Our Chieftain (Diffident – Amazing Girl) surfaced from behind and in a final furlong flourish, gained momentum to spare a neck at the wire to a spirited Ishpingo, who ran a terrific race as well, to win the season’s first Million – The Audelade Inaugural Million.

Neither could Ranthanbhore find his Pune rhythm nor was Out of My Way as aggressive in his finish. Ishpingo on the other hand, looked much improved and staunchly determined to make a mark. However, Sreekanth had a date with destiny. He propelled Our Chieftain, timing his final burst to a nicety and opened his account as a jockey on the famed Mahalaxmi race track.

Jockey B Sreekanth, a fairly successful young jockey from the Bangalore/Mysore circuit, candidly admitted that he felt the butterflies in the stomach on his first day on the Mahalaxmi track. “I was a bit nervous and looked up to trainer Karthik for advice. He helped calm my nerves and gave me the boost I required. However, all the pressure and edginess quickly disappeared as I saw that the horses in front were making considerable effort in galloping towards the winning post. I saw my chance approaching the distance post and when Our Chieftain started to respond to the couple of cracks that I gave him, I knew I was in with a bright chance. I pushed vigorously in the final furlong and just needed to give him one more crack, only to correct his inward drift. Our Chieftain got stronger at the finish and the thrill of hitting the wire past Ishpingo was something I shall cherish,” said an excited Sreekanth.

Trainer Karthik was more assured and confident. “I was impressed with his last run in Pune and he had put on condition since. I knew he had a great chance to pull it off. Once Sreekanth pulled him outside of the horses that were shifting in front, I was a lot more at ease. At that stage, I knew he was just about to make his final charge. Ishpingo too was travelling well, yet I believed we would make it, said Karthik.”

Cine Star Bipasha Basu looked graceful and appealing as she daintily made her way to the podium in an orange designer outfit. Flanking her were M/s Mansukh Sanghvi, Mahendra Sanghvi and Rakesh Sanghvi, Chairman and Directors of Audelade, U C Group. A large number of lenses were zooming in on ‘Bips’ as she presented the trophy along with Mr Mansukh Sanghvi. Mr Rakesh Sanghvi thanked the Club for the super race. “We are immensely happy being associated with the RWITC and the event has been well received. It was a great day for us and we hope all at the racecourse have enjoyed the day as well” said Mr Sanghvi. Mr Vivek Jain then acknowledged the contribution of the Sanghvies and presented a memento to Mr Mansukh Sanghvi and Bipasha on behalf of the Club. Gift hampers worth Rs 3.5 lacs was then presented to the winners of the contest of skill associated with the Audelade Million which was open to the patrons.

This was not the first time that Bips was at the racecourse; she was here last year too for the Invitation Cup. “I love being here with these magnificent horses and they do fascinate me,” said Bipasha. When asked why she did not visit the racecourse more often, Bipasha was quick to quip, “I have come here each time I was invited and would have come here if I had been invited more often,” her charming smile giving away the witty intent behind the statement.

The other keenly awaited race was the Scorpio Plate only because Smashing was under the spotlight. Smashing (Holy Roman Emperor – Exquisite) may not have caused disappointment, but she certainly raised some anxiety. Capriole shot to the front and had Golden Heart and Esmeraldo tailing him, Smashing moved to the inner rails from an outside draw taking advantage of the space available close to the rails. Capriole prolonged his control past the 300, but was soon joined by Esmeraldo and a stride or two later Smashing, after being switched to the outside started to devour ground.

At the distance post, Capriole, Esmeraldo and Smashing were abreast. Smashing certainly had the upper hand but only just. Esmeraldo decided to test the hot favourite and stuck around stubbornly, jockey YS Srinath getting every ounce out of him. Jockey B Prakash looked confident relying more on egging Smashing on with strong pushing, using the whalebone just when required on the two occasion. It seemed that the resistance was strong until the final 100, but in the final few strides to the winning post, Smashing stretched away to win by a shade under two lengths.

The late final surge augurs well for Smashing, hinting that she could stretch her speed over longer trips as well. “I was never alarmed at any stage, I was confident at all times that Smashing would win. It was her first run in Mumbai and she may have been a touch apprehensive, but that’s understandable. She finished on well and won comfortably in the end,” said Prakash.

This was a third successive victory for the Vijay Mallya owned filly and her build up to the bigger races has been steady and faultless.

Trainer Altaf Hussain saddled a fine double with hot favourite Dancing Glances and long-shot Arabian Champ. Dancing Glances (Placerville – Dancing Greens) scored a facile start-to-finish victory, stretching away from her two rivals in the homestretch. The trio entered the straight with Dancing Glances just a length in front. Oceanic Wisdom was stuck on the rails with Dovers Hills on her outside. Dashrath Singh was a picture of confidence as he waited with Dancing Glances even as the other two started riding out. After a prolonged wait, Dashrath went hands and heels and Dancing Glances started to surge further away and looked the winner long way from home. Oceanic Wisdom and Dovers Hill fought it out and the former held the latter by a narrow margin. Dancing Glances ran a stunning race and won fluently.

Altaf scored again in the last race of the day with Arabian Champ (Major Impact - Freedom Cry). Arabian Champ began with chasing leader Bongani right from the start. The rest followed in a close bunch with the three most fancied runners, Rule Forever, Rebecca and Pride of the Hills in the mid-bunch.

As they straightened for home, Bongani surged ahead but Arabian Champ too was up to the task. Pride of the Hills was prominent at that stage but could not quicken. Rule Forever too was making marginal headway. Rebecca was still finding her way. Past the distance post, Bongani and Arabian Champ were engaged in a grim battle when Rebecca started to warm up. She covered some ground but the duo in front had the momentum going. Arabian Champ went for the kill in the final stages and surged past Bongani to prevail by a mere ¾ lengths. Rebecca finished close alongside Bongani. Rule Forever ended in the frame and Pride of the Hills one off. Rebecca was the one to show promise and it could pay to mark her for the next outing.

Jockey Dashrath Singh scored his double immediately after guiding Dancing Glances to that impressive win. Mountain Treasure (Ontario – Truffa) provided another easy victory ruling the entire length of the straight. Mountain Treasure got past leader Aphrodite at the turn and never looked back. Adams Vision, the only other horse in the reckoning, tried hard to stay in contention after moving one behind the winner soon on straightening up. The race looked ridiculously one sided as Mountain Treasure was going hard held while Adams Vision had jockey CS Jodha working overtime. Mountain Treasure cruised to victory finishing 2 ½ lengths clear of Adams Prince without breaking into sweat.

Sizzling Love (Sizzling Melody – Love and Joy) under some strong handling by A Sandesh won an interesting battle involving Lady Genereuse. The lead changed quickly initially and Lady Genereuse took charge soon on settling down. Money Flash, Houdini, Atlantic Star, Free For All and Sizzling Love made up the front bunch. AS they steered homeward, Lady Genereuse travelled comfortably, the others were being ridden out and Free For All looked the one catching up. Soon Sizzling Love made an appearance and got past Free For All easily and had only Lady Genereuse to contend with. The duo fought out the final furlong and just about managed to get past Lady Genereuse to win narrowly. Free For All ended a decent third.

The season’s opening race saw Smart Hunter (Royal Kingdom – Sunspangled) pull off a sensational start to finish victory at lucrative odds. Smart Hunter shot ahead soon on start and had the others following closely. Frost Fairy chose to be just behind the leader with Persian alongside, Rose Heaven and Thunder Strike followed in that order. Into the straight, Smart Hunter increased her lead and kicked on all the way to score with a measure of comfort. Frost Fairy gave little to her supporters to shout about and eventually got even the runner-up berth snatched away with a late bid coming from Rose Heaven. Thunder Strike beat one home to end in the frame. Rose Heaven was a bit sluggish right through but improved well towards the finish and kept her chances alive for the next time.

For the professionals, trainer Altaf Hussain and jockey Dashrath Singh began the season on a good note scoring a double each.