El Campeador
made his maiden appearance on the Mahalaxmi tracks a winning one
when going pillar to post in the hands of Malesh Narredu. The
withdrawal of Bookie’s Delight, bred as half-sister to El
Campeador and who is by Placerville, after developing fever on
the morning of the race certainly robbed the event of some
competition. The bay son of Serious Spender out of Abid’ance
nurtured by Vinayak appeared a bit gross when being paraded in
the paddocks for the M. H. Ahmedbhoy Trophy on Sunday. Many felt
that Vinayak had overlooked the fitness level of El Campeador,
but few realised that the young professional must’ve had great
faith in the ability of his ward. Hence he could afford the
luxury of running El Campeador well below his peak
fitness.
Sceptics would not hesitate to proffer one argument that El
Campeador is yet to match strides with classy horses. But the
way this Serious Spender offspring carries himself and the kind
of temperament he possesses, it certainly suggests that he is
classic stuff. El Campeador remains unbeaten like his owner and
stablemate Tobler and will not clash with him in the Kingfisher
Indian 2000 Guineas, instead he will be going for the
prestigious Dawn R. R. Ruia Gold Cup, which will be an acid test
for him.
Starsky mediocre opposition in the Antonietta Plate included his
two stablemates Reflecting and Amazing Dream. The bay son of
Zaya and who is by Selkirk simply trounced his rivals after Lion
of Judah had shot his bolt. Auchinblae (Razeen-Cedar Point) from
Bezan Chenoy’s stable too meted out a similar treatment to his
rivals. Niall McCullagh adopted successful runaway tactics on
Auchinblae and kept Firecrest at bay. Much was expected from the
filly Eye To Eye but she ran like a dud to finish way down the
field. The performances of both Grand Gesture and Louis Cyphre
were in the same league as Eye To Eye, and one cannot comprehend
such a downgrade in their performances. Narendra Lagad has
expressed his doubts over the intentions of his apprentice
Mandeep Mann (Grand Gesture) and so has Nirad Karanjawalla
against Aadesh Kumar (Saphire Princess). The stipes are looking
into the matter and are expected to give their verdict soon.
It was Arctic Star (Portroe-Arctic Eyes) who set rolling the
juggernaut of jockey C. Rajendra. The champion rider later
partnered Star Shine, Goblet of Fire and Sunstreak to complete a
quartet of winners. Arctic Star graduated from the maiden ranks
but not before surviving a minor scare from Rodeo Romeo. Star
Shine (Portroe-Worthwhile) came from nowhere to stun both
Afilado and Khaalis. Daring Don and Champagne Gold both ran a
forward race and retired for some other day.
Goblet of Fire (Portroe-Riaza) was tuned to the moment by Imtiaz
Sait and the maiden filly lived up to the expectations of all
and sizzled her way into the winner’s circle. Most Attractive
finally showed some zest for racing and should relish a mile
trip.
Rajendra’s cup of joy was soon overflowing as Sunstreak got
him his fourth winner of the day. The race also witnessed Cooji
Katrak-saddled favourite Raziya giving the worst performance of
her career. Those who chose to keep away from her were a happy
lot in the end. The Club’s vets who scoped Raziya after the
race found that she had bled internally.
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