It is true that champion saddle artiste Trevor Patel is on a high. His exemplary strike rate and his willingness to add to his tally is what separates  him from the rest.  It is no secret  that he has struck a purple patch but what is important is that the young hero has not dropped his guard while enjoying his best moments in the sun.

After his record breaking success in Pune and emerging on top in Mysore, Trevor maintained his winning streak recording a fine treble. The champion on the second day of the winter season following the postponement of the opening day due to rains, won three races, finished second twice from his six  rides and this is what makes the punters confidently invest on the new big brand, Trevor Patel.

Astride the favourite Our Little Dragon in the Trombay Plate run over a distance of seven furlongs, Trevor at the distance post looked beat, the lesser fancied Goodwill Warrior from Sriram Komandur’s  yard piloted by apprentice Sunil Samson set to record  a pillar to post victory. But in a never-say-die bid Trevor worked hard on the Warren Singh ward and the moment Goodwill Warrior went weak in his knees in the final 100 metres, Trevor grabbed the chance and packed punch on Our Little Dragon to steal the race by the shortest of margins. It was clear case of jockey and not the horse winning it and this is what has made Trevor a darling of the racing buffs.

Next astride the public rage Sea Lord from Suleiman Attaollahi’s yard who looked a picture of fitness at the parade ring, Trevor didn’t really need to showcase his skills, the classy son of Admiralofthefleet out of Loch Katrine from the Kunigal Stud Farm effortlessly winning the Madras Race Club Trophy from Super Sunshine. The Kunigai think-tank  rates Sea Lord high and the managing director of URBB, Zeyn Mirza disclosed that Sea Lord is still developing and his best is yet to come. Sea Lord on the strength of this victory, it is clear has the ability to test the best and his progress this winter will evoke interest. Heisenberg broke down after negotiating the final curve in this event and it was a big loss to Amit Caddy simply because Heisenberg was shaping up well and was in line to pick up a couple of races this winter.

The favourite in the upper division of the Malaprabha Plate run over a sprint, Sheer Elation was the only Trevor ride who was not in the money. The favourite packed up much before the race came on a boil and a furlong from home it appeared that the lesser fancied Albertino from Irfan Ghatala’s yard would earn his winning bracket but the moment Anjar Alam headed the field, it appeared that Albertino again had burst a blood vessel, the leader stopping in his tracks to finish fourth. The seven to one shot Forest Tern from young Arvind Ganapathy’s yard brilliantly piloted by another leading light Sandesh gained the day edging out Sun Glow in the final furlong. Miracles Of Life despite getting a check at a crucial juncture finished on purposefully to take the third spot and is one for the note book.  To the credit of Arvind, it must be mentioned that the youngster is consistently producing results and his effort in the Mysore season was laudable.

In the lower division of the event, Trevor completed his treble on the second in demand at the betting ring Vencedora from trainer Arjun Manglorkar’s yard. The Neil Darashah schooled Glittering was heavily backed to score but after being favourably placed at the top of the straight, Glittering lacked the gas in the tank and eventually finished a poor fourth. Better Than Ever caught the eye while finishing second ahead of Prince Academy and it will not be long before this Arvind Ganapathy ward will enter the winners’ circle this winter.

The Satish Narredu schooled Authoritarian who had gone off the boil in summer after emerging the top youngster in this campus last winter was backed to the exclusion of his 11 rivals in the concluding event, the Kunigal Stud Plate.  The favourite, who subject to judicious preparation had impressed most in the preparatory  trials looked good in the paddock parade but as luck would have it failed to jump out level from the gates and much to the chagrin of his supporters was in no mood to race. This made life easy for the Mysore 1000 Guineas winner New Alliance from Prasanna Kumar’s yard partnered by T Jodha.  Classic winner New Alliance offered at (5/1) with one horse to beat is considered a good investment in racing but how many followed the line, only a few and those who did it were well rewarded and were counting their money, the moment the gates opened and the favourite was not in contention.

Earlier the Neil Darashah-trained  Hostess won the opening Plate, the Agumbe Plate at the nourishing odds of four to one from the public fancy Allez Royale. Marine One was another fancied runner from this stable competing in the Air Force Trophy, the plum event of the season who was fancied to score but he failed to deliver and so did Let There Be Light from Arjun Manglorkar’s yard who garnered the maximum support in the betting ring. Advantageously placed in at the scales, Multi App from Darius Byramji’s yard  gained the day in the hands of Irvan Singh comfortably edging out the public choice in the final furlong. The topweighted Havelock Prince stormed home late on the scene to take the third spot ahead of Marine One.

How  and why was Brunaldo supported heavily to win the Master Key Plate defies logic. The Irfan Ghatala ward agreed,  made a comfortable winning debut in summer but the fact is that the time clocked for this victory was very poor. On that count alone, Brunaldo didn’t merit top billing leave alone, even-money status. He as expected only took a lot of good money down the drain. The eight to one shot Rain Kissed won from the word go and is set to provide an encore.  The winner in fact broke loose on way to starting gates and sprinted back to the saddling area before he was caught up and walked back to the gates. But all this exercise did not pose a problem to the Sriram ward who bolted home in the hands of leading jockey Pradeep Chouhan.