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The Handicapper Takes the Honours

By Epsom Ace | 26 Mar 2008 | KOLKATA


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Wednesday belonged to the handicapper. There can be no doubt about that. There were as many as six close finishes in the card of eight events. Even the camera must have had a problem separating the runners during several of these heart-stopping moments.

The afternoon’s main event, The Prince Pradeep Cup, was an absolute humdinger of a race. Speedy Diomedes came out of the gates like a scalded cat and appeared to have the race in the bag at the distance post. However, Neeraj Rawal atop Oxford Street had other ideas and put the top-weight into top gear opposite the grandstand. Despite the crushing impost, the chestnut colt devoured ground in the final 100 metres of the race to pip the front-runner at the post. That was the third winner of the afternoon for the Vijay-Rawal combo.

Why the connections of Smarty Pant persisted with apprentice Aharwal when C.S. Jodha could very easily have been declared to ride the horse, remains a mystery.  There is no doubt that the speedster would have finished closer with a stronger rider.

Vijay and Rawal opened their account with Acheson who was available at cramped odds. Their second winner of the day was Regal Appeal in the Great Scot Handicap. Both runners won their races fairly easily and may be worth following. The first “edge-of-the-seat” thriller was the fourth race of the afternoon — The Ivanoe Handicap. Robin Corner is known to throw up a surprise every now and then. On this occasion, his Candle Light very nearly pulled off a ‘pillar-to-post’ triumph in the hands of Dinesh Singh. However, the form horse Acrostic, with Afzal Khan in the saddle, kept nagging away at his side and this ultimately paid off. The favourite Wall Street finished a bad last. Despite the large number of horses with him, the Daniel David stable has not fared too well this winter.

The very next race saw Big Thrillz pull off a great gamble for his connections. Javed Khan’s Fast Love was in futile chase all the way while Elemental Wish once again ran like a dud. Perhaps a change of name might help her cause as nothing else seems to be working out for her. D. Singh had her in a box seat till the bend but the story ended there. At weights, Agnation was a shade better than Prospective Queen. However, when it came to the crunch-hour, it was the ‘Queen’ who delivered in The Dark Legend Handicap. Despite drifting off a straight course, the filly kept her neck ahead of Agnation who got a dream opening down the centre.

The day’s final event saw the Jaiswal brothers pull off a great win with Royal Scandal. The David stable was once gain at the receiving end as their Fabulous Emperor buckled in the last stride.