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Sea Star Wins R M Golculdas Gold Cup
By Mahendra Mallya | 04 Apr 2010 | MUMBAI
Mr. Prem Tharani & trainer C D Katrak leading Sea Star (Imran Chisty Up), winner of The R M Golculdas Gold Cup
Sea Star (Maria’s Mon – Chanteline) won the RM Goculdas Gold Cup after a slight hiccup when Spitz provided a keen challenge in the straight. Sea Star led the three-horse field which was huddled closely right through until they straightened for home. Sea Star was ahead by a little over a length and soon Spitz went past Schnell to mount his challenge. He joined the less-than-half-money favourite and even headed him for a split second or two. Just when it seemed that there could be an upset, Sea Star produced that little extra to stretch away from Spitz in the closing stages to spare a length at the wire. Schnell ended a little over two lengths further back. All the three clocked in the minute and ten seconds something, which was a pretty fast gallop. Spitz provided the thrill which otherwise seemed a one-horse race before the start.
Zafayona (Mr Mellon – Zarzuela) won the Desert Warrior Trophy with a sustained start to finish effort that put paid to all attempts made by favourite Star Trainer. Taking up the running soon on settling down, Rajendra urged Zafayona to the front and kept a tight leash thereafter. Once they turned for the final run, Zafayona upped the ante and sped further away leaving the rest to chase her down. Star Trainer was closet to the rails, Crystal in the middle and Star Vision on the outside. This threesome made up for the nearest set of challengers. Zafayona was perfectly handled by Rajendra, who seems to be in great form, as he kept Zafayona going at a much better clip than the rest. In the end, Zafayona won easing up and Star Trainer managed to finish on a close second.
Blue Thunder (Alnasr Alwasheek – Blue Horizon) provided an encore with a scintillating burst to win the last race. Sitting third till the turn, jockey Prakash was in no hurry as he saw River Gem and Fiery Fox just ahead of him inside the homestretch. In fact, Blue Thunder was gaining with each stride without any coxing from Prakash. Prakash opened his shoulders only after passing the distance post and in a trice Blue Thunder surged ahead in dominating style. Always Smile gathered some speed but that was good enough only to fetch him the runner up berth. Blue Thunder was far superior and should give a good account of himself in his next outing as well. River Gem ended a decent third.
Aston Martin (Statue of Liberty – Caviar Queen) finally came into his own and thwarted the challenge posed by the favourite River Force in the final furlong. Benedictus brought the pack into the straight and soon retired. River Force then joined Aston Martin and both were engaged in an interesting tussle for a brief moment. Past the distance post jockey Malcom Kharadi helped Aston Martin produce a faster acceleration and sped away from the favourite to post a convincing victory.
Mypethoney (Case Law – Divine Honey) put in a spirited performance and won the first race of the day without encountering any serious threat. Darting into the lead soon on start, Mypethoney accelerated at a god pace and led the field homeward with a handy lead as they straightened for home. War Major was in chase all the time with The Rebel also in close attendance. Past the 400, The Rebel made a serious bid at getting to Mypethoney, but the latter, this time ridden with confidence by Kavraj Singh kept going at a fair clip. The Rebel could not sustain his bid and this allowed War Major to wrest the runner up berth close on the post. Mypethoney grew stronger in the final furlong and kicked away to score a comfortable victory.
Any Time Money (Magic Impact – Lovely Fantasy) lived up to his name as he proved that he can strike when asked to do so. Despite very ordinary performances this season, Any Time Money attracted huge amount of smart money and was installed the favourite. The betting trend was so heavily tilted towards Any Time Money that at race time, the odds on the other horses drifted at an alarming rate. The Hormuz Antia-trainee obliged and how! Getting straight down to business, Any Time Money shot into the early lead and remained unperturbed as Tearaway soon passed him to take the lead. As the entered the stretch, Any Time Money pounced on the leader and galloped away with powerful strides to reduce the race to a no-contest midway up the straight. Silver Screen lost all his chances at the start when he got squeezed between horses just out of the gates. He, nevertheless, covered a lot of ground in the straight to end up a notable third.
Secret Magic (Mr Mellon – Secret Miracle) pulled off a well-earned victory shaking off his opponents decisively at the business end of the race. Roses All The Way brought the field into the straight and soon surrendered to Secret Magic who was thudding his hooves into the turf and gaining in momentum. Lampard took the outer route while Blau Himmel got a lovely opening on the rails. Jockey Rajendra powered Secret Magic ahead and for a moment it looked like Lampard and Blau Himmel will wear him down but neither could match Secret Magic’s final gallop and the Faisal Abbas ward won easing up. Mohabbi came in far too late to pip Lampard for the third place. On his last performance Mohabbi disappointed, however, his final finish was indeed noteworthy.
Apache Indian (Burden of Proof – Star of Nature) made light work of the top weight he was carrying and help on to win a close finish. He was lucky, however, that the challenge came a wee bit too late from Krug. Jockey DS Rathore also played his part well as he conserved the Dallas Todywalla gelding and ensuring that there was enough steam left to complete the assignment on a triumphant note. Chasing Oriental Magic until the turn, Apache Indian went ahead without much goading. Rathore then waited long enough before asking for an all-out effort. Krug had moved to the third by then and Saddlers Rule was all out trying to join the front-runners.
Oriental Magic was fighting on along the rails and stayed in contention all the while. Krug suddenly struck a good rhythm and swooped on Apache Indian but was done in by the arrival of the winning post a shade earlier than he might have liked. Saddlers Rule finished on just behind, while Oriental Magic ended a close fourth. Tara disappointed and finished on without raising any hope.
Cosmopolitan (Royal Kingdom – Mea Culpa) came alive with a superb final burst to spoil the party for Absolute Reality in the last 50 metres. Absolute Reality was heavily wagered and the connections were confident that he would pull it off. However, jockey I Shaikh erred while trying to get-to-the-front-at-all-cost and in this he paid the price of spending too much too early. No doubt, Absolute Reality always races in front, but the pace at which she fought for the early lead with Classic Ruler was far from comfortable. The duo entered the straight well clear of the rest and it appeared that the rest had no chance. Absolute Reality kicked on and away from Classic Ruler but didn’t reckon that he was himself left with little gas to go the Full Monty.
It was Cosmopolitan who found a lot of steam towards the finish and accelerated powerfully to sail past Absolute Reality who could all but watch helplessly. Cosmopolitan was almost at the rear end with only Classic Star behind him and the latter had lost about 4 lengths at the gates. Sitting well off even in the seven furlong race proved to work on his benefit and Cosmopolitan sprung a surprise by scoring his first victory in a long time.
For the professionals Jockeys C Rajendra and B Prakash scored a double each.
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