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The Pelican comes good at last
By Sharan Kumar | 03 Mar 2002 | BANGALORE
The Pelican (C.Lemaire up), winner of the Indain Turf Invitation Cup (Grade-I) being led in by trainer M.K.Jadhav , owner Mr.Vijay B.Shirke
French jockey Chris Lemaire made the Indian Turf Invitation Cup weekend his own, with a record-breaking feat, winning three Grade 1 races in two days, a feat thus far not achieved by an Indian jockey or any visiting jockey. Lemaire was the toast of the Bangalore crowd, with seven wins to his credit but the most spectacular of them all was the win on The Pelican in the Gr 1 Indian Turf Invitation Cup. He also drove out Strengthtostrength to a thrilling win in the Gr 1 Sprinters Cup on Saturday, and then guided the seven-year old to a comfortable win in the Gr 1 Maj P K Mehra Memorial Super Mile on Sunday. Young Lemaire who is riding in India for the first time, has definitely improved by leaps and bound thanks to his stint here and much will be hard of this talented and amiable professional in the years to come.
Vijay Singh trained Ansbach who had lost by a whisker to Starsky in the Gr 1 Indian Derby was the firm favourite to win the Invitation Cup especially as the son of Alnasr Alwasheek was running on the Bangalore track on which his exploits had been brilliant. However, the race had open look about it notwithstanding Ansbach’s credentials as any of the runner in the race could have won as talent wise, most of the runners were evenly matched. Only Ansbach’s reputation made him look invincible.
Antequera took over the job of setting the pace as the starter dispatched the field of 13 runners for the mile and half trip. The Pelican who runs best when he is allowed to run freely in front as evidenced by his win in the Gr 2 Ruia Cup, was settled a handy second, with El Campeador and Royal Gladiator racing in close attendance. The jockeys of Ansbach, Pleasure Hunt and Wild Eagle preferred to wait in the rear though the first named was none too comfortable and had an unsettled look about him. Lemaire made his move approaching the final bend by pushing The Pelican to the front and the son of Placerville quickly established a useful lead by quickening nicely. In the meanwhile, Srinath brought Elusive Hero into contention and the son of Elusive Pimpernel appeared to be a serious threat to the front-runner but he did not have the speed to be so. In the meanwhile, Paul Eddery on Royal Gladiator had to manouvre his way while McCullah on Pleasure Hunt had to switch the filly to the wide outside to essay the challenge. Shroff on Wild Eagle appeared to have run into a difficult passage along the rails.
The Pelican was slowing down even as Pleasure Hunt and Royal Gladiator came up with menacing runs but the winning post came too soon for the runner-up. The Pelcian held on to win to provide his trainer M K Jadhav and its owner Mr Vijay Shrike, the biggest success of their racing career. Pleasure Hunt edged out Royal Gladiator for the third spot while Elsuive Hero was a close fourth ahead of Wild Eagle who put in a good show despite doubts about his staying abilities.
The Pelcian always had the potential to win this big race. In fact, this writer had reckoned that The Pelican was the horse for the Indian Derby but then he ran fourth, perhaps not relishing the tactic of waiting with him. Lemaire who rode The Pelican with supreme confidence, deserves a pat on his back.. Incidentally, the same connections had thought that Lemaire was too raw to ride The Pelican in the Derby and had sought the services of Mick Kinnane at a considerable expense! Such are the quirks of this sport!
The luck of the race definitely did not favour Pleasure Hunt who was given too much to do in the home stretch by jockey McCullagh. The Royal Gladiator put in a good show and jockey Paul Eddery settled was able to settle him well despite the colt sporting blinkers for the first time. Royal Gladiator has always been an unlucky horse, as he has never been ridden well in the Derbys he participated, his jockey fighting with him and unable to settle him. He should have won at least one Derby but has been unfortunate right through his career though he has one Gr 1 and two Gr 2 races to his credit. Trainer Padmanabhan has done a good job of him and proved the skeptics wrong that Royal Gladiator cannot stay trips beyond a mile.
The pathetic performances of the day came from Ansbach. While Aslam Kader did not exactly distinguish himself on Ansbach, the son of Alnasr Alwasheek surprisingly put in a very poor performance. Snow Dew was a pale shadow of her old self. She has gone sour and the filly clearly did not enjoy these extended trips.
The Pelican’s win was the first recorded by a challenger from Mumbai in a Invitation Cup race held in Bangalore in more than one decade. In fact, the two places in three of the four graded races went the way of Mumbai challengers. Only the Stayers Cup stayed with the local champion.
Rehanullah Khan was definitely on cloud nine. His ward Strengthtostrength has done him proud and provided him his best weekend racing in his career. Strengthtostrength emulated Bergamo in winning both the Sprinters Cup and the Super Mile. On that occasion, the latter race was not a graded event where as it is now a Grade 1 race. It makes Rehnaullahkhan’s and his ward’s achievement all the more significant. The common factor in this success was the brilliance of jockey Chris Lemaire.
Mumbai challenger Tobler who had finished behind Wild Eagle and Ansbach in the Indian 2000 Guineas, was considered to have the best credentials to win the Super Mile. But in the event, Strengthtostrength surprised them all by his good turn of foot in the final furlong to get the better of the favourite to record his first every success in a mile and that too in a Grade 1 event! What a win it was for the seven year old who put to shame the younger rivals by his zest for racing.
Mega Top set a scorching pace, with the rest of the runners a few lengths adrift, preferring to wait before making their moves. Mega Top came into the straight with a useful lead but failed to sustain as the Hyderabad challenger weakened. Tobler shaped like a winner but was floored by the finishing burst of Strengthtostrength. Mega Top just about held on to pip Acrobat for the third spot
Strengthtostrength’s feat is unparallel in the history of Indian racing. A seven year old has not win these big races thus far, with the race being the monopoly of four-year olds. While Strengthtostrength and his trainer Rehanullah Khan get full credit for their feat, the fact remains that the younger lot seen in action was the poorest in one’s memory.
Ganapathy trained Accede won the 1400 metres Japan Trophy, a rich terms race for three-year olds quite competently. Jockey Prakash feels that the son of Razeen has plenty of scope for improvement and that the colt can prove better than stablemate Priceless, currently the highest rated three-year old in the country.
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