Poonawalla Breeders' Multimillion 2004 unravels a tale of two sporting families
By Usman Rangila
February 22, 2004
The running of the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multimillion of 2004 turned out to be a tale of two families: the Poonawallas and the Rattonseys. The first half of the story was dominated by the Poonawallas while the Rattonsey family starred in the ‘happy ending’ climax. The entire Poonawalla family were rubbing their eyes in disbelief on Sunday afternoon when the racing patrons, both regular and newcomers, gave them a pleasant surprise by turning out in large numbers at the Mahalaxmi racecourse to witness the richest race for juveniles. Despite the number of races in the card being reduced to seven for the first time since Poonawalla Breeders’ Million was run fifteen years ago, the response for this event was unbelievable to say the least.
The atmosphere, as promised by the sponsors, was indeed carnival like with people from all walks of life seen rubbing shoulders with each other both in the members’ and the first enclosures. The racing patrons could not have paid a better tribute to the Poonawalla family, which didn’t mind walking an extra yard or two to make this event successful and memorable for each and every individual who entered the racecourse. Kudos also to all the staff members of the Poonawalla group, who worked relentlessly for nearly a month and made adequate arrangements to ensure that the day passed without any hitch whatsoever.
The Poonawallas, being owners of one of the leading stud farms in the country, have a big stake in horseracing; consequently, as sponsors, they will not be in a hurry to desert the sport at this stage. Yet, the RWITC administration would do well in not taking for granted this positive response from the public. Instead, they should give a serious thought about safeguarding the primary interests of the sponsors. The RWITC think-tank should, in fact, formulate a rejuvenated strategy to combat the serious challenges this sport is facing. One can only hope that this think-tank does exist in the RWITC.
A-minute-and-a-half after the field of ten jumped out of the barriers for the Multimillion, the spotlight shifted on to the Rattonsey family. The three-year-old filly Blurr (Glory of Dancer-Buona Sera) emerged as a giant-killer in her second visit to the racetrack here. Blurr lay third last till the field entered the home stretch where Pesi Shroff astride the on-money favourite Fantabulous King was attempting to gain the upper hand over Air Star. The son of Burden of Proof just couldn’t find the acceleration and gave way to Star Admiral. Dr M.A.M. Ramaswamy’s property assumed command briefly only to find a ‘Blurr’ of a horse go thundering past him. Radiate got into rhythm rather late after being interfered in the initial stages of the race but did create an impression when finishing third. The Calcutta-challenger Aperitivo, who ended fourth, was full of running towards the end and should be making the headlines shortly.
Winning three million rupees in stakes did not make the day for the family of Mr Farouq Rattonsey; the sheer sight of the horse, with the jockey sporting their silks astride her, whizzing past the winning line first was what fetched for them the ultimate pleasure. No wonder the Rattonsey family was present in full strength to witness the running of the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multimillion. The fact that Blurr was sired by Glory of Dancer, the stallion standing at the Kehelan Stud Farm owned by them, was another matter of joy for the Rattonsey family. Michael Eshwer, who trains Blurr, had every reason to be ecstatic after the filly’s triumph in the group one race. Naill McCullagh rode Blurr with supreme confidence and words fail to describe his current ‘fantabulous’ form in the saddle. Fantabulous King, who came with a big reputation into the race, ran far below expectation when he ended a poor sixth. Winning or losing doesn’t matter to him of course; however, it was great to know that Dr Vijay Mallya had come a long way only to watch Fantabulous King run the race.
Naill gave another pleasant performance when he guided Mansingh Jadhav’s protégé Road Runner (Placerville-Aroma) to an emphatic victory over the derby distance in the Serum International Trophy. Having suffered a cardiac arrest, runner-up Antilles collapsed soon after passing the winning post and died.
Daughterofcharity (Greensmith-Dancing Designs) went wire-to-wire in the hands of C. Rajendra to justify the overwhelming support she received in the betting ring. The bay filly trained by ex-jockey S.M. Johnson gave no anxious moments to her admirers at any stage of the race and won quite comfortably from Cornelia Supra and Wild Spirit. Bezan Chenoy-trained filly Revelry (Tirol-Party Time) shed the maiden ranks in a similar fashion. Jockey Bajrang Singh gave an exceptionally confident display astride Revelry as the filly hit the front soon after the start and got stronger at the finish when her rivals posed a threat briefly.
Free Radical (Diffident-Virginia Princess), entrusted in the safe hands of jockey Pesi Shroff, made her last appearance of her racing career a winning one. The sparingly race mare from Imtiaz Sait’s barns called the shots all the way over the mile trip with the late bid of Inner Secret hardly bothering her.
Star Decoration (Greensmith-Hall of Honour) registered an encore at the expense of the favourite Sunshiner, who found herself in a spot of bother due to the crowding of the field near the final turn. Having had three ‘educative’ runs earlier this season, F. Irani-assisted Super Sword showed his true colours in the concluding event. The chestnut six-year-old raced far behind at the bend but he cut through the field like a hot knife runs through a block of butter and brought the runaway tactics of Montana to an abrupt halt close home.
