Call it poor horsemanship from one of the country’s ace rider C. Rajendra or his arrogance that reeked of overconfidence… the choice is yours. But it was certainly not Master Honey’s day; for circumstances other than the luck of the race led to the downfall of the superstar of trainer Hanut Singh’s stable on Thursday. 

The son of Cruachan out of Back From Heaven is by far the best horse in training with ex-jockey Hanut Singh. Anybody whose career is just taking shape — like Hanut Singh’s, would have his hopes pinned on his ward and every positive performance of Master Honey would, expectedly, give a much-required boost to his master’s career.

Hanut’s painstaking efforts were visible in the steady preparation of Master Honey before having a go at the P. Hadow Trophy on Thursday. After taking Master Honey under his wings, Hanut has always wanted Master Honey to have the best possible assistance in saddle and since C. Rajendra was associated with the gelding’s first victory at Mahalaxmi, Hanut yet again decided to hand over the reins of his ward to Rajendra.

Days of Glory showed out early with Daring Don close on her heels. The daughter of Placerville gave way to Daring Don on whom Amyn Merchant — who has recently parted ways with Dr M. A. M. Ramaswamy — stole a march over his rivals. At this stage Master Honey, after lying fifth or sixth, moved up and was sent in chase of Daring Don. Surely it was asking too much from Master Honey, as the four-year-old bay couldn’t get into his stride and by the time he did so, the winning post had arrived to the rescue of Daring Don. Is it likely that Rajendra failed to follow the instructions given to him prior to the race?

Hanut Singh, in true sporting spirit, refused to put the blame on his rider instead termed it as pure bad luck. But, the resigned and forlorn spoke much more than a thousand words possibly could. Adding two and two to five, some punters, unabashedly, tried to link this defeat to Rajendra’s success astride Crown Affair at the start of the day’s racing. Rajendra had ridden owner Aziz Jaffer’s property, the odds-on favourite Crown Affair to victory and incidentally Daring Don too belongs to the same owner. Was it mere coincidence? Anyway you choose to look at it, you can’t help but feel sad for both Master Honey and Hanut Singh.

Dr M. A. M. Ramaswamy-owned Starsky, the three-year-old bay brought in foal to Zaya and who is by Selkirk, finally shed the maiden ranks to relieve some of the burden from trainer Dallas Todywalla’s shoulders. The performance was nowhere near that is expected from a piping-hot favourite. The bay gelding’s initial response to the call of his rider B. Prakash was sluggish, yet he managed to overwhelm Flyme To Themoon (Don’t’ Forget Me – Overshadow) near the distance post. Aphaia, whose performance was under the scrutiny of many inquisitive eyes, threw up tantrums before being loaded into the gates and ended a not too bad third. The got-abroad daughter of Simply Great out of Summer Palace has the class but needs work to done to bring her temper under control before she can perform to her true potential. Flyme To Themoon has had a lung-opener and could be seen in different light when she ventures out next. 

Cryptonite had to be hard ridden by jockey Pramod Belose when holding on to win the second race of his career from the late finishing Fabulous Fortune. Altaf Hussain-saddled six-year-old gelding Classic Rock (Riyahi-Classically Noble), though not getting the perfect assistance in saddle, extended his winning streak with his third straight success in the hands of lesser-known Ravi Birmane. Classic Rock easily had the measure of favourite Fortune’s Wheel opposite the stands and went on for another emphatic win. This is certainly not the last time that the race-goers will have heard of Classic Rock. The dark bay, who apparently is a late-bloomer, may have a couple of more victories in store.

Star of Attention, another got-abroad from Dallas Todywalla’s yard, sprinted away to glory to give jockey B. Prakash and his trainer their second success of the day. The property of Dr Ramaswamy hardly encountered any resistance from the joint-favourite Thunderlite who ended a tame second. The runner-up and Big Blaze who finished fifth are surely not cut out for sprint events. Classic Land and Super Cop are likely to perform better in races reserved for their age group.

Mischiefmaker swept his rivals off their feet to register his maiden success after coming under trainer Nosher Cama’s charge. The field of thirteen was well and truly beaten for pace as Mischiefmaker established a winning lead soon after being despatched from the gates. War ‘N’ Peace faced troublesome passage before ending a faraway second.