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Punters reel under a state of shock on day of upsets
By Usman Rangila | 11 Aug 2001 | PUNE
Kraft ( C Rajendra up ), winning the mayor's trophy from Anxious Moments ( M Narredu up )
Though upsets are said to be a part and parcel of horse racing, not a single favourite obliging in an entire day is a rare occurrence. Saturday was one such day when none of the horses carrying the public purse happened to win. Many bookmakers just couldn’t believe their luck and in fact a few were pinching themselves to make sure that it was not a dream. To cut the long story short, Saturday’s racing was no less then a calamity for the punters.
It would be rather unfair to say that form had gone awry but neither are the punters to be blamed for betting on horses which appeared to have the best chances to score. They looked good at least on paper if not on the race track. Except for Battle Star, there were no hard luck stories. Race after race punters received a shock treatment and were struggling to know where they had gone wrong. Isn’t it a pity that they could not find any excuse?
All that was left in the War Cry Plate was academic interest; or so it was felt before the starter’s flag went down. The victory of Battle Star in this race was presumed to be a forgone conclusion. Bookies ready to take a risk on Battle Star were hard to find and those who did were not generous with their odds. The odds they quoted were so cramped that not a single betting card was recorded Battle Star with the official bookies and only the moneybags are believed have suffered most with Battle Star’s defeat.
Being relocated to his yards, trainer Imtiaz Sait was saddling Battle Star (Placerville-Forest Pleasure) for the first time after her unsuccessful Mumbai campaign under trainer Shiraz Sunderji’s care. But as fate would have it, Battle Star decided to rear up precisely when the starter brought his flag down. A synchronized cry of disbelief went up through the air from every part of the racecourse. Battle Star had lost the race. Outsider Dhanasri (No Louder-Coup De Grace) chased Noor Aliya till the turn and went surging into the lead that proved to be a decisive one at the end. Track Emotions failed to make any impression when following the winner home ahead of Battle Star.
The Jhangiani family, owners of Battle Star, was not lonely in the defeat of their horse. Trainer Imtiaz Sait was crestfallen and was seen fuming on his way back to the paddock after watching the race. When asked to shed some light on the incident, jockey Mark Gallagher appeared dazed while explaining the unexpected behaviour of Battle Star and gave a measured response: “I feel that the filly was a bit too fresh. She was fractious on her way to the starting gate but went quietly into the gates. There were no signs of any trouble till a fraction of a second before the start was given and just as the gates opened Battle Star reared up. That’s it, sheer bad luck I would say.”
The vagaries of the sport were more prominent in the races where four horses — Thunderlite, Anxious Moments, Queenstown and Raring To Go, refused to acknowledge their obligations to their followers and returned defeated. The first three had the assistance of Mallesh Narredu while C. Rajendra discharged duties astride Raring To Go.
With an easy run under her belt, Thunderlite was fancied ahead of Elegant Jade. It was Mille Fiori, shouldering the top weight, who humiliated this duo after being ridden with aplomb by Pesi Shroff. It should be mentioned that Elegant Jade with Mark Gallagher astride at least showed some determination to win before going down fighting to Mille Fiori but Thunderlite crumbled without a semblance of a fight and finished third. Elegant Jade led for the better part of the seven-furlong journey and it was only in the last furlong that Pesi successfully derived a powerful run from Mille Fiori that brought down the curtains for the filly trained by Shiraz Sunderji and for all tragic purposes, owned by none other than Sunil Jhangiani and family.
Kraft (Procida-Anusha), sent out by veteran trainer Saeed Shah, said catch-me-if-you-can to his seven rivals in the Mayor’s Trophy. None had the courage to do so. The bay colt owned by Farouq Rattonsey and family bowled along merrily in front with C. Rajendra on board and stayed put over the nine-furlong trip. Mallesh Narredu atop Anxious Moments (Dark Nile-Swika) did throw a challenge at Kraft but the latter refused to be cowed down and gave a dogged response instead. Second in demand Resist (Portroe-Moment In The Sun) faced some hampered passage before ending third. This run of Resist suggested that she would not linger in maiden company for long.
The bookies quoted Queenstown at 2 to 1 against when they opened shop in the seventh race of the day. Raring To Go garnered maximum support in the ring while the bookies, for reasons best known to them, had the audacity to increase the price for Queenstown at 5 to 1. Several even dared to offer 7 to 4 against Queenstown if she figured in the first three places. Their “hunch” was right on-spot. Queenstown ran like a dud and finished nowhere. To say that Raring To Go was in contention would be an exaggeration as this candidate from Narendra Lagad’s stable faded out much before coming to that stage. A ray of hope emerged for the followers of Sea Minstrael (Alnasr Alwasheek-Virginia Princess), bred as full brother to the classic-type filly Rage, as he took charge from Lion of Judah opposite the stands. But, a late flourish from Cryptonite made them disappear.
Teaser, who had been kept on a leash during his last run, got freedom at last that spelt doom for the opposition in the Double Wish Plate. His stablemate Phrawah, going pillar to post, had all but won the race before Teaser came flying towards the end. Arabian Fighter in the meantime looked the only challenger in sight for the leader but lacked that extra bit and ended third in a three-way photo-finish. In a similar finish at the start of day, Amyn Merchant, who partnered Teaser, had steered Speedster to a narrow victory over Instant Alliance.
Top ’M All with R. Shelar in saddle weaved his way to the winner’s enclosure after denying Amyn Merchant what would have been his third winner of the day on Park Royal. The reputation of Act of Trust as an unreliable commodity remained intact.
“If wishes were horses, beggars would fly,” goes an old saying. Trainer Raza Ali has probably not heard of it. His strategy to send Boldwin to the front blew up in his face as the filly kicked on to win much to the chagrin of her master. The daughter of Rebounding Thrill enjoyed running to the front and ended up driving the final nail in the coffin of punters.
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