Unwilling to cow down to nature’s fury, the entire maintenance
staff of the Pune racecourse took up the challenge and ensured that the
monsoon racetrack remained available for conducting racing as
scheduled. However, until the horses entered the paddock for the
customary pre-race parade, pessimists scattered around the country
refused to believe that racing would be held on Saturday afternoon.
Apart from the smooth conduct of the sport, what surprised many racing
enthusiasts was the triumphant return of horses that were entrusted with
the public’s purse. The bookmakers smiled only twice during the day.
Once at the start when Baryshnikhov marked his comeback to the racetrack
by shedding his maiden status and finally when Spade of Ace (formerly
American Hot) got the better of Chicane close home at the end of the
day.
Although Barbados Skies won at nourishing odds, the
bookies’ balance sheet remained in the red. They failed to comprehend
the abrupt withdrawal of the on-money favourite Intrinsic Value at the
starting gates. The exit of Supreme Act earlier also made a huge
difference as there was no horse in the field who could throw a
challenge at True Wisdom, the eventual winner.
The bookmakers also had to pay a heavy price for their audacity in
offering an irresistible quote against One Way in the P. Hadow Trophy.
The filly schooled by veteran Magansingh Jodha started off at 11 to 2
against the even-money favourite Girl From Ascot. The Imtiaz Sait
trainee had an impeccable record of three wins from as many starts. But
the brilliance of the Alnasr Alwasheek progeny was amiss on this
occasion. She gave a listless performance and was outpaced all the way
by One Way (Tecorno-Afsheen). The winner was given a confident start to
finish ride by jockey P. Belose.
Flag Bearer added some thrill to the finish by making a belated attempt
to catch the winner. One Way, however, held on gamely. Asian Express ran
on to finish a fair third ahead of Decameron, who would surely love to
travel over an extended journey.
There were quite a few horses that were unfavourably drawn and yet the
punters took a fancy for them. Queen Adler was one such punt that failed
to come through as the filly was in distress throughout the six-furlong
journey after coming out of the gates. Frenchman Samuel Fargeat was
pleasantly surprised when his good friend Nina Lalwani’s candidate
Baryshnikhov (Duja-Flattery) put in a sustained run in the straight to
overhaul Dancing Mystery who was then relegated to the third place by
top-weighted Charlotta.
Saeed Shah trained True Wisdom (Concordial-Chicory) gave no anxious
moments to her followers after taking a flying start in the lower
division of the Everynsky Trophy. The skills of jockey C. Rajendra were
limited to the extent of keeping True Wisdom on a straight course on the
tricky ground. Maybach, La Tremolo and Regina came in a procession
behind the winner. Rajendra did have to cajole Barbados Skies (Don’t
Forget Me-Three For Fantasy) from Shiraz Sunderji’s barns to overwhelm
Money Stream opposite the stands. Much was expected from Pesi Shroff
saddled filly Saangre Azul but the filly ran green and couldn’t make any
impact.
Having languished far too long without any success, the Cooji Katrak
trainee, Born Destiny (Steinbeck-Oiseau De Guerre) scored an emphatic win
in the hands of P. Kamlesh. The bay gelding made every post of the
seven-furlong trip a winning one. Show Off and Sphinx were more than
happy to occupy the minor places on the judges’ board. Storm Alert’s
late effort to finish fourth after a lethargic beginning didn’t go
unnoticed.
Dr M.A.M. Ramaswamy, Dallas Todywalla and B. Prakash were back in
business as Theatre Lady (Greensmith-Amazing Princess) and Path of
Fortune (Warrshan-Associate) provided a rich harvest. The betting market
was quite volatile as the odds against ante post
favourite Unsung Hero flared up. As if on cue, money started pouring in
on Theatre Lady, who made no mistake as B. Prakash guided her to an
effortless victory over Trainership and Anchors Aweigh. Path of Fortune
however had to wage a grim battle with Amadomio in the Belle Epoque
Plate. The latter came from the widest of draws and that had probably
affected his performance.
Excellento (Diffident-Thunderous) also had to contend with Belle Chose
and it was the hard riding of Malesh Narredu, which enabled the Arti
Doctor trainee to prevail over his rival. Glory Of The Family with C.
Rajendra in saddle ran third and he too had to deal with a bad draw. As
mentioned earlier, Imtiaz Sait trained Spade of Ace (Warrshan-Peperoni)
rallied well under the urgings of his rider Mansoor Khan to frustrate
bottom-weighted Chicane. There was solid support for Narendra Lagad
nurtured Attia In Sunlight but the aged mare never appeared keen to take
the matter seriously.
