Few took notice of the fact that Allianz had finished eighth in the Indian Oaks where she was separated by a head and neck from Ice Berg and Snow Dew. Carrying level weight the daughter of Dark Nile out of Neartica, bred at the Mare Haven Stud Farm, had finished way ahead of Resist who was carrying 4.5kg more that Allianz on this occasion. It was the fashionably bred Cajun King who caught the market fancy but struggled to be in the fray all through the journey. Allianz ran away with gay abandon to earn some deserved success for trainer Nirad Karanjawalla. Jockey K. P. G. Appu too rode a perfect race on the chestnut filly.
Horses endowed with early speed made merry on the track that was truly fast in nature and suited their prowess. Terrestrial and Star Wish, both sired by Don’t Forget Me and owned by Shapoor Mistry, returned comfortable winners in the hands of C. Rajendra. Tio Pepe (Reasonable-Pondicherry) blazed his way across the track and recorded a never-before margin of victory that may have surprised even his mentor Rehanullah Khan. Emblaze (Sizzling Melody-Jwaala) turned out to be a trump card from Don Surti’s deck as the dark bay gelding ran wire to wire to keep his rivals out of his shadow. Secret Force (Poet’s Dream-Nikai) then put in an astounding gallop that floored his opposition in a mile event.
It was another ill-fated day for veteran Jaggy Dhariwal. His first runner Aprilia, a favourite in the betting arena, bled through her nostrils before caving in to Terrestrial and later succumbed to a heart failure. Senor Pele was withdrawn on veterinary grounds reportedly after suffering a fall in the stables. This paved way for Star Wish to record an effortless victory.
Michael Eshwer, the lanky professional has had to shift his base back to Bangalore after his short but forgettable stint in Western India. But the chestnut filly Free Radical (Diffident-Virginia Princess), jointly owned by the Poonawallas’ and Hongkong-based Shroffs’, made a winning debut to give her master a reason to smile. Another Diffident progeny, Aerospace ran a forward race before surrendering to the winner close home. Music Prospector, bred as full-brother to Simply Noble and Rambus, ran a listless race and will need time to improve over this performance.
After lying at the tail end of the field, Southern Star (Binkhaldoun-Southern Girl) came with a sustained run to overhaul Realism who had all but won the race. Southern Star nearly wavered as jockey P. S. Chouhan challenged the leader but fortunately for him he regained his poise in time to snub Realism.
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