VIKING SURPRISES IN
SPRINT EVENT

Messrs Nari D. Chothia, Dickey D. Chothia and F.H.Tapia lead Combined Venture (T.Mahesh up) alongwith trainer Shiraz Sunderji

 

Viking who was expected to find the sprint trip sharp, won in splendid fashion, much to the surprise of  race-goers. Punters who put faith in the favourites saddled by Magansingh Jodha and ridden by Bajrang Singh burnt their fingers. Even top-flight jockey Rajendra too let down his supporters and punters ended up with a hole in their pocket...

There were not many takers for the inside information that Viking, owned by the Dhunjibhoys' in partnership with Dr M. A. M. Ramaswamy and racing in the colours
of the former, would win the P. Hadow Trophy on Thursday. The fault did not lay with those who chose to ignore this tip for this got-abroad gelding from trainer Vinayak's yard is known for his staying abilities.

Having done their home-work well, it was not difficult then for trainer Vinayak and jockey Mallesh Narredu to achieve the impossible. For a start, the four-year-old bay was fine tuned in the morning trials while the rest of plan was executed on the race day. As a warming up exercise, Viking with Mallesh Narredu astride broke into a fast canter on his way to the starting gate. Half the battle was won before the race started.

When the field of eighteen took off from the barriers, Viking was settled in the mid-bunch with Special Recruit showing the way. Viking got a dream opening towards the rails through which Mallesh quickly surged ahead leaving his rivals standing cold. Caught in a traffic snarl half-way through the six-furlong trip, My Solitaire came with giant strides but it was too
late then and this R. Rupesh-ridden property of Dr Ramaswamy had to be content playing second fiddle to Viking. Bajrang Singh-ridden Gold Dust who was a rage in the betting ended a tame fifth giving a performance that was well below par.

Bajrang Singh-assisted Gold Dust was not the first disappointment from trainer Magansingh Jodha's yard and certainly not the last of the day for that matter. Earlier in the day, the 10 to 6 on favourite Different Crown failed to live up to the expectations of his admirers and was no match for second favourite San Vitale. Although hanging out in the final stretch of the journey, the victor was too good for Different Crown and the rest of the field.

Agreed that the favourite faced a rough passage in the initial stages of the race but the handling of Bajrang Singh atop the favourite certainly did not match his abilities one bit. Bajrang brushed his mount up the hill to catch up with the early leader Sergeant Slipper. And not surprisingly did he find himself short of fuel when stepping on the gas in the bid to contain the challenge of San Vitale. Following Henki at the fag end of the day proved disastrous for the punters as the four-year-old daughter of Reasonable could only finish third behind Polish Nobility and High Voltage. Going into the lead as soon as the gates flew open stood the Arti Doctor trained filly in good stead as runner-up High Voltage
came menacingly close to beat her. That it never happened is another matter as the Narendra Lagad trainee was well and truly beaten for pace.

Earlier Northern Temptress too suffered the same fate as High Voltage against Arabian Commander who was ably guided by C. Rajendra to victory. Northern Temptress
came second a good five lengths behind the winner followed by Days of Thunder who should keep his date with success during the season.

Dicky-legged Zephyr Bay put on his galloping shoes on his way to victory over Fire Girl, Soul Mate and Timeless Appeal who finished in that order. Stealing a march over her rivals as the field swung into the home-stretch, Fire Girl appeared coasting home for an easy victory before Zephyr Bay decided to burst on to
the scene. Timeless Appeal never appeared serious with her task and ended so. Queenstown had her own set of admirers but the filly needs more sharpening if she intends to enter the winners circle again. Hormuz Antia-saddled History staved off the late
challenge of Speculative to give her master his first win of the season. Favourite Laktara was cramped for room when about a furlong before the winning post but for which he would have definitely figured in the finish. Perfect Strides advertised her fitness when finishing fourth in the hands of jockey D. G. Shanker who was suspended for unsatisfactory riding on the
same filly in Mumbai. Debut also had a grand rehearsal and should be in the news when asked to travel a longer distance.

Victory March was the only exception and the saving grace for racegoers as far as favourites winning was concerned. The three-year-old chestnut daughter of Portroe out of Pleasant Melody let Stone Ridge and Helianthus call the early shots in the seven-furlong trip while she lay in wait behind them till the bend. As the climb over the hill ended, C. Rajendra switched
gears on the Narendra Lagad-trained filly. Within no time the bay filly sped past the leaders living up to her name and also graduating from the maiden ranks. The young and sporting owners' duo of Dr Ram Shroff
and Mr Raj Shroff (who are twin brothers) share the ownership of this filly with Mr and Ms Shapoor Mistry.

If punters were made to pay a price for following
Bajrang Singh on Thursday, disaster awaited them in the form of jockey C. Rajendra on Friday. Insatiable proved to be a much bigger flop than Different Crown. The well-bred daughter of All Hat and who is sired by
Placerville did not justify her pedigree nor the price she was quoted at. Seville Star notched his maiden success as apprentice Aadesh Kumar aboard the Sanjay Kolse ward made every post a winning one. Insatiable who struggled to find her foot when running third near
the post was pegged back by the uninterested Asprilla.

Royal Standard the other horse supported in the hands of C. Rajendra was adjudged a close third after being involved in a three-horse photo-finish with Begonia and Pass The Buck. Irish jockey Mark Gallagher was the driving force behind the success of this horse owned
by the Goculdas family and trained by Narendra Lagad.

C. Rajendra compensated for his two failures by
partnering Razalin in her wire to wire win over
Cristina who came in for some inspired support in the Pune ring. Razalin profited mainly due to the lack of interest shown by favourite Zeta Jones in the race. For no apparent reason the bookies turned generous by offering a higher price for Zeta Jones winning. But it hardly surprised anyone when the filly finished fourth
being pipped at the post for the third place by Gold Buck.

If Gallagher's riding made the difference astride
Begonia it was B. Prakash who was largely responsible for Perfect Placement's triumph over Rajeev Pandey-guided favourite Cotopaxi. Perfect Placement and Cotopaxi were never really separated from the word go but try hard as they did, Rajeev Pandey and Cotopaxi could not humble the winner. To be fair to Rajeev, Perfect Placement was the beneficiary of a run
last week and that also mattered at the end.

Dr M. A. M. Ramaswamy-owned Searching Star put her best foot forward to win the curtain-raiser on Friday after the chances of Mach Two became clear in the betting ring. The odds on Mach were on a roller-coaster as soon as they opened on the eve of the race. Signal Tap ridden by light-weight jockey S.S.Bhati and sporting the same colours then took account of Double Impact to give trainer Dallas Todywalla a back-to-back double.

The untiring efforts of trainer Shiraz Sunderji in
getting Combined Venture right for his Friday
encounter did not go in vain. Entrusted to
lesser-known T. Mahesh on this occasion, Combined Venture hacked the opposition in the last race of the day. With only a furlong and a half left for home, the bay son of Placerville out of Romantic Feelings took charge of the running from Short N Sweet and it was all over bar the shouting for Combined Venture. A repeat performance should be well within reach of the
winner provided the handicapper is not harsh on him.

Begonia, Pass The Buck and Royal Standard involved in a blanket finish for the lower division of the Capucino Plate. Begonia was a shorthead winner of this race.

Combined Venture seen trouncing his opposition

Trainer Vinayak and Mr Khusroo Dhunjibhoy lead Perfect Placement back to the winners enclosure

B. Prakash aboard Perfect Placement returning home victorious

Trainer Hosidar Daji and Captain Jamshed Appoo escort Razalin after her victory in the Camargue Plate

Trainer Vinayak and Mr Khusroo Dhunjibhoy lead Perfect Placement back to the winners enclosure

Trainer Dallas Todywalla receiving the Our Select Trophy from Mr Kumar S. Dalal after Signal Tap won the race.