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Pepper’s Pride Makes It 18 In A Row

By Tom Krish | 11 Nov 2008 |


Mr Vivek Jain's story answers most of the questions about the 'equine flu' conundrum. Mr Jain is a realist and is not offering any false hope. He has made an admirable effort to avoid ambiguity and has eminently succeeded. Learning from mistakes is the lesson we have to understand and that has been brought home in emphatic fashion by Mr Jain.

Pepper's Pride made it 18 in a row on Sunday at Zia Park in New Mexico. The five year-old mare won the 1600-metre New Mexico Cup for New Mexico-bred fillies and mares. The race carried a $177,615 purse. Pepper's Pride, the 2-5 favourite, hit the front approaching the final turn and stayed on.

Winning jockey Carlos Madiera commented. "We spent a long time in the gate but then we got a perfect trip. I just took her back and let her make her run."

Pepper's Pride has won all her races in events confined to New-Mexico breds. She was winning the New Mexico Cup for the second consecutive year. The champion mare will race next in the New Mexico Commission Handicap on December 14 at Sunland Park. Pepper's Pride has $991,805 in her account. The decision to race or retire next year is yet to be taken.

Racing returned to Italy on Saturday after a strike that lasted three weeks. San Siro reported big attendance numbers. Two Group races were run on Sunday at Capannelle in Rome.

Mick Kinane was aboard the Michael Jarvis-trained Pressing in the Group II Premio Robot. The 28-100 favourite, Pressing won the 1600-metre race in decisive fashion. Presing's last win came in Istanbul's Topkapi Trophy. Pressing is now all set to go next in Sha Tin's Hong Kong Mile on December 14.

The Group I Premio Rome, over 2000 metres, was won by Estejo, a 45-1 outsider. This race generated more news about an also ran who was Nahoodh, ridden by Frankie Dettori. The Mark Johnston trainee finished eighth of 12 runners. Estejo made it all in the hands of jockey Dan Porcu. The winning trainer was Ralf Rhone who is based in Dusseldorf. It was the first win at the highest level for the trainer and the rider.

Robert Frankel's mark of 25 Grade I wins in a year will not be broken. Aidan O'Brien came close but his drawing blank in the Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita effectively ruled out his chances. However, in the final Group I race in Europe to be run at Saint Cloud in Paris on Wednesday, O'Brien has four of 11 runners. It is the Saint Cloud Grand Criterium. Efisio, recent Group I winner at Saint Cloud, will get a crack at an encore for the beleaguered Paul Blockley who was been warned off on corruption charges.

The 32nd Asian Racing Conference is being held in Tokyo. There will be 700 delegates and 150 observers from 33 countries.  The racing world has shrunk but the problems that plague racing have become bigger and intractable.

Raven’s Pass will retire in a blaze of glory. The Elusive Quality sophomore won the BC Classic on October 25. Raven’s Pass will command a fee of 40,000 pounds and will stand at the Kildangan stud in Ireland.

John Ferguson, adviser to Sheikh Mohammed, made a statement. “It was a difficult decision to make. Sheikh Mohammed felt that with New Approach and Raven’s Pass both retired, we can look forward to the two year-olds of 2012 with huge anticipation.

Midshipman, winner of the BC Juvenile, will train at Nad Al Sheba with the Kentucky Derby as the target. Midshipman won on the Pro-Ride surface. Vineyard Haven, a recent Godolphin acquisition and the winner of the prestigious Champagne Stakes, is another prospect.

Making the Dubai contingent formidable will be another promising freshman. He is Donativum, winner at Santa Anita, who will leave John Gosden’s yard to join Saeed Bin Suroor. The Louisville showpiece has been the long time objective for the Dubai behemoth.

The Dubai racing season began last Thursday. Ted Durcan, champion jockey for as long as I can remember, has delayed his return to Dubai. Jockeys Royston Ffrench and Richard Mullen rode two winners each on opening day. The Dubai meeting, to be run at Nad Al Sheba for the last time. will climax on the last Saturday in March when the Dubai World Cup will be staged.

Trainer Bart Cummings, you may remember saddled Viewed, the Melbourne Cup winner last Tuesday. The 81 year-old Cummings struck again on Saturday at Flemington Race Course. Swick, a Cummings pupil, came away a winner in the Grade I Patinack Farm Classic, a 1200-metre race. Mike Rodd rode the 12-1 chance. The four-day Melburne Cup carnival ended on Saturday.

Magna Entertainment owns and runs ten racetracks across the United States. Santa Anita is the flagship venture. Magna has gone into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. There is mounting debt. Chapter 11 will allow Magna to reorganize under court protection and pay creditors off in keeping with a Court-approved schedule.

The British season ended at Doncaster on Saturday. There was a Saturday evening card at Wolverhampton (all weather) and it was abandoned because of a power snag. The lighting on the far straight went dark and could not be fixed. Flat racing continues in the UK and the fixtures will be run on all weather tracks.

Ryan Moore emerged as the champion jockey with 186 winners. Moore was a distant third after missing a big part of the 2007 season. He won the title in 2006. Richard Hughes was second with 127 wins.

There was a tie in the race for the title of champion apprentice jockey. David Probert and William Buck had 50 winners apiece. Buick did not ride on Friday and Saturday because of a ban. Probert missed narrowly with his only ride at Doncaster on Saturday.

There is a carryover of 1,303,036 pounds in the Scoop 6 Tote Jackpot in England. There was no winner for the ninth consecutive week. An approximate pool of 2 million pounds is expected this Saturday. The Scoop 6 is offered, I want to point out, on a combination of races from two and sometimes three race courses.

As my trip to India draws closer, I have begun packing. It is a long process. These annual trips to India are the highlights of my existence.

Sources: Racing Post, NTRA and TV reports