Nearly all the other runners except Shamaal were done in by the pace set by rank outsider Ungaro. Shamaal compounded their misery by storming into the lead after the field straightened for the final run-in. With less than a furlong left for the ultimate destination, Shamaal eventually lost steam and Kia Ora, who was always racing in the vanguard, produced a sparkling run when alerted to her task by jockey S. Rajesh. Shamaal succumbed far too easily to the onslaught unleashed by the filly brought in-foal to Free Thinker and who is trained by the Bangalore-based professional S. Padmanabhan. The mile trip seemed to be beyond her compass and this defeat of Shamaal should inspire a change in Sanjay Kolse’s strategy. Like every other owner, the Khushroo Dhunjibhoy camp was surely expecting a decent performance from Kia Ora. By winning the terms event, Kia Ora not only surprised Padmanabhan but also her owners and the expressions of exclamation were manifest alongside the broad smile beaming on their face during the victory parade.
Kia Ora was the first to offer respite to the financially-mauled bookies which was later extended by Raptures’ triumph. Yet, the bookmakers’ ledgers were smeared red by the marauding punters. Tio Pepe hit the first home run when making every post to the five-furlong scurry a winning one in the hands of Ikram Khan, the younger sibling of trainer Rehanullah Khan. High Voltage was content playing second fiddle while Speedster ran a dismal fourth to prove that the enthusiasm shown by the vast section of punters was undeserved.
