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SPRINT MILLION SEES DEAD-HEAT

By Mahendra Mallya | 11 Oct 2015 | PUNE


Dancing Prances, Sun Divine Dead-Heat For Noshir & Dolly Dhunjibhoy Sprint Million (Gr.3)

The Noshir & dolly Dhunjibhoy Sprint Million lived up to the promise of a cracker of a finish with Dancing Prances, Sun Divine and One Kept Secret involved in a three-way photo-finish, resulting in a rare dead-heat between the first two and One Kept Secret finishing an honorable third just a short-head shy.  

Dancing Phoenix was the quickest out and led the field with Brynhill on his tail. Dancing Prances led the rest who were closely bunched, Nefyn at the tail end of the field. Brynhill collared Dancing phoenix soon on turning for home, but did not show the zip he is known to produce. Dancing Prances got past him easily but had Sun Divine moving fast. Jockey Arshad Alam switched lanes to surge through the inside of Dancing Prances who had shifted out a bit. One kept Secret rallied between horses and was covering ground briskly. Dancing Prances with Imran Khan on board, went all out rising to the challenge and the finish was breathtakingly close. The judge called for a photo to decide the winner and announced a dead-heat between Dancing Prances (Ace - Dancing Greens, Poonawalla Stud Farm) and Sun Divine (Burden of Proof – Divine Dreams, Kunigal Stud). One Kept Secret too ran a commendable race despite the terms & weights not favoring him and proved he is right with the top sprinters in the business.   

Sans Peur cost her backers twice in two outings and is best left alone for now. The on-money favourite failed miserably without even raising any hope. Sans Peur entered the straight with a slender lead but was collared my Charging Tigress (Sedgefield – Great Colors, Jai Govind Stud) who broke away to a winning lead past the distance post. Jockey J Chinoy confidently rode her out to stay clearly ahead. Majestic ran on the beat Remember The Time for the place money. Tennessee was the one to improve remarkably from the last position and did well to end in the judge’s frame.

Jockey Trevor then rolled out a back-to-back double in the following two races. He guided Maleficent (Iffraj – Mufradat, Exhilaration Stud) to a fluent victory. Zeda had brought the field home but couldn’t find much at the business end. Maleficent strode out majestically into the lead and galloped on to win with a good measure of comfort. Via Amoris and Oriental Rocky could not match up to the winner but fought between them for the runner-up berth, the former just about making it by a short-head.

Cannonball Run (Phoenix Tower – Roseate, Manjri Stud) was a rage in the betting ring and as per the current trends Trevor’s favorites are backed with conviction. IN an eighteen horse field, Cannonball Run was backed down to evens! Trevor thrilled his supporters and gained in popularity with a warm and cheerful reception as he walked the aisle.

Cannonball Run got off to a good start and Trevor settled in close third spot behind Rider on The Storm who paced nicely but only until the turn. Cannonball Run got past the leader soon round the bend and sailed ahead picking up speed early in the straight, leaving the rest to try and catch up. The Narendra Lagad trained filly galloped impressively and won without being extended. Plan B arrived with a fast gallop to end close behind Cannonball Run, who was eased up in the last part. Royal Sapphire did not do too badly and edged out Song of Africa for the place money.

Vitesse (Varenar – Elite Society, Manjri Stud) brought his fighting qualities to the fore and raged a crispy battle to down an equally determined Kayla close home. Birkenhead showed up in the straight with a spirited run to take charge and looked good getting past the front-runners. Soon Kayla arrived with a steady run to challenge Birkenhead. Vitesse, who was racing in the rear, shifted gears to come through between horses and made a bold bid in the final furlong. While Birkenhead fell back after fighting most of the way, Vitesse produced that extra bit to win in a thrilling finish.

Blackbean (Ace – One Magic Moment, Poonawalla Astonish Stud) changed tactics from going for it from the word go to coming from behind and that certainly worked for the Faisal Abbas trainee. Apprentice lad G Amit held her in fifth as Sunshine Heart and Polar Zone were up front with Glorious Moment and Moondrops following close behind.

Into the straight, Sunshine Heart and Polar Zone were matching strides and going for it when Blackbean made his forward surge. The rest were grouping up close behind with Zafira, Pezzonovante and True Heir pulling in their might. Blackbean won with over a length to spare while the consistent Polar Zone held on to the second spot, warding off True Heir and Pezzonovante.

Trainer B Prakash and PS Chouhan combined to score a fruitful double later in the day. Silvano (Chevalier – Tanzanite Lady, Southern Paradise Stud) lived up to her top billing that came with her good second in her last outing and did well to put on a determined show and shake off the pressure applied by her opponents, particularly Believer who came steaming in with a late run.

Silvano was quick off the gates and soon had Aurelio joining her as they galloped at a steady pace right into the straight. Silvano shook off her companion with easy and darted forward to pile up a handy lead. Baker Street was lurking close behind but was not quickening as required. Believer started to show some spunk and warmed up midway in the straight. She had some ground to cover though. She was a lot faster in the final 100 but that was far too late as Silvano held on grimly to win by half a length. Believer for the second time found one better, but she is sure to have her day in the sun. Baker Street too would have taken pluses from this outing.    

Sunny Seas (Placerville – Tide of Fortune, Poona Stud) continued his winning run and compiled a fine hat-trick of wins. This time it was a lot closer as he was pushed to the brim and had to battle it out really hard and for a prolonged period, from the entrance of the homestretch, right to the wire.

Invincible squandered a quick start and a good lead as he packed up after entering the straight. Sunny Seas got into the act and soon moved to the front and Chouhan got hard at work. Desert Rage was looking for room between horses and the moment she got the gap, she was flashing on the scene at a brisk rate. Lucky Pineapple took a tad too long to spruce up his speed and they were all crowding when the winning post arrived, just in time for Sunny Seas, who seemed destined to win his third in a row.

For the professionals, trainer B Prakash saddled a double, while jockeys P Trevor and P S Chouhan scored a double each.