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Sunlight Wins Bannatwalla Trophy by a ‘Ray’
By Mahendra Mallya | 10 Apr 2010 | MUMBAI
Mr. Prem Tharani & trainer C D Katrak leading Sunlight (Imran Chisty Up), winner of The J D & Peggy Banatwalla Trophy
Five firm favourites obliged in a seven-race card and the followers of the market trends enjoyed a lucrative day. Jockey B Prakash stood out amongst the professionals landing three firm favourites to victories. He, however, missed out on another hot favourite – Brutus who was done in by Sunlight by a very narrow margin.
The small four-horse field for the JD & Peggy Banatwalla Trophy jumped out of the gates and Proud Star assumed the role of the pacemaker over the mile race. Half-money favourite Brutus ran a close second and had Star Invitation for company, while Sunlight (China Visit – Romantic Liason) chose to race in the rear, but within touching distance.
Proud Star duly surrendered his position of prominence to Brutus who moved menacingly past to construct a two-length lead. Star Invitation could not come up with anything worthwhile and Sunlight was the one who strode ahead of these two to stake her claim. Approaching the distance post, Brutus looked in command, as although Sunlight seemed to be closing in she wasn’t exactly devouring ground. However, Sunlight suddenly found some spring in her gallop past the 200 marker and bounced ahead of a shocked Brutus. Prakash did all he could to regain the lost lead but Sunlight had timed her run well to hold on by a slender margin.
Prakash had earlier partnered Azul (China Visit – Roses in the Snow) in the first race. Settling in with the front bunch, Azul was pacing comfortably with Dancing Money and Pure Devotion in front. Entering the straight, Prakash wasted no time and hit the front with Azul who readily responded with a good surge. Final Attack, who was improving all the while, came up to challenge Azul inside the final two furlongs. The rest were toiling to catch up as the pair in front sped away form them. Azul always held the upper hand and Prakash ensured that Azul was focused and never him be intimated by the presence of Final Attack alongside. The duo battled hard, but in the final fifty or so, Azul clearly had a lot more and won comfortably. Golden Orra and True Elegance completed the frame.
Mumtaz (Juniper – Gorgeous Princess) was backed down heavily to the exclusion of her rivals and that included the ante-post favourite Young Offender. As they settled down, Young Offender darted into the lead and tried to pull off a start to finish coup. Young Offender galloped to a sizable lead and entered the straight by himself. Soon Mumtaz, who was never too far behind, started gaining momentum. Young Offender was going all out when Mumtaz threw in her challenge. Mumtaz caught up with young Offender just past the 200 and then shot ahead full of steam to score a facile victory without causing any anxious moments to her backers.
Prakash completed a fine treble with Alize (Placerville – Amnesty Bay) in the last race of the day. Prakash looked absolutely comfortable and confident as he guided Alize through in no hurry. Crème De La Crème brought the field homeward with Scenic Silver I hot pursuit. Alize was a good five lengths behind moving into third. At the distance post, Scenic Silver moved into the lead and Alize still had a lot of ground to cover – about four lengths. Prakash alerted Alize and the Shroff filly came with a decisive charge and sailed past Scenic Silver to score her maiden victory in style. Strong Foundation finished on well to wrest the third spot from Crème De La Crème.
Crowned Princess (Major Impact – Breno) pulled off a solid victory over her more fancied rivals. Aqualina and C’est La Vie had garnered the maximum support in the betting ring. As the race started, Aqualina quickly shot into the lead, attempting it from the word go. Crowned Princess too was fast initially and stuck to the leader’s quarters. C’est La Vie was never in the hunt and you could take this run as an educative one. Aqualina came in home first and Srinath went for the stick right away. Crowned Princess was right beside and as jockey DK Ashish gave her a crack to go for it, Crowned Princess accelerated well and surged past Aqualina in a trice. Sweaty Betty who was a good five lengths further back, also gained in momentum and did well to breeze past the favourite and finish runner-up. C’est La vie ran on to finish on board.
Dear Liza (Glory of Dancer – Inventive) obliged as the favourite but not without some moments of anxiety and with a bit of luck. Taking over from Snow Blind once into the straight, Dear Liza was always under severe threat from Sea Value and to an extent from Feona as well. Although in the lead with less than 400 to go, Dear Liza was not allowed to get too far away by Sea Value. However, Sea Value’s charge was somewhat negated due to his drift towards the outside. Feona, who was alongside Sea Value may have also been affected by this veer towards the outer side, nevertheless, Feona could not sustain her acceleration and did not make much of an impact. Sea Value will rue the fact that Imran Chisty failed to control his mount and Dear Liza wasn’t complaining. To the relief of her backers, Dear Liza held on by a narrow half-length margin.
San Rafael (Major Impact – New Europe) was the one who pulled off a successful start-to-finish essay. Hitting the front soon on start, San Rafael kept the momentum going until the last stride. Insite Soul, who garnered a lot of race time betting was slow at the start and had a lot of work to do all through leaving him gasping at the business end. The challenge came from Fish Pilot and a potent one at that. San Rafael was well clear approaching the final furlong and this is where Fish Pilot started to warm up. However, Rajendra was at his vigorous best and ensured that there was no last moment hiccup. He drove the Faisal Abbas trainee powerfully and warded off the challenger effectively.
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