The joint-owners of Moonlight Romance (China Visit – Wandering Star), Mr Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and Mr Prem Tharani would be sitting pretty with the D-day of Indian racing barely two weeks away. After all, with the kind of ammunition they have in stock at their stables, the camp can even be fantasizing about not only winning the McDowell Signature Indian Derby 2011, but also feel optimistic of capturing the top two placing as well. That’s a record any owner would fantasize about. This could well be a reality, as Moonlight Romance performed to the full galleries and raised a roar of admiration as she sailed past the Grand Stands with no challenger in sight. Siachen just could not match up to her brilliance and ended a tame third behind Sunlight. Ocean And Beyond now has a new challenger, one from his own backyard! 

As the six fillies entered the gates for the 2400-metre race, the suspense was high as to what the ‘first-half’ of the race had in store. The Wadhawan camp had a definite pre-race plan. With the luxury of two other fillies from their string, Sunlight and Sun Elegance, available to play an important strategic role, the entire race was well-deciphered by their think-tank. As the race unravelled, it was more than clear long before the business end, that the drawing board had been well used. 

Sun Elegance and Sunlight bolted to the front at a nippy pace as though rehearsing their final-furlong dash. This had them nearly 20 lengths ahead even as they entered the back-stretch. Frost Fairy played the link between the front-runners and the rest. Moonlight Romance settled another three lengths behind. Siachen was a further three away and only had Carousel tailing her. 

The duo in front seemed to be going on endlessly for comfort and even the most patient of fans of the two main contenders would have shown signs of impatience as they pounded past the half-way stage, with the lead still around ten lengths. Frost Fairy and Moonlight Romance began to edge closer approaching the 1000m. Siachen too started to make progress. By the time they hit the turn, they were all crowding closely. Sun Elegance went out of gas but not Sunlight. 

Sunlight entered the homestretch with a slender lead and soon Moonlight Romance surged past producing a devastating run. Richard Hughes confidently pushed her forward and got her going, gathering momentum with each stride. Moonlight Romance, on her part, appeared to have been waiting just for that urge and went for the kill. She stormed ahead displaying tremendous acceleration and in split- seconds went sailing clear. Siachen was going all out, but had too much ground to cover. Hayes did everything possible but Moonlight Romance had already done the damage. 

Richard Hughes kept at Moonlight Romance and was riding relentlessly, never letting loose the tight grip he had on the proceedings in the straight. He left nothing to chance as he pushed her even at the last stride to the winning post. 

A small strategic ploy of Richard may have had a huge impact on the rousing success of Moonlight Romance. At the curve of the homestretch, Richard started to push Moonlight Romance rather vigorously to gain ascendance in position and probably ensure that he had the upper hand at the top of the straight against Siachen. Interestingly, he stopped with his pushing as soon as they entered the straight, cruised for a few strides, before going all-out in the final furlong and a half. This was brilliant as he had gained some vital ground on Siachen, then conserved his filly and finally let her cut loose for the final onslaught. Once Siachen was left to cover more than four in the final stages, the curtains were more-or-less drawn over Siachen’s challenge. The pre-race strategies were evidently meticulous and Richard implemented it to perfection. 

Sunlight ran an admirable race to finish ahead of Siachen and grab the runner-up slot making in one-two for her connections. Frost Fairy hung in there to take a place in the frame. Carousel and Sun Elegance ended too far behind. 

Moonlight Romance returned to a standing ovation from the packed stands. Mr Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan, the owner and also the head honcho of HDIL the sponsors of the Indian Oaks (Gr1), was delighted at the convincing manner Moonlight Romance had vindicated his faith in her. “I always felt that the longer trip was her forte. She ran true to our belief and Richard rode an impeccable race. Moonlight Romance has done us proud and now set sights to represent my stable for the McDowell Signature Indian Derby. I couldn’t be more pleased with what she dished out today,” he said. 

Richard Hughes could not conceal his glee either. “She won much better than I had anticipated. She has a big heart and was raring to go in the homestretch. She has loads of stamina and has shown no limitations,” said Hughes. When reminded that he had said the same about Ocean And Beyond not too long ago, and asked who would he pick to ride in the Derby, Richard added “It is tough ask as both have been outstanding in their respective performances. I will have to take a late call on who to pick for the Derby. In fact, I will reserve my decision until their final workout just before the Derby. To put it simply, I shall pick the one who feels the best at that time,” stated Richard, smartly keeping the cards close to his chest! 

The Siachen camp would certainly have liked to maintain their filly’s superiority over the newly crowned princess. However, Mr Zeyn Mirza, the MD of the URBB, was graceful in accepting the outcome in right earnest. “We were hopeful that Siachen would stay the trip well but after the result we would look at altering her future campaign. Moonlight Romance was in supreme touch. The manner of her victory suggested that she ran a near-perfect race,” said Mr Mirza. “We will have to rethink on the future agenda for Siachen and let her do what she relishes best – the mile! It takes nothing away from our filly as we are still 2-1 up on Moonlight Romance,” he added. 

Moonlight Romance reaped a rich harvest of Rs 45,18,000 along with an attractive trophy valued at Rs 75,000. The winner was trained by Cooji Katrak, who seemed too excited to even provide the customary winner’s quote. That was understandable considering the magnitude of this important race and the joy of the conquest that came with it. Mr Prem Tharani, the part owner of Moonlight Romance, was upbeat and had the ‘I told you so’ look. Not known to be the most expressive, his face broke into a vivid smile of satisfaction as I approached him. “Everything went according to plan. We were a lot more confident this time and the result, I would humbly say, was expected. Our filly looked much better and we had done everything required to get her into peak condition. I for one couldn’t imagine her go down on the day. She was simply too good,” he concluded. 

Moonlight Romance clocked the season’s best timing for the distance and was not too far from the record timing of Jacqueline last year. She clocked 2 min 29 seconds as against Jacqueline’s 2:28.54. Antonios, whose record Jacqueline bettered, had stopped the clock at 2:28.58. Both were Derby winners. Moonlight Romance sure looks on course to now flirt with the idea of adding the most sought-after Trophy – The McDowell Signature Indian Derby – to her owners’ already well-filled shelf!