MISSION ACCOMPLISHED BY AL DENTE IN THE SOUTHERN COMMAND GOLD TROPHY

If Darius Byramji asks one of his wards with just three wins during a short career to boast of to match strides with Class I horses in Western India, there is bound to be some sceptism of his ability. But a chip of the old block that he is, young Darius was presumably aware of the calibre of the horses based in Western India that are presently rated above 80 by the handicapper. Hardly surprising then if he dispatched Al Dente to stake claim on the Southern Command Gold Trophy.

The four-year-old filly by Razeen out of Ideas and Trends had lost by three-parts-of-a-length to ownermate Acrosto at Mysore recently when ridden by Aslam Kader. Jockey S. Rajesh was summoned to guide Al Dente as the first retainer of Deepak Khaitan opted to partner Allied Forces in the President of India Gold Cup at Hyderabad. Even Darius preferred to accompany Allied Forces forcing papa Rashid Byramji to deputise for him at Pune.

The chestnut daughter of Razeen was settled in the mid-bunch as Favorite Trick called the early shots. It was Signal Tap who relieved Favorite Trick of her responsibility near the 400m marker. But Al Dente who was close on the heels of the new leader at that stage quickly pounced on him and after a brief tussle gained the upper hand. But victory was not to come the easiest way for Al Dente. The Imtiaz Sait-trained Topanoora gelding Top Mover came menacingly close of toppling the favourite’s applecart, but frustration was in store for him.

It may be recalled that Regal Equity had come to Pune last year too, to participate in the Turf Club Trophy (Grade 2) and the Southern Command Gold Trophy (Grade 3) and had finished fourth and fifth in the respective events. And his earlier dismal show in the Turf Club Trophy notwithstanding, Regal Equity had his share of supporters on Sunday. Playing truant yet again, Regal Equity found his galloping shoes late to finish third. It was a clean sweep for the Deepak Khaitan colours as the first three horses to finish in this prestigious race were all sporting the ‘gold and red belt’ colours. Barring Top Mover, the Usha Stud-based stallion Razeen’s progeny took three of the first four places on the judges’ frame.

Lady luck was certainly not on trainer Imtiaz Sait’s side on Sunday. For, his ward The Proletarian surely deserved to win. C. Rajendra lost a certain race astride the son of Conquering Hero out of Nica Libre after trying to force his way through between Merry Millennium and Wild Heart at the turn. The Proletarian was denied a clear run and though he moved fast towards the end, he failed to catch the start-to-finish winner Fabulous Fortune. Careful viewing of the race gives possible hints of Bajrang Singh astride Wild Heart having other ideas on his mind after the initial mistake committed by C. Rajendra in trying to poke through the middle. It was again a case of "so near yet so far" with Top Mover and if C. Rajendra had shown a little bit of maturity astride the Imtiaz Sait ward, the result of the Southern Command Trophy could well have been different.

Prabhuti form Nirad Karanjawala’s yard won troubled as a favourite in the hands of C. Ruzaan. In the last race of the day, Zameer Sayyed-piloted Mercury Rising was quietly fancied by her connections but a gritty performance from the Bezan Chenoy-saddled filly Adam’s Legend proved a big hurdle. Mallesh Narredu thus made ample amends for his defeat astride Adam’s Touch at the hands of Gulmohor in the earlier race.

The law of averages seemed to have caught up with the punters this weekend. Their dream run with favourites, that lasted for a couple of weeks, came to an abrupt end as not a single public-fancy was able to oblige in the nine-race card on Saturday. Tiger Talk continued to remain shy of the winning post and he should be left alone till he proves himself. Dr M. A. M. Ramaswamy’s property Knighted (Chief’s Crown-Sea Basque) held on steadfastly at the wire from the favourite Rapallo who lacked the will to triumph. Bajrang Singh was astride the loser. Sarena Pride completed a double for the racing baron and Dallas Todywalla as the Alnasr Alwasheek gelding came with a flourish to foil the wire to wire mission of Moira. The on-money favourite Exhilarating could not justify her price and ran a tame fourth.

Towards the end of the day, Yukazon won fluently in the hands of T. S. Jodha. S. S. Shah-trained filly Zaka finally made it to the winners enclosure and on this occasion jockey B. Prakash ensured a trouble-free passage for her. Experimenting Special Crown over a six-furlong trip paid off for Imtiaz Sait as the son of Placerville took toll of Batroyale.

Apprentice Aadesh Kumar rode a grand treble on Saturday and was undoubtedly the star of the week. The young rookie who claims 3.5kg allowance partnered both Northern Temptress and Dream Lover on their maiden journey to success. Aadesh reserved his best performance aboard Dhanadal as he rode a near perfect race. Unfazed by the presence of his more experienced peers, Aadesh showed that he is slowly, but surely gaining in confidence as he drove Dhanadal to retain his advantage at the post.

A much-improved Gold Dust fought a pitched battle with Sonalika and emerged triumphant at the wire sparing half-a-length to the B. Prakash ridden filly at the wire. It took three disastrous outings as a favourite for the Magansingh Jodha trained chestnut filly Gold Dust (Reasonable-Romodia) to traverse on the road to success. The chestnut had enough taste of humbug and decided to put her best foot forward in the hands of jockey P. S. Deora, who gets second preference in the stables. And for a change she was not the favourite.

Ditto for Narendra Lagad-saddled High Voltage on Sunday. Ridden by the luckless apprentice Satish Nayak, High Voltage took charge from the runaway leader Flirtatious opposite the stands and cruised away to give his rider his first career win. Smart Hunter ran on to take the second berth. Keep aside the last run of both High Voltage and Smart Hunter for a while and take a look at their performance in Race No. 72.

Ridden by H.G.Rathod then, High Voltage was the firm favourite to win the six-furlong race contested by eleven runners. Amjad Khan-trained Smart Hunter ran in the same race with R. Biramne in saddle. Apart from these two horses, Royal Partner, Blushing Brave, Pistol Star, Star Burst and Flirtatious had also run in that race. Blushing Brave was the eventual winner by a short head over Smart Hunter. Royal Partner ran fourth; Star Burst came fifth; Pistol Star ended eighth followed by High Voltage whilst Flirtatious finished last. A little over six lengths separated High Voltage from the winner.

Exactly a week earlier High Voltage had Satish Nayak in saddle and finished sixth behind Current Bay in the upper class over a five-furlong sprint. Smart Hunter on the other hand ended seventh in Race No.107, more than ten lengths away from winner Red Trident. Unpredictable that it was, the sudden reversal of form shown by these horses hit the punters below the belt. Capri Classic came in for enthusiastic support but lost all chances at the gates itself. Though intriguing, smart money was laid on Vijay Kasbekar-groomed Lovingly in this race but at no stage of the race did the mare raise any hopes of obliging her supporters.

If Gold Dust and High Voltage showed remarkable improvement then the performance of both Realism and Momentous Mover was a denigration of sorts. No amount of cajoling from Mallesh Narredu could get Hormuz Antia-trained Realism to run the way he did last month. And wasn’t he the same horse who erased the previous best timing for a seven-furlong trip at the Pune racecourse on that occasion?

And the less said about Momentous Mover, the better. This son of Broto, saddled by Robert D’Mellow, had won over a nine-furlong trip only a fortnight back. But on Sunday, Momentous Mover never had in him what it takes to run or rather win and he appeared all at sea on the race track. Given a long rein all through the race by Malcolm Kharadi, Momentous Mover ended way behind winner Ride The Lightning.

The racecourse may not witness any drastic fall in the public attendance if such incidents are allowed to go unnoticed by the RWITC authorities. Only the faith of the racing fraternity in the Club’s ability to tackle this malaise will erode.