Out of depth Ice Magic goes down to Energizer
By Usman Rangila
u_rangila@yahoo.comMumbai, November 20, 2003
The grey filly Ice Magic appeared to have regained at least some of her lost form and fitness when she recorded an effortless victory in her solitary run at Pune. This notion was disproved when she reappeared on the Mahalaxmi racetrack on Thursday.
The limitations of the filly hailing from the yards of veteran professional Bezan Chenoy were out in the open when she was targeted for the Charles Forbes Trophy, the main event run over six-furlongs. Her defeat had, in a way, to do more with her limited track exposure during the morning trackwork rather than her ability to tackle superior class opponents. Given the nature of Ice Magic’s fitness problems, Bezan had to make do with keeping the filly in trot and rely on more on swimming.
The consequences were there for all to see when Naill McCullagh embarked on a start to finish mission and seemed to be well in control as the destination neared. However, with just about a furlong left for home, Ice Magic started to shorten her strides and was clearly out of depth. Despite the frantic efforts of the Irish rider, Ice Magic could offer little resistance when C. Rajendra-piloted Energizer sought to grab the initiative. The Imtiaz Sait trainee eventually spared a length to the half-money favourite at the post. This event was declared void at the acceptance stage and it was only after Bezan entered two more horses, The Avenger and Vivienne, that the race could see the light of the day. This move, however, did not yield any fruits as desired by Bezan
The decision of the RWITC Stewards’ to uphold the objection lodged by jockey Mansoor Khan, who was astride the runner-up Truly Blessed, against apprentice R.K. Mahesh who rode the winner Intense Pleasure, became a topic of hot debate. The fact that Intense Pleasure was the favourite explains the frustration of a minor section of disgruntled punters, who did not hesitate in insinuating that favours were being granted to Mr Champaklal Zaveri, a part-owner of Truly Blessed and also a sitting member of the RWITC managing committee.
Yet, it was nothing but an open-and-shut case to all those who watched this race without prejudice. Intense Pleasure had not only bumped Truly Blessed more than once but had caused a chain reaction, which affected both Royal Domain and early leader Verbena. Nonetheless, it must be said that Intense Pleasure was allowed a small mercy in being relegated to the fourth place and not being disqualified. It was surprising to know that jockey Hamir Singh, who rode Royal Domain, had refrained from lodging an objection when he had sufficient grounds to do so. Hamir was anyway not interested in winning the race and probably chose to keep himself away from the spotlight. The stipes should not neglect this lapse and initiate proper action against the erring jockey.
Galaxy and Kanthara were both two odds-on favourites to win in their respective races at the start of the day. Galaxy (Don’t Forget Me-Lone Star), just managed to scrape through as Sweet Success came menacing close to topple him. After taking charge of the running from Heart Throb, Rajendra had taken things lightly aboard the Sarosh Mody ward and would’ve had to pay a heavy price for his overconfidence.
The sparingly raced Kanthara did not give anxious moments to the moneybags, who were yet to recover from the scary experience given by Galaxy. The Cooji Katrak-trained daughter of Alnasr Alwasheek out of Zuni gave an armchair ride to Naill as she inflicted a humiliating defeat on her five rivals. Cooji had another horse, Roman Eagle, who won in similar fashion as Kanthara.
Roman Eagle (Tirol-Sound Insight) was never inclined to put her best foot forward in all her six runs at Pune. But, this did not stop her connections from being gung-ho about her chances on this day. It was one-way traffic as far as the flow of betting in her direction was concerned. The bay filly easily measured the frontrunners Je Reviens and Star Trustee opposite the grand stands and won pulling up long way from home. Kamlesh received a caution for looking back repeatedly in the straight.
Kamlesh was however made to sweat by Hosidar Daji-saddled Fantastic Knight but he was not complaining after the Sir Bruce progeny unleashed a resolute gallop to shock the rank-outsider Everlasting Joy virtually at the winning post. On entering the home stretch, Everlasting Joy had managed to gain a slender advantage over the field but met frustration on her way as the winner came with a long-stretched run to deprive her the ultimate joy in the last couple of strides. Road Runner found the trip too short for his liking and ended a tame fourth ahead of Aguilas, who merits following in the future outings.
An exciting duel was witnessed in the concluding race between Mister Fixit and Netstar. The latter appeared to have gained the upper hand at the 200m-marker but apprentice R.K. Mahesh astride Mister Fixit was in no mood to give up. He gave a gritty display to wrest the lead once again and earn the satisfaction of beating his maternal uncle Malesh Narredu. A short-head separated the winner from the favourite. Naill McCullagh-ridden Stunning Effort, who was in a striking position till the bend, bowed out of the fray to end a dismal last after having bled through the nostrils.
