Backed to the exclusion of her twelve rivals, Access All Areas made her twelve rivals in the S. A. Poonawalla Million (Grade 2) look quite ordinary. As Access All Areas had arrived in Pune armed with the impressive record of running second to Six Speed and Arrakis at Bangalore, it was but natural that she be the obvious choice of many to win the prestigious race. Rising to the occasion the bay filly cruised away for an authoritative win in the hands of none else but Aslam Kader. Moment of Truth (Tocave Botta-Champagne) ran a useful second as Princess Xena laboured hard to grab the third slot.

Trainer S. Padmanabhan has brought about a complete transformation in the daughter of Razeen after the setback she received during her visit to Mahalaxmi, and the results were for all to see during the Bangalore summer meeting itself. The bay filly by Razeen out of Alix, according to her trainer’s confession, is injury prone which more often is self-inflicted. Also, she did not arrive here in the pink of condition a week prior to the big day, yet she was spot-on for "Paddu" on this occasion.

The challenger from down south lost about a length at the start by swerving slightly to her left when coming out of the barriers. Not detracted by this tardiness, Aslam brushed Access All Areas to be quickly in touch with the front runners. And as the climb uphill ended, Aslam put the Deepak Khaitan-owned filly into top gear. Access All Areas took charge and was soon home and dry. So impressive and pleasing was the performance of Access All Areas that she now carries the hopes of the Deepak Khaitan camp in the forthcoming Pune Derby.

Speaking to this correspondent after the race, trainer S. Padmanabhan responded with an emphatic ‘NO’ when asked if he was perturbed by the sluggishness of Access All Areas at the start. Was he worried to see Aslam brushing up the filly to catch the leaders? "Not a bit," replies Paddu. "The filly was very keen as a two-year-old. After her disappointing venture at Mumbai, we took a conscious decision to try and get her to settle in the early part of the race. Her ability and stamina was never in doubt. I could've even asked Aslam to hit the front if the situation demanded so in the Million, and yet the result would have been the same," elaborates the confident Bangalore-based trainer. This incidentally was his first big win after several failed attempts at Pune in the preceding years.

Imtiaz Sait-nursed El Cid (Young Senor-Openly Proud) earned his first bracket of the season when he literally mowed the opposition in the Highland Rule Trophy on Sunday. Sound of Whisper (Placerville-Entrancing) notched his third successive victory where both the two three-year-olds Zenana and Daring Don flopped. Vinayak-groomed three-year-old chestnut filly Inquistion, brought in-foal to General Charge and who is by Affirmed, provided some relief to the Dhunjibhoy camp.

Being ignored in the betting ring was no dampener for Dreadnought who literally flew in the hands of apprentice S. P. Ranjane to pick the Rao Saheb Kedari Trophy for joint owners Mr Rajendra Singh Idar and trainer Hormuz Antia. This after Special Recruit provided the same combination with an identical victory on Saturday.

A day earlier, Tap On Power finally made it to the winners enclosure after trainer Robert D’Mellow entrusted him to jockey T. Bernard, the lucky mascot of owner Aziz Jaffer. Master Honey gave some anxious moments to his supporters but finally came good in the hands of T. S. Jodha. The winning post came to the rescue of piping-hot favourite Helianthus as Wild Heart closed on him in the final stages of the Mystic Memory Trophy. The fears expressed of Helianthus being a ‘choker’ in her previous run almost came true on this occasion as the Bezan Chenoy trained filly started shortening her strides in the straight.

Debutant Southern Star who was expected to provide lesser-known jockey J. George his first winner this season suffered due to poor handling and lost by half-length to Different Crown, a progeny of the jinxed White Crown. Inimitable was hard-ridden by C. Rajendra to overcome the stiff challenge posed by Boundless Thrill.

One thing that should encourage the RWITC bosses, in the wake of the feared disruption from a group of disgruntled workers, is the overwhelming support, which the "Sport of the Kings" got from the lovers of this sport. Even the sponsors of the S. A. Poonawalla Million were forced to keep their publicity campaign of this event to the bare minimum. Still, the turf lawns were filled to capacity and a full house witnessed the running of the prime event of the Pune racing calendar.

On the flip side, the failures of Au Revoir and Zenana on Saturday and Sunday respectively left a bad taste in the mouth of those who genuinely care for horseracing. The common factor that binds these fillies is that they both are entrusted in the care of trainer Cooji Katrak. Au Revoir (Broto-Sportin’ Love) is owned by Mr Shyam Ruia whilst USA-born Zenana (Sri Pekan-Vistula) belongs to Mr Khusroo N. Dhunjibhoy. Both these gentlemen happen to be members of the current RWITC managing committee and also Stewards of the Club.

Au Revoir may be a maiden as yet but her ability to score need not be questioned. Yet all she could give was a pathetic show. She is reported to have been "bone-dry" and obviously was in a lot of distress when C. Rajendra asked for an effort from her. Following in the footsteps of her ownermate Alderney, Zenana returned home with burst blood vessels.

Disturbing as it is, this is not for the first time that a horse owned by these gentlemen has lost as a favourite. Mr Shyam Ruia did somehow manage to hide his agitated state of mind but could not suppress the agony over the circumstances in which his filly lost. Fortunately for Mr K. N. Dhunjibhoy he was out of station as such he was saved of the embarrassment.

Three horses running below par in a short span of two days does no good for the reputation of any professional nor should it flatter him. So Mr Cooji Katrak, who has just resumed his duties after serving a suspension for "breach of medication rules", should be more careful as a trainer. If not for his own good at least for the sake of the racing public that stakes its hard-earned money on the horses saddled by him. Many of these horses carry the tags of big owners and have the services of reputed jockeys.