Capt. Appoo’s galloping goldmine Radical Force bags Maharaja Jiwajirao Scindia Trophy

By Usman Rangila
u_rangila@indiarace.com

Mumbai, Dec 28, 2003

Radical Force, the five-year-old galloping goldmine from Cooji Katrak’s yard, was once again seen throwing up his reserves in the Maharaja Jiwajirao Scindia Trophy. This goldmine, standing in the name of Capt. Jamshed Appoo, lay dormant for a period of over three months during which he ran thrice subsequent to his success in the Eve Champion Trophy at Pune. Last time he was asked to carry a back- breaking burden of 63kg even after being entrusted to Abhishek Habbu, a 2.5kg-claimer. That outing was utilised by Radical Force as a lung-opener and found P. Kamlesh back in the saddle to guide his fortunes in this terms’ event.

Kia Ora’s consistency demanded that she be the cynosure among the frontline contenders and the bookies duly accorded her the favourite’s status in the betting arena. The got-abroad filly raced in the fourth-fifth slot as Frantic bolted to the front followed by Name And Fame and Adolfito. The bay son of Alnasr Alwasheek came with a whirlwind run down the centre of the track to overtake Adolfito who was busy taming the stubborn Frantic. Kia Ora, though in contention at one stage, seemed to be going nowhere and ended up fifth. River God came with a late run to finish fourth. Pesi Shroff astride Astrologica was involved in a freak mishap in this race and came a cropper after his head hit the front bar of the starting gates as the colt took a fly-jump.

Radical Force (P Kamlesh up) winner of the Maharaja Jiwajirao Scindia Trophy (Grade II) being led in by trainer C.D.Katrak & owner Capt. Jamshed J Appoo

Kamlesh, sporting the same colours aboard Roman Eagle, couldn’t achieve a back-to-back double. The Tirol filly, a comprehensive winner in her last outing, curiously lost a distance at the start and said goodbye all her chances.

Meanwhile, a record of sorts was created at Mahalaxmi three top Indian jockeys excused themselves from their engagements one after the other either because of injury or being indisposed. Before Pesi, Rajendra got injured atop Exploding Wonder and then Malesh was reported indisposed after riding Kia Ora. Both Leopardess and Crown Secret, Pesi’s other two mounts, ended up playing the role bridesmaid. Leopardess appeared to be on course of a bracket when she took charge from Montana at the top of the straight but she hard a time tackling the erratic Summer Wind. As these two horses were sorting out the issue, rank-outsider Aesculapius came with a flourishing run to floor them all. 

Exuberent (Ronan Thomas up) winner of the Buland Plate being led in by trainer S.Padmanabhan (right).

The finish to the Heritage Estates Juvenile Million was by far the most interesting one of the day. Ministrel Heights seemed to be going strong in the straight with Crown Secret breathing down his neck. The Jaggy Dhariwal candidate had her say and raised hopes of an imminent victory that were razed to the ground as Lilac Queen (Steinbeck-Subsonic) got into rhythm to provide both Cooji and Kamlesh their second plum of the day. Euro Star’s late dazzle, which got her into place-money, came with a suggestion that she would relish a longer trip.

Earlier in the day, Classical Act’s own sister Exuberant won her prep race for the Indian Oaks far too easily than her one-length verdict over Fashionable suggests. Exuberant’s saddle-partner Ronan Thomas repeated his earlier mistake on the S. Padmanabhan-trained filly of staying too close to the inner rails and very nearly walked into the trap set by B. Prakash. Fortunately for Ronan he found sufficient room between Parameshwari and Special Place to manoeuvre his way through.

The strong finishing efforts of Irishman Naill McCullagh enabled Shamaal to win the Ranjit V. Bhat Memorial Gold Trophy from Aerospace and Raziya. Sanjay Kolse-saddled Shamaal was always close on the heels of the leader Premier Classe till the last furlong where Naill assumed charge of the running and won warding off the threat posed by Aerospace. Back In Action veered out to finish a long way third but just ahead of Oh God who was out for an airing.

Naill was again the driving force behind Mansingh Jadhav’s maiden Je Reviens neck victory over Wonder of You in the concluding event. Similar to her last week defeat, Wonder of You lacked initial speed and got going only in the straight but found Je Reviens a hard nut to crack.

Shamaal (N.G.McCullagh up) winner of the Ranjit V Bhat Memorial Gold Trophy being led in byowner Geofre Nagpal. Also seen  trainer Sanjay Kolse (extreme left)

Despite conceding all round weight to his rivals, Faisal Abbas’ ward Air Strike made amends for his last-outing failure when S. Sunil got the better of Premier Passion. Forgotten Dreams ran an uninterested third after being in the hunt till the last furlong and will be too good to be missed in her next outing. Different Strokes ran a disappointing fourth.