Goddess Mahalaxmi descends on the lawns to bless her devotees on Tuesday 
By Usman Rangila

Mumbai
January 13, 2003

Not many people across the country and abroad are aware that the famous Mahalaxmi racecourse in Mumbai derives its name from a goddess named thus and who finds abode in one of the temples situated just across the road. The Mahalaxmi Temple is also an important landmark of the commercial capital of India. The goddess seemed to have descended on the lawns here to bless the vast population of her devotees (read punters) on Tuesday. Now nobody is implying that the bookmakers don’t worship the goddess but it was simply a case of their prayers going unanswered at least for one particular day. 

So blessed were the punters that they sent their adversaries for a toss. To the horror of the bookmakers’ tribe, no sooner had their cashiers finished paying the successful punters in one race, serpentine queues would form again behind their stalls to collect winning dividends of the next race. The bookmakers lived in hope but were almost dead in despair by the time Freedom’s Choice stuck his neck out to deprive Akash an upset win in the concluding race of the day. Mercifully, the victory of the rank-outsider Maracaibo in the S. Mody Trophy prevented a complete rout of the bookies. Yet, there was very little cause for the bookie’s to rejoice Maracaibo’s success as the first favourite was available at 5 to 1 ensuring that the betting volume remained thin as compared to the other six races. 

The juggernaut of the punters was set rolling by Love OnThe Rocks in the curtain raiser. Sent out by veteran Cooji Katrak, the four-year-old maiden filly made mincemeat of her six rivals in the Penpipes Plate. The bay daughter of Don’t Forget Me out of Zarakiya sported a winter coat but that didn’t stop her from essaying a brilliant run when jockey P. Kamlesh got her going in the straight. All The Go and Eternal Beauty followed her home meekly. 

Heart Throb, trained by Faisal Abbas, proved that she was aptly named even if for this solitary run. The five-year-old mare sired by A In Sociology, with C. Rajendra partnering her in the saddle on this occasion, settled her mounting corn bills by showing a clean pair of heels to her five rivals. Rodeo Romeo was unable to produce an effective gallop and even lost the second place to Speedster. Emotional Queen retired gracefully after a forward run and her progress, if monitored closely, will surely pay in the future. 

Rajendra astride the second favourite Sabatini tried to pull a fast one on the piping-hot favourite Air Star (Alnasr Alwasheek-Aerogramme) when he seized the initiative in the early stages of the five-furlong scurry for juveniles. Air Star travelled on the bit for the first two furlongs and started to toy with his opponents thereafter. Naill McCullagh literally had an armchair ride atop the Sorab Jilla trainee. Genesis and Dominique finished a head and half-length away from runner-up Sabatini although their primary objective appeared to be in getting a feel of the racetrack. 

Maracaibo, saddled for the second time by Mansoor Shah, got off to a sluggish start but the one-eyed grey made steady progress be in the reckoning opposite the grand stands. Jockey Jerry Pereira couldn’t exercise proper control over Maracaibo when the son of Dangerous Liason uncoiled his run. Sun Seeker was just about to begin his assault when he was bumped out of contention by Maracaibo, who then grabbed the lead. Temple Tune engaged Maracaibo in a brief tussle but the latter emerged triumphant in the end. Captive Heart covered lot of ground to save place money. Native Son was the probably the worst sufferer of the interference caused by Maracaibo and passed on to him by Sun Seeker. This progeny of Sir Bruce has the ability to make a profitable venture whenever his new master Altaf Hussain decides to exploit him. 

Entrusted into the safe hands of Naill McCullagh after her suggestive run behind Anna Karenina, Hanut Singh-saddled Lucky Break ran true to form when she came with a powerful run down the centre of the track to overhaul leader Scamster in the final furlong of the six-furlong trip. The rest of the field including the Montekin, who finished third, also ran. 

Like Naill, Rajendra too increased his winning tally when S. Ganapathy’s ward Smart Supreme (Razeen-Galiceno) recorded his first victory at this centre. Smart Supreme though sluggish at the start was soon in close attendance of Avantage and his owner-mate Palentino, who were trying to outsmart each other. Smart Supreme established an unassailable lead after rounding the final turn and finished a distance clear of his nearest rival Kojagiri. Although the margin of victory looks sizeable, the manner of victory was far from impressive as Smart Supreme was seen plodding in the last 200m of the race. 

Bajrang Singh’s persistence aboard Freedom’s Choice and the timely arrival of the winning post came as a big relief for the followers of the Shiraz Sunderji-trained favourite. The son of Placerville out of Tashtiya lay close on the heels of early leaders Rising Passion and I’m Sensational with Bajrang not showing any undue haste in assuming charge of the running till the last furlong and a half where Prabhuti gave way to Freedom’s Choice. The bay surged ahead but found danger lurking behind in the form of Prabhuti, who refused to be cowed down, and Akash. The last named came tantalisingly close to toppling the winner but, as mentioned earlier, the day did not belong to the bookies. Much against their wishes, the bookmakers are likely not to forget this traumatic experience in a hurry. Just knowing that there were no more races to be run came as a big relief for them.