There are many people in the Western India racing circles who firmly believe that the winner of the Maharaja of Morvi Trophy never performs in the Indian classics held subsequently. Apart from this dubious distinction earned in the last decade or so, this once prestigious event is now fast becoming a graveyard for horses that come into this race with a reputation. Dr Vijay Mallya’s property Classical Act flopped miserably in this seven-furlong race last year, which was won by Rosmini who too could not make any impact in the McDowell Indian 2000 Guineas and was on the repair list for long.
This Sunday, Dr MAM Ramaswamy-owned Secret Romeo got a first-hand experience of this hoodoo. The jinx-paranoia continued to hold sway and a sparse field of four horses agreed to face the starter in this year’s edition. One of them was Secret Romeo , who was still nursing the wounds inflicted on him by Son of Light in the AV Thomas 2000 Guineas run in late September at Mysore and was now seeking to resurrect his image in the Maharaja of Morvi Trophy. The son of Warrshan started off as the favourite ahead of Dancing Greens, who had won emphatically twice earlier at Pune but had beaten mediocre horses on both occasions.
As is his wont, Secret Romeo with Samuel Fargeat in saddle took the early lead and, at the same time, Bajrang Singh having to fight with Dancing Greens briefly before the daughter of Greensmith settled down. Secret Romeo began showing signs of trouble as the field skirted the false rails and entered for home forcing Frenchman Samuel to remove his whip at the 400m. On the other hand, Dancing Greens was put in top gear by Bajrang and the chestnut filly sped past to win handsomely in a shade less than 1m.25secs. Rave rallied on to finish second. Full marks go to trainer Altaf Hussain, who has kept this temperamental filly in pink condition. It was reported after the race that Secret Romeo had bled through the nostrils.
Like Secret Romeo, Wave of Bliss too proved to be a big disappointment. There was cautious optimism in the betting market after the below par performance produced by this Arti Doctor-nurtured filly in her solitary appearance at Pune. Pradeep Chouhan astride Wave of Bliss let Ravissant play the lead role till the bend and soon stormed ahead. The chestnut filly went bust much before the winning post arrived and succumbed meekly to the onslaught of Royal Hunt, who recorded his third straight success. Veteran rider Bajrang Singh gave a flawless display of his saddle artistry on the Imtiaz Sait trainee and was in unstoppable form as he went on to guide two other winners, Dancing Greens and Frantic. In hindsight, it must be said that both Secret Romeo and Wave of Bliss have not recovered from their respective setback suffered after a glorious campaign in the last Mumbai season.
Trainer Shiraz Sunderji’s astute sense of placing his horses accompanied by some good preparation saw him lead both Star King and Frantic to the winner’s enclosure. The former, after being kept in a striking position by Malcolm Kharadi, pounced on the leaders and it was plain sailing for the grey gelding in the last two furlongs. Frantic’s gate manners have improved a lot recently and this son of Don’t Forget Me out of Midnight Madness seems to be more at ease in the hands of Bajrang than C. Rajendra.
The bay gelding slipped into the lead after a smooth start from the gates and was a winner at every pole of the mile journey for the Sir Rahimtoola Chinoy Trophy. Bajrang had to keep him going under the whip as The Polynesian, Realism and Discman challenged him. Discman was the one who caught the attention when making good ground towards the end and was not disgraced in his defeat at the hands of a better animal.
P. Kamlesh-piloted Pegasus from Mansingh Jadhav’s yard justified the support he received and went on to score from Summer Ridge and Naaina at the start of the day’s proceedings. The last name was seen warming up late and will probably relish more galloping ground. Truth Prevails earned her corn bill after shocking her fancied opponents. Akash was never in the hunt and Romantic Indian refused to put his best foot forward with the use of blinkers not helping his cause either.
Light of Justice was another horse to have stunned the field in the concluding event. The Narendra Lagad ward galloped resolutely in the hands of Satish Nayak and wore down Polar Star and Palatial, who were disputing the issue nearer home. The well-bred Palatial was installed as an on-money favourite to win on debut but his paddock looks never justified the cramped odds offered by the bookies taking into account his blazing track performance in the morning trials.
