Followers of
form fetched handsome rewards for, barring the exception of
Foreign Connection, no outsider hit the board. Lightning Arrow
set the tone for the season when he held on gamely to win from
the late finishing Marion Jones. Favourite Ride The Lightning
bowed out of the fray without much ado though he did manage to
flatter when taking over the running mid-way through the race.
Celtic Son
entered the winner’s circle with a smashing victory in the
hands of C. Rajendra. Accademia and Lek failed to make any
impression on the winner once he took charge of the running
about two furlongs from home.
Trainer Hanut Singh had an ace up his sleeves in debutant Royal
Honey who made mincemeat of his seven rivals including the
on-money favourite Blushing Minstrel. The son of Sir Bruce
thundered on to the scene as the horses straightened for home
and was never in any danger of being caught thereafter. Blushing
Minstrel ran green and R. Rupesh was never able to get the
Dallas Todywalla ward to run on an even keel. Rising Passion
gave notice of an impending victory when finishing a leisurely
third. Later on My Opinion provided Hanut with his second winner
of the day though T. S. Jodha was forced to use his whip freely
to get the Cruachan progeny into his stride. Coronado, Thrilling
Lights and Safari Girl finished in that order behind My Opinion
all these three horses are in line for a bracket sooner rather
than later.
Queenscliff (Razeen-Tick Tock) from the yards of trainer Cooji
Katrak stole the limelight with a winning appearance that can
only be termed as classy. The three-year-old filly, one of the
many aspirants for the Kingfisher Indian 1000 Guineas to be run
later this season, swamped the opposition despite running after
a long gap of precisely eight months. Showing a tremendous turn
of foot, Queenscliff romped home in style after Malesh Narredu
loosened his grips on the reins passing the final turn.
Abbeydoran finished second, a long way back but only a neck
ahead of Destiny Calling. Flasher, who was bidding for a
hat-trick, was outpaced as he went in chase of Cooji’s decoy
Zeta Jones.
Jockey Mark Gallagher gave a heart-warming performance astride
Aspiring Star (Broto-Thunderous) as he drove him to stay clear
of the rank outsider Consortium. The chestnut from Arti
Doctor’s barns showed plenty of speed when he shot ahead from
the barriers and held on rather valiantly due to Gallagher’s
resolute riding. Days of Glory could match strides with the
winner in the initial stages and also lacked proper assistance
in the saddle that explains her dismal performance.
With Afilado opting out of the fray, racegoers rallied behind
Columbus without considering the fact that the five-year-old has
drawn a blank as far as winning is concerned. Those who realised
that there was an opportunity in investing their money on the
five to one Ocean Breeze had the last laugh. Ocean Breeze, as is
her wont, went streaking into the lead and made every post of
the seven furlong trip a winning one.
Again, all those who rushed to back Scarlet Lake had disaster
awaiting them. The Alnasr Alwasheek filly was sluggish at the
start and although she was brushed up into the lead, she petered
out tamely as Foreign Connection struck like a bolt from the
blue. Track Emotions burst her blood vessels and did not
complete the race as Mark Gallagher decided to dismount a
furlong away from the winning line.