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‘Autocrat’ Bharat Reigns in Style

By Epsom Ace | 15 Sep 2010 | KOLKATA


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Trainer Bharath Singh turned on the heat in the trainers’ championship with a superb hat-trick that put him just one win behind sibling leader Vijay, who failed to add to his season’s total of a dozen this afternoon. Bharath’s winners were Ashridge, Spitz and Autocrat. The first and last named are owned by Dr Vijay Mallya.

The surprise package of the afternoon was Spitz winning the Aleksei Cup. The sprinter had shown absolutely zero form prior to this win – it was possibly the most astounding result this season. In all probabilities, Burst Of Speed would have lifted this cup, had his rider (apprentice Mohit Singh) been able to claim the total 4 kg that he was entitled to instead of the 2.5 kg that his bodyweight permitted him to. To make matters worse, he lost the lead at the bend to the eventual winner Spitz and subsequently drifted out pretty badly. Nevertheless, that’s all a part and parcel of the game and one has to give credit where it’s due. Apprentice Shezad Khan rode a measured race on the winner and completed a double.

The disappointment in the race was Star Impact who should have beaten Spitz at this mark. But he has obviously lost his old sparkle. He was seen struggling under the whip in mid-division. Oyster Cove needed a year to come good and Star Impact too may need a little more time, especially in the highest class.

Bharath opened his account with Ashridge who was ridden to a perfunctory start-to-finish victory by Christopher Alford, aided by a regulation breather near the halfway mark in the 2,000 metres race for the Everynsky Handicap. With this victory, C Alford is well within sight of reaching his coveted landmark of 1,000 wins. A brace is all he needs now.

Rank outsider Zafir chased the 6/4 winner all the way to signal to his connections that he has staying ability which was not known to be his forte.

Bharath completed his hat-trick in the afternoon’s last event as Shailesh Shinde piloted Autocrat to a stunning victory. The challenge did not come from any of the fancied trio of Alize, Missoni or Must Be Magic. Rather, it was the aged King’s Desire who once again displayed his desire to gallop. Alas, had it not been for Autocrat’s thunderous gallop in the straight, he would have hoisted the winning flag.

The other talking point of the afternoon was the win of the Richard Alford-trained rig Ajayajeet. He won the six-furlong Finalist Handicap start-to-finish and was left unmeasured as he was not stretched. It’s too early to say whether he will be successful in a classic field but the indications are definitely optimistic thus far.

Apprentice jockeys ruled the roost during the afternoon and Mohit Singh set the ball rolling with Fascinating in the Royal Bear Handicap. The John Stephens-trained filly was given a flawless ride by him and he was indeed instrumental in landing a major gamble for horse-owner Bimal Khemka.

At times, it’s difficult to grasp the quirky decisions of certain professionals. Quaoar had finished a good second to High Roller four days earlier. He was made to run again, only this time he closed at 15/1 and graced the wrong end of the field in the upper division of the Fuse Box Handicap. Obviously, something was amiss. While in-and-out running is an accepted fact in all yards, such blatant flouting of norms is not very healthy for punters.

The handicapper had penalized Magic Mantra 3 kg for his nose verdict over Big Thrillz, who was given an extra kg. However, the added 100 metres went in favour of Magic Mantra again.

Trainer Daniel David picked up a win for patron MAM with Flamingo Fantasy who gave able apprentice Shezad Khan his first win of the afternoon in the lower division of the Fuse Box Handicap. It was perhaps a little ironical that he got the better of David’s Burst Of Speed in the main event while astride Spitz.