Secret Warrior episode overshadows other spectacular feats on Sunday
By Usman Rangila
Mumbai
March 21, 2004
The stripping of Secret Warrior of the prime event of the day was not the singular feat that was witnessed at Mahalaxmi on Sunday. There were several more feats, and spectacular at that, which were achieved both before and after the questionable race of the day. The Narendra Lagad-trained five-year-old mare Island Pearl, who remained a maiden on record, finally got her act right and showed her sparkle right at the start of the day. It was the marvellous job done by apprentice Yogender Singh in the saddle astride Island Pearl that helped Island Pearl thwart second favourite Illusion after a ding-dong battle. The latter did manage to get the better of her rival as the winning post came into sight. But Yogender's never-say-die spirit enabled Island Pearl to prevail by a short head over her rival. This time round there were no objections raised against Island Pearl and she was allowed to savour the sweet nectar of success.
The three-year-old filly Raphaela (Razeen-Magical Moments) gave a rousing performance to lift the Manjri Stud Breeders’ Juvenile Fillies Championship. Although Raphaela could not match support garnered by the Cooji Katrak-saddled filly Radiate (Placerville-Aroma) in the betting market, it was quite a different story on the race track. Radiate struggled to make an impact whereas Raphaela followed leader Revelry and Habibi till the field came into the view for the final run-in and then surged away for a comprehensive win over Venus Arising.
Raphaela added one more feather in the cap of the young trainer Sanjay Kolse, who just a fortnight back saddled winner Shamaal in the Sprinters’ Cup, and just reward for his hard work. Sanjay had turned out the filly in top fettle for owners Geoffrey Nagpal and family whose faces were beaming with joy after leading in another group race winner. Jockey Sherry Kapoor, who has been associated with Sanjay and Geoffrey in the last couple of years, also deserves praise for diligently carrying out his task astride horses like Shamaal and Raphaela in the morning track. No wonder if Sherry was delighted to see his efforts being translated into success.
War Zone (Lion Cavern-Special Treat) completed a hat-trick of wins in the Madras Race Club Trophy which incidentally was his fourth straight win. Wikhed Idea had the candidate from Sarosh Mody’s yard engaged in a battle of supremacy in the first three furlongs of the sprint but C. Rajendra broke the shackles and sailed away towards his goal. Top-weighted Great Strides moved up late to finish second followed by Cats Whiskers and Wikhed Idea.
Hunan and Summer Wind were two favourites who ran true to form and obliged their admirers. Hunan (Alnasr Alwasheek-Great Request), saddled by Vinayak, easily accounted for Special Place and her other three rivals in the P.R. Mehta Trophy run over the derby distance. Lady trainer Irene Patel found her bare-footed charge Summer Wind (Sir Bruce-Elation) carry an imposing 62kg on her back to a convincing win over dickey-legged Sauvignon. Jockey Bajrang Singh rode a flawless race astride the favourite. Both Smart Warrior and Estuary, who were next in demand to Summer Wind, suffered damaged blood vessels as such couldn’t figure in the finish.
The use of blinkers on Jaggy Dhariwal-trained Catch Fire (Tejano-Count On Me) brought a marked improvement in the filly as she stretched out well under Pesi Shroff’s whip in the closing stages and stunned favourite Netstar on the post. Warrior of Light faded out after being in strong contention till opposite the stands. Fire Dancer, who made the entire running before retiring gracefully to finish fourth, should be a different proposition when placed in a five-furlong scurry by Narendra Lagad.
The way money flowed in the way of Lagad’s ward Royal Secret there was a hint that the aged gelding would bring home the bacon on this occasion. However, Royal Secret gave a flop show. The runaway tactics adopted by Habit didn’t work as he came across a better one in Mansingh Jadhav’s trainee Borzu (Pennine Ridge-Musical Lights), who cruised away for an emphatic win when set alight by Zameer Sayyed. King Pin, who was sold for a paltry thousand rupees in a public auction in November last year, made his earlier owners repent when striking it rich in the concluding event. Rookie Towfeeq Shaikh drove King Pin to measure Hudson Bay in the shadow of the winning post. Towfeeq thus completed riding ten winners and is now eligible to carry a whip. Backing Serendipity turned out to be an expensive venture for punters who followed the smart money coming on the filly owned and trained by Irene Patel. Serendipity never raised any hopes of living up to the expectations. Master Zahir was never in the hunt at any stage of the race and finished third.
