success rate intact as he steered the two favourites, Shyboy and Monifieth, to victory. Saeed Shah’s protégé Shyboy (Diffident-Dizzy Heights) proved to be a useful handicapper as he claimed victory for the third time in his last four starts.

The bay colt allowed Fire Dancer to show the way in the early stages and stormed into the lead after skirting the false rails at the bend. Niall kept superb control over the proceedings after Magical Sunset bared his teeth in the straight. The deft touch of Niall protected Shyboy from the clutches of Magical Sunset, who came tantalisingly close to devouring the favourite. Both Asian Express and Sasha seemed to be out for an airing along with the other runners. Towards the end of the day, Bezan Chenoy saddled Monifieth gave little trouble to Niall as he humiliated his twelve rivals left in the fray after ante post favourite Live Legend’s withdrawal on veterinary grounds. Monifieth (Razeen-Adored) left his rivals stranded after he unleashed a terrific run to overhaul Realism. Rivendell moved up to take the runner-up slot whilst Super Strike’s agony of having lost old guile didn’t go unnoticed as he fought in vain against Realism for the third berth.

Shyboy (McCullagh up) winner of the Sir Charles Forbes Trophy

Excellento (Suraj Narredu up) winner of the Wild Blossom Plate

Excellento (Diffident-Thunderous) made an impressive winning debut in the hands of Suraj Narredu, who proved a shade better in the saddle than one of his mentors, Malesh Narredu. The senior Narredu was riding the 10 to 7 on favourite Fedora but failed to cast any shadow over the successful start-to-mission conducted by his nephew aboard the Arti Doctor trained chestnut. Risada and Glorious Beauty, both hailing from Cooji Katrak’s yard, completed the frame but this outing will be a good learning experience for them. The lady professional had also led in the three-year-old maiden filly Zephyrella (Batzushka-Zee Zee Top), who defied the top-weight against a lacklustre opposition in the curtain raiser and found Malesh an able ally in the saddle.

Both Sonic Symphony and Sail Away lost by an identical margin of three-parts of a length forcing jockey Y. S. Srinath to go back home empty handed. Sonic Symphony took a long time to get into her stride which eventually led to her defeat at the hands of the grey Cloudy (Bee’s Prospector-Persian Affair). The Magansingh Jodha trainee grabbed the lead from Convenience at the turn and apprentice Vikram Jodha skilfully used his hands and heels to keep the favourite at bay.

Cloudy (V Jodha up) winner of the Dr A KArmally Traophy Div I

Dallas Todywalla trained three-year-old filly Royal March (Green Forest-Bonhomie) made every post of the lower division of the Karmally Trophy a winning one bringing frustration for Srinath in quick succession. B. Prakash packed enough power in his riding as Future Star, Sail Away and Portal of Victory tried to intimidate the chestnut filly. Sail Away rallied on but found Royal March a hard nut to crack. Trainer Nina Lalvani, interestingly, opted to discard blinkers on her charge Sail Away on this occasion though she is likely to have some good reason to do so which the racegoers probably may not be able perceive. It may be recalled that Sail Away had sported blinkers in both his runs at Pune and had humbled Live Legend during his last appearance.

Zephyrella (M Narredu up) winner of the Nyayo Plate

Monifieth (McCullagh up) winner of the Flirting Vision Plate