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Native Knight Tames Gritty Clarion Call

By Mahendra Mallya | 19 Jan 2012 | MUMBAI


Trainer Narendra Lagad leading Native Knight (Trevor Patel Up), winner of The Byculla Club Trophy

Native Knight (Placerville – Native Tactics) huffed, puffed and finally thundered to pull back Clarion Call in a dramatic finish for the Byculla Club Trophy run over the Leger distance (2800m). With only two horses in the fray, it looked a drab event, but Clarion Call enlivened the run for home with an inspired effort giving both sides a lot to shout about.

Trevor eased Native Knight into the lead soon on jumping out for the longest race of the season and held fort all the way into the straight, Clarion Call happy to stalk him two lengths adrift. Neither was in a hurry and both went about their task, so it can be assumed that they were sticking to their respective plans. Native Knight entered the straight maintaining about 2 lengths lead. Soon Clarion Call started to bridge that gap and when he joined Native Knight on the outside, the crowds came to the edge of their seats. Clarion Call was quickening well and Native Knight began to feel the pressure.  Trevor showed steady nerves and worked on the public rage and inspired Native Knight to give that extra effort needed in such situations. Both the contenders were going at full steam and even with the winning post less than a furlong away, it was difficult to spot the winner. They went all out, matching stride for stride Native Knight re-surfaced to cap the crown, Clarion Call ending a gallant second.  A mere two-horse race generating such thrill was indeed heartening. For Clarion Call this was a second credit. He had similarly gone close to the then hot favourite Doi Moi in Pune in eyt another two-horse race. The duo thrilled the masses then too and Clarion Call again showed that a two-horse race too can generate very high intensity. Clarion Call is surely getting a heroic status for his sheer fighting qualities.

Richard Hughes would have been concerned about drawing a blank for far too long and would surely have been impatient to score at the earliest possible opportunity. Bling, a cinch according to my analysis yesterday, provided him just the tonic that the doctor ordered. A small field, longer ground, and a horse that loves to keep galloping at the helm from the word go. A perfect recipe for a winning combination! Hughes fitted the bill to the ‘T’ and set about his journey in quest for an irritably long elusive victory. Bling shot into the lead and set about her own pace, Marauder, Titian and Living The Dream followed in a file.

As the heads turned for home, Bling stretched out in front with Marauder beginning to get closer. Titian too came alive and with 300 to travel, galloped himself into contention. Richard had work to do and he kept egging Bling on. Titian drifted outward considerably and Marauder too had to move out and away. This worked perfectly for Bling ad Hughes, who strode out relentlessly to outlast the dual opposition. Bling finally nosed the wire a length ahead of Titian and Marauder and Living The Dream in that order. Bling also looked a bit stretched in this victory and trainer Sanjay may consider providing her some deserving rest before assigning her another encounter.

Richard went on to score a double when he partnered Mountain Regiment (Black Cash – Calorescence) to victory in the II division of the Fiddle Faddle Plate. This one was not an easy one and Richard had to deftly manoeuvre his way to the front through gaps that could scrape the stirrups. Masterofthesky led them homewards and soon a cluster formed as the charge for the winning post began. Richard progressed from the mid-bunch and the moment he saw an opening he pushed through without waiting for a second invitation. Once he got past Masterofthesky he surged ahead and easily managed to thwart the late bid from Cent Per Cent and Riding OnThe Storm. Both these horses finished on fastest and will surely improve.

The Division II of the above race was won by Home Alone (Glory of Dancer – Shockwave) well ridden by jockey C Rajendra. Home Alone took his time to settle and Rajendra had a tough time in holding him to concentrate. But once he got into smoother action, Rajendra had little difficulty in getting him to go the way he wanted. It was Capitano who brought the field into view and had a bunch of horses right behind. isionist and Destined to Glory began to get closer to the leader. Destined to Glory was the first to get past Capitano and barely had the new leader taken charge, Home Alone came pounding the turf at a good clip. Destined to Glory fought it out and prolonged the inevitable as Home Alone always looked menacing once the two got going. Capitano did well to hold on to the third spot. Oasis Gold broke a blood vessel and ended off the frame. Pride of the Hills did little of consequence and ended one off.

Follow Me (Hymn – Consortium) won the div III of the same race and she warded off the late blitz of Herculean, a rank outsider. Jacqueline Smile led the field and as they turned for home, she was challenged by Follow Me. The pair fought out for a few meters before Follow Me surged ahead. In the final fifty, Herculean who was in the vicinity but not getting the rhythm right, suddenly picked up speed to cover considerable ground and finish alongside Follow Me, managing to peg back Jacqueline Smile for the runner-up berth. Herculean put up a good late show and is worth watching in his next.

The Dr MAM Ramaswamy camp was on a high with a solid double, both horses winning the two divisions of the AFS Talyarkhan Trophy with a measure of comfort. One a hot favourite, the other a rank outsider.

Forest Legion (Rebuttal – Noorain) went about his task without fuss and posted a facile victory going easy all the way right from the start. Zoom Zoom lost all his chances when he bucked as the gates opened and lost ground at the start. Mister Meddle was worse off, whipping around after jumping out and took no serious part in the race. Forest Legion showed good speed and darted ahead building up a healthy lead coming into the straight. He travelled sweetly all through and won in a manner befitting an on-money favourite. There was no anxiety to the backers of the short-priced favourite and he looked the winner right through the straight. Royal Lady put in some effort to get past Victorious Cause for the second spot. Zoom Zoom did well to recover lost ground and yet finish in the frame.

Turf Lightning (Kodiac – Caheermee Queen) won the upper division of the race equally well. At the start, Midnight Lady and Krypton were slowly off. The tote favourite Halle showed early speed to race to the front, closely followed by Showers of Heaven, Turf Lightning and Winds of Luck, with Jewelled and Suntan Beauty close behind.

As the heads turned for home, Halle looked vulnerable as Turf Lightning worked up a menacing pace and shot past the favourite and Showers of Heaven with ease. Jewelled got hemmed in behind horses and by the time he switched to the outside, Turf Lightning had sealed the issue. Jewelled kicked on and warmed up far too late and had to be content with the second place. Halle returned a tame third and Showers of heaven ended in the frame.

Trainer Mansoor Shah too enjoyed a good lucrative double and both his horses were well backed. Vibgyor saw some smart money pouring in as the horses left the paddock. The race saw some serious contention as all the eight runners (Ariane was withdrawn at the gates) were huddled within about nine lengths from the top of the field to the tail end. Hidden Goodness had Hockenheim alongside; Rein In Spain was troublesome in settling down, evidently giving Rajendra a hard time. Awesome Smile, Vibgyor, Major Wager were going shoulder-to-shoulder. Lake Geneva and Svelte Lady were in the rear just behind them.

They all got even closer once into the straight and formed a cavalry charge with Hidden Goodness, Awesome Smile, Hockenheim, Lake Geneva and Vibgyor in a line with less than 300 to go. Approaching the distance post, Lake Geneva and Vibgyor pulled away from the rest and staged a grim battle. Vibgyor finally pulled it off with a strong finish to get the measure of Lake Geneva in a photo-finish.

Golden Memory (Ontario – Extreme Contact) won by a steadier margin but the fight to the finish was hard as well. The huge field of 19 were running close to one another and at the turn they spread out seeking to avoid traffic congestion. Ocean Emperor and Classic Ruler were fighting for the lead when Golden Memory who had settled well in the front bunch, made an early and on hindsight, a wise move by making early headway. Golden Memory accelerated well and had no trouble in surging ahead. Ptolemy was produced from the wider outside and he put in a sustained gallop as well. Golden Memory had a handy lead to work on and that held him in good stead in the final standing Ptolemy did well to finish second behind the inspired tote favourite and Reinstate rose from behind to earn place money for a good effort.

Magdalena (Black Cash – Rahy’s Serenade) foxed the bookies’ calculations and defied the heavy rise in odds (18/10 ante post to 5/1 race time) winning th4e opening race of the day. Distant Promise was the one to garner the maximum support.

Quick Returns escorted the field homewards and bowed out at the turn. Magdalena took over and Distant Promise started to progress from the rails. Kaskazi was the only other contender to remain in contention right into the final furlong, while the rest failed to make an impact.

Magdalena held on to her lead with determination and was not intimidated by the presence of the favourite snorting right on her inside. Jockey Prakash did his best to topple the leader but failed to get anything extra out of Distant Promise. Kaskazi improved closer to the finish. Jockey Danny Grant had to make his effort to drive Kaskazi who was a wee bit erratic and managed to head Distance Promise at the wire for the runner-up berth. Magdalena was the clear winner and will improve further to add more after experiencing her first taste of victory.

For the Professionals, trainers Mansoor Shah and Karthik G saddled a double each,while jockeys Roichard Hughes, Imran Chisty and Zervan each rode home a double.