Sunday’s flow of events at the Mahalaxmi race course was another entertaining day out, the RWITC offering a complete package. Top notch races, thick competition, and the glamour quotient adding in with Cine star Kangana Ranaut at the races made for a delightful afternoon.

“It’s a first time at live races for me and I am amazed at the thrill this sport generates,” said Ms Ranaut on the presentation podium after Murioi played his starry role on the turf. “I have visited the race course earlier, but for shooting for films. Today is a different game altogether. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here and even made a small bet to feel the thrill of the venue. Horse racing is indeed a sport of skill and thrill,” she added.

The Star performance, however, came from the Hazara Stud Farm bred Murioi (Dubawi – Zacheta’s Girl). He powered his way to form with a gallant gallop carrying top weight to blow the wind out his rivals, favourite Circle of Life included. He looked the part in the paddock and Circle of Life too enthused with her paddock looks as well. Both shared the flow of money in the betting ring. However, after their appearance in the paddock, the betting trends clearly swayed Murioi’s way and at race time the bookmakers scaled their odds on the filly to balance their books and both Murioi and Circle of Life were almost joint favourites as the horses were being loaded.

Mars set the tone galloping to the front at a steady pace. Majestic Reward and Desert Wings were next, while Murioi occupied the fourth spot and Circle of Life bringing up the rear, on the tail of Murioi. Mars bowed out soon on straightening up. Jockey B Sreekanth did not wait too long and set Murioi alight gaining rapid ground and steering clear of those falling back. Circle of Life went for the gap between horses and surfaced to make her bid just at the same juncture as Murioi. 

The Dr MAM Ramaswamy owned Murioi showed bullish power to stretch ahead nicely and was solid in his finish. Circle of Life tried hard, but was clearly humbled once Murioi took charge a little more than a furlong from home. Sreekanth used the stick only to check the inward drift of Murioi, the only flaw that trainer S Ganapathy would note. Circle of Life stumbled at a crucial stage but regained composure instantly, to stay one behind the winner. Majestic Reward ran on to stay ahead of Desert Wings in the frame.

“It was pleasing to see Murioi back to his best. He went ‘off’ in Bangalore and knowing his potential, this was a worry. Honestly, I can’t really explain his poor runs in Bangalore, but we were patient with him and gave him time. I have not done anything extraordinary to bring him back to winning ways, just stuck to basics and persisted with him as any trainer would. I got the feeling he was picking up before his mock race and after that mock, my belief in him was total. He is a good horse and right on course for the Indian Classics. We will look at his performance in the Indian 2000 Guineas and then chalk out his future,” said trainer S Ganapathy.

Murioi certainly has certainly matured and is peaking just at the right time. This run was indicative of his class and more importantly his form. He is back to what he was last season when beating Starry Eyes in the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million. On his current form, he comes right into the reckoning for the Indian Classics.

Dancing Phoenix (Phoenix Tower – All Dancing) displayed blinding speed and romped home to a classy fifth career victory from seven starts. He clocked his personal best timing of 1:10:90 while emerging clear all the way building on a quick start. Déjà vu tried his best but failed to even close in on the winner in the final stages. Dancing Phoenix, bred at the Manjri Stud Farm has always shown top class speed and he is developing into a sprinter of class and repute.

In the straight, Hawaiian Princess and Emerging Star were getting nowhere as Dancing Phoenix kept galloping at a good clip. Déjà vu made his appearance around 300m from home and he did seem to cover the deficit, but only until the distance post. Once inside the final furlong, Dancing Phoenix sped further away stylishly to spare close to three lengths in the final standing. Déjà vu surely lost to a better horse on the day and returned a tame second. Monza ran a forgettable race. Firstly, he jumped out and veered leftwards. That cost him valuable ground and again at the turn he simply went out and away from the thick of action. 

Hawaiian Princess can take a few pluses from the race and can strike in a slightly weaker set. Ishpingo ran on to finish in the frame, but without making great impact.

Maisha (Footstepsinthesand – My Pension) scored a dramatic debut win, recovering from a tardy start to emerge with a terrific run to stop them all and score a fluent victory, which, 59 seconds ago looked improbable. She was last out of the gates, although not my much and she lagged behind in the last position only to turn it around with a brilliant finish.

Favourite Ravello showed fairly good early speed but failed to quicken after doing everything right until into the straight. Zander powered his way to the front past Ravello but his brief reign at the helm was snatched away when Maisha swooped upon them all with a stormy gallop to stride away to a glorious debut victory. Feisty Lass ran a decent second, but was completely overshadowed by the dazzle shown by the winner.  

Montreal (Phoenix Tower – Anmol) showed tremendous rise in form and ability while beating top fancy Analeah, that too coming from behind literally from the last position. Analeah looked all set to keep her date with victory as she took over from early leader Hail The King in the straight. Montreal, who was in touch with the bunch, fell back inexplicably losing a couple of lengths in the process as they straightened up for home.

With Highraz making little impact on Analeah, who herself was still on the leash, it looked the favourite was going to have it easy. However, Montreal lit up midway up the straight and was seen covering ground at an alarming rate. In the last 100 meters, Analeah looked in danger and her backers’ worst fears came true when Montreal charged in with a fiery gallop to peg back the favourite on the last couple of strides.

Montreal’s run was terrific as Sandesh started goading him right from 400 meters when Analeah was still on tight rein. It was not as though Analeah was shortening her strides, but Montreal was the one who was simply too zippy at the business end. Highraz ended between the duos another half length away and he could be working up his form too.

Venus Marina (Ikhtyar – Venus Arising) pushed out First And Only One the ante post favourite to claim the first favourite status herself at race time and that trend played true on the track as Venus Marina scored an impressive maiden win. She kept company with First and only One past the half way mark and the pair had settled behind gritty front-running Hot Pepper who had Kaizer alongside as they turned for home.

Hot Pepper showed no signs of retiring and galloped on purposefully. Venus Marina got past Kaizer and was inching closer to the leader. First And Only One simply wouldn’t raise a gallop and faded away sooner than expected. Venus Marina launched a serious assault in the final 150 meters to well and truly clinch the issue close home. Pumba progressed well but just failed to pip Hot Pepper.

Dynamo (Bahamian Bounty – Zellers) made ample amends after failing in Pune and carved out a narrow win beating Keukenhof and Falco Nero in an exciting finish. Racing third behind Falco Nero and Keukenhof until into the straight, Dynamo quickened soon on turning for home. Both Falco Nero and Keukenhof stuck with Dynamo and made him fight all the way. However, Dynamo always held the upper hand and was marginally ahead of the fighting pair thereby managing to keep his record straight in Mumbai, where he had won his only race, his debut.

For Keukenhof, the weight certainly told as he was giving seven kilos to the winner. Falco Nero will come out of this race satisfied as he stayed alongside all through over a distance he may have found a wee bit sharp. This one was a nice lung-opener for Falco Nero and he could show better result over an extended trip.

Blue Bay (Mull of Kintyre – Prelude to a Kiss) justified the heavy wagering he garnered and won his race start to finish without encountering any trouble. He took off at a brisk pace and held a mounting challenge from Zoe and to an extent from Song of Africa in the dying moments of the race. Sandesh rode a peach of a race to keep the top weighted favourite well ahead and maintaining steel-like grip on the race right through. Zoe took a while to gather momentum but when he did, it was all over. Song of Africa too tried her best and rewarded with the place money. Jen’s Secret improved well to end in the frame.

Thirteen proved lucky for Matrioshka (Ikhtyar – Half Pass) as she earned her maiden win on her 13^th start. Her start too was not the most ideal as she tagged on at the tail end of the field early on. National Pride led the field homeward, but was soon challenged by favourite Sombrero, who sprinted ahead. Stolen Relic put in his might to make his bid, but could not sustain for too long. Establish Predator improved to be in contention as National Pride and Stolen Relic were falling back. Matrioshka arrived with a spirited run to cover a lot of ground and manage to peg back Sombrero on the post.

For the professionals, jockey Sandesh and S Zervan scored a treble each. It was good to see veteran trainer Janardhan score with both his representations on the day and lead-in a well-fancied double.