Dr MAM Ramaswamy’s Murioi (Dubawi – Zacheta’s Girl) bred at the Hazara Stud Farm, shrugged off his ‘maiden’ status and brought all his strengths to the fore to put in a gutsy performance to land the richest race for juveniles – the Grade 1 Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million on Sunday at Mumbai.

This was never an easy task as he had to take on 16 rivals most of whom had won well coming into this race. At 20 to 1, Murioi had few supporters in the betting ring; however, the Goldie Brown camp was quietly confident that both their representatives, Murioi and Scenic Warrior were in with a realistic chance. While Scenic Warrior got hemmed up on the rails and failed to get going, Murioi ensured he was out of any traffic woes. He made his bid from the outside and pounded away with determination to edge out prime fancy Starry Eyes in a close, exciting finish.

The seventeen contenders jumped out to an even as starter Jehangir Sayed flagged them off. Dancing Phoenix didn’t have any difficulty in spurting into the early lead. Mariinski, Emperor of France, Rewarding Desire, Falcon, Dancing Prances, Albertino and Starry Eyes formed a closely knitted group behind the leader. Murioi, Hail the King and Gerome were at the rear.

Jockey Sreekanth showed good presence of mind early in the race. He had Presidential on his outside and that sensing that he could get stuck with a wall of horses in front, Sreekanth surged forward and steered out of harm’s way. He got Murioi ahead and on the outside with no one to his left and then settled again to focus on the timing of his final run. This move was a crucial one as there was an aggressive rush once the heads turned for home.

Dancing Phoenix held the upper hand approaching the final 400 meter mark. Marrinski was trailing by just under two lengths and gaining on the leader. Marrinsky had barely cut that deficit and was looking to breath the fresh air in front, when Starry Eyes and Murioi came tearing inwards at her.

Murioi was the widest out and Sreekanth started to ride him out soon on turning for home. He had taken the turn wide to skirt away from trouble obviously, but Murioi started to drift in considerably. Starry Eyes too went in along with Murioi and in the bargain, Albertino bore the brunt and paid for it too. He just couldn’t come to terms and that was the end of his challenge.

Murioi and Starry Eyes then took off away from Mariinsky and were on a warpath going all out to settle the issue between them. Murioi held a thin advantage and Sreekanth matched David Allan in some aggressive riding. The final finish was a treat to watch as both jockeys believed they could pull it off narrowly and rode their hearts out. Murioi held on for dear life winning his first race ever and with it the richest stakes (little over one crore) for a three year old.  The trophy and the glory which came with it, is always invaluable.

The Poonawalla family graced the presentation podium. Mrs Beroze Zavaray Poonawalla gave away the trophy to trainer S Ganapathy and jockey B Sreekanth received the trophy from Mr Adar Poonawalla. Ms Shilpa Singh and Mr Nirmal Singh received the Breeder’s trophy from Ms Simone Poonawalla.

The Volkswagen Vento was won by one Ms Stephanie Fernandes who patronises the Mahalaxmi racecourse ‘once-in-a-while’ among four correct entries. “I just can’t believe it, I am too excited. I had randomly nominated the horses without actually knowing much. I am thankful to the Poonawallas and the RWITC for making my visit to the racecourse a very memorable one,” said Ms Fernandes holding the car keys and posing for the photographers.

The Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million (Gr1) was a super success. The Ramaswamy camp swept away the riches that this race offers for the 7^th time. Outstation horses have raided Mumbai successfully this time. Vijay’s Pride, Machiavellianism, Super Storm and now Murioi have all come from down south and won the Grade I races here. Maple Star was the only exception being stationed in Mumbai from the outset. Mumbai pros will have to get their act together and pull back something in the approaching Invitational weekend at Kolkata next weekend (2^nd and 3^rd March). The spotlight will shift to Kolkata soon and the best of racing action will be highly enthralling.