Ciel Indienne (Burden Of Proof – Ciel Fleuri) justified the faith and the large following he enjoyed and sailed home to bag the Maharaja Pratapsingh Gaekwad Trophy with something to spare. Unlike in the past, Ciel Indienne chose not to lead from the start and Hayes settled him behind Tequila and Dream Talk with Star Trainer striding alongside. Alexus, Amore Mio and Got To go formed a packed front bunch. Entering the straight, Tequila was finding it hard to stay ahead as Ciel Indienne easily sailed into the lead. Star Trainer was being ridden out soon but hardly making any headway.

Got To Go slipped in from the rails and began to warm up. Amore Mio launched her assault from the outside. Hayes was adept at easing Ciel Indienne into a good momentum and the Dallas Todywalla colt owned by Dr Vijay Mallya sprang forward and had a handy lead coming into the final furlong. Ciel Indienne won without duress and easily managed to thwart the late bid of Got To go. Amore Mio did well to finish a good third and Alexus was a worthy fourth beating long-time leader Tequila out of the frame. Trainer Dallas Todywalla had earlier begun the day on a winning note when his ward Hottie (Captain Rio – Bluemont) chalked her maiden victory. Hottie could not have had it easier to win the day’s first race.

Clustered within the front bunch comprising of Wild Imagination, Nou Camp and Cogito Ergo Sum, Hottie darted ahead soon on turning for home. Within a couple of strides, jockey Dashrath Singh had Hottie sailing clear of the rest who were struggling to catch up. Hottie was all by herself coming into the final furlong and won with a lot to spare. Wild Imagination showed a lot of grit to wrest the runner-up berth from the over-bearing Nou Camp who had to end third. Cogito Ergo Sum ended in the frame and may have found the trip sharp.

While I watched Dear Henry (Glory Of Dancer - Flying Home) race in The Rapidash Plate, I was extremely concerned to watch him galloping virtually in the centre of the track all alone. He seemed to be dragging S.A. De Souza towards the outer rail, but the Brazilian jockey corrected his course well before the bend. After covering him up till the 2-furlong mark, D’souza then pulled Dear Henry wide and made ample use of the whalebone to drive his horse to the wire. With every crack of the whip, Dear Henry was covering ground and passing one challenger after the other. He still had to fight it out right till the wire with Stardom Bound and even in the last 20 metres of the race De Souza got in a couple of vital cracks to win by the shortest of short-heads.

This popular winner was given an inspired ride and due credit must be given to his jockey. Stardom Bound had sailed smoothly into the lead inside the homestretch and Chisty kept her going at a steady pace. Constantina flattered to deceive as she failed to quicken after showing up in the straight on a tight rein. Even Confieserie, who was not too prominent, got past her at the post. Into the final furlong, Dear Henry made a terrific last ditch dash under sustained riding from De Souza. Stardom Bound was all out going for the wire, but was shocked on the last stride. Said D’souza, “When I jumped out he wasn’t settling and was too keen. In the centre of the track all I was trying to do was getting him to settle into a galloping rhythm. Also he turned up in a rubber bit which made it even tougher for me to get him to relax.

Once we got into the straight, I saw the way he responded to every crack and although I knew I had exceeded the stipulated limit, I also knew that I would lose the race if I didn’t keep it up till the wire. Even the Stipendiary Stewards cancelled my fine for excessive whipping as they probably figured that that made all the difference to the result. No one would have appreciated me losing this race especially when I still had a lot of horse under me.” If what I learnt is accurate, Dear Henry will be seen next directly in the McDowell Indian derby and it is a possibility that his dam Flying Home may get the distinction of having thrown two Derby winners, the first being Hotstepper, in her already illustrious career.

The proverbial fact about a 3-year-old race is, “The way they look is the way they will finish”! The on-money favourite Capriole simply didn’t look the part in the paddock and SA De Souza after the race commented that his horse ran flat and was probably overdone with the workouts. That did not in any way take anything away from the winner Haunting Fantasy (Diffident – Scenic Royale) who looked the pick of the paddock and proved his fitness and class.

On settling down to race, Capriole led with Haunting Fantasy on his outside and Lake Geneva settling in along the rails. Soon after entering the straight, it was rather apparent that Capriole had thrown in the towel, and Haunting Fantasy made the most of a forward position and taking the rail support sprinted ahead to score. Although the field finished close to the winner, it was the fast early pace which was the culprit there. Haunting Fantasy looks to be a good-type and will surely win his fair share of races for trainer Karthik Ganapathy.

The second race of the day amply illustrated the immense impact that a positive jockey change can have on a horse’s chances. B. Prakash got into the saddle to guide the fortunes of the Altaf Hussain-trained Arabian Champ (Major Impact – Freedom Cry) and rode a copybook race for a much-deserved victory. Settling mid-bunch for most of the 6-furlong trip, Prakash gave Arabian Champ his head about halfway up the straight and the 6-year-old gelding responded immediately and strode out well to win from the late-finishing Barbara and Scintillating Star. Prakash timed his run to a nicety and made his move at the precise moment which held him in good stead considering Arabian Champ burst a blood vessel in sight of the winning post and yet held on to score.

Highly unlikely though that he will either improve or even be able to reproduce this run again this season. Mystic Temple was one of the most fancied runners of the day, and should consider himself a tad unlucky for the not-so-judicious assistance he received from the saddle. Jumping smartly and finding himself in box seat early on in the 7-furlong race, it was a bit debatable about whether Imran Chisty should have allowed his ward to take over the running with four furlongs left to the wire in the manner he did.

Mystic Temple to his credit travelled smoothly and with a furlong to go had opened up a gap of almost 5 lengths over his rather mediocre opposition. It was only the ‘in-form’ apprentice P. Trevor who rode a never-say-die race on Fluent Victory and continued to give chase, probably realizing that Mystic Temple had spurted way too early and set himself up as an easy target. Although Fluent Victory (Warrshan – Star Liner) went past in only the last 20ms, Mystic Temple was visibly stopping and should not be ashamed in defeat and could find a winning bracket soon this season.

Midsummer Knight (Tirol – Midsummer Romance) bulldozed his way to victory with a terrific final run to post an authoritative victory in the last race of the day. Sepia Tone had a clear lead coming into the homestretch. However, no lead was going to be too much for Midsummer Knight to scale down and nearing the 300, jockey De Souza had him going in full steam. Midsummer Knight was away in a matter of seconds and even the eye-catching late effort of Marine Zone was not enough to prevent Midsummer Knight from romping home in style. Adallia ran on to earn place money ahead of Blessings.