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CAPTAIN COURAGE GETS THE MEASURE OF BE CAUTIOUS

By Mahendra Mallya | 07 Jan 2016 | MUMBAI


Captain Courage (P Trevor Up), winner of The Warsaw Pact Trophy

The form held good for most of the day for Thursday’s races with most of the races seeing backed horses obliging and at lucrative odds at that. It was a profitable day for followers of form, particularly those who hedge their bets. However, the last race of the day gave the bookies a sigh of relief when Essence of Love struck like a bolt from the blue at a staggering 30/1.

Captain Courage (Admiralofthefleet – Celestrella, Kunigal Stud) had shown sparkling form while winning his last outing impressively. He built on that and although Be Cautious was backed with a lot more conviction, going out at 8/10 at race time, Captain Courage, with Trevor in the saddle, pulled off a convincing victory beating Be Cautious comfortably.

Be Cautious galloped gamely for most of the five-furlong scurry with Captain Courage in chase. ON turning for home, Be Cautious went further ahead, more than two lengths from her closest rival. However, Captain Courage started to accelerate in the final furlong and the Shroff trainee finished on full of running. He collared the favourite easily and stretched out nicely to seal the race with a measure of comfort.

Eternal Sunshine (Phoenix Tower – Divine Impact, Manjri Stud) came up against all odds to strike from way behind and hit the target. Favourite Miss Arazan looked well in command midway in the straight. She had a handy lead and was travelling smoothly as well. Furiosa was not making much impact on Miss Arazan and that made her lead look even more impregnable. However, Eternal Sunshine gathered speed in the final furlong and she arrived with a flourish. She got Miss Arazan close to the post and zipped past to score an impressive debut win. Miss Arazan did most things right, but found one better in the winner.

Batman (Rebuttal – Well Rehearsed, Hazara Stud) may have used his cape as he seemed to glide in from nowhere to thrill his scores of supporters just at the right time. Aliboxer and Frankest were at the helm as they turned for home. Frankest took the initiative and pressed for home. He had built a decent lead approaching the final furlong. With the other fancied runner Sans Peur once again not living up to expectations, frankest looked on course to pull it off. Well, until Batman showed up dramatically. Once the Faisal Abbas ward flashed on the scene, it was all over. Batman flew past all and sundry and got going in a tremendous fashion. He not only won but stretched the margin to more than three lengths and neither Batman nor his jockey CS Jodha was panting for breath at the finish. Batman is most likely to repeat.

Governor General (Phoenix Tower – Dancing Highness, Manjri Stud), who had last run in August took to the track as if he had slept on it all the while. He looked impressive in the paddock and one look at him gave that assurance that he was in fighting fit condition.

Chase The Ace led the field with Governor General and Naumee chased the leader close behind. Once into the straight, Sadesh did not have to urge Governor General to get past Chase the Ace, but he soon did with 300 to go. Governor General responded well and kicked away with each stride, leaving Naumee and the others far behind. Naumee ran on to take the runner-up spot and Another Ace finished on well to beat Speed of Sound for the third spot. Trainer AM Jadhav shows immense promise in his talent and has looked the part in his early days as trainer.

Blackbean from Faisal Abbas's yard won the opener in a clinical manner. Queen of Venus jumped out smartly and set a fast pace, with Blackbean settled on her outside. These two almost turned it into a match race as the rest of the field struggled to keep pace with the two front runners. Queen of Venus brought them round the turn, at that juncture CS Jodha asked Blackbean to accelerate and pretty much had the race sewn up with a furlong to go. He opened up a couple of lengths on his rivals which remained the winning margin. Queen of Venus gamely rallied to keep the runner up berth and should find a winning bracket soon.

Daishonin made all the running in the 2nd race of the day and was a spent force by the time the race came to a boil. Jigsaw, who had been beautifully switched off in box seat for 3 quarters of the grueling mile and a half trip, was alighted to the task with 3 furlongs to go and had to ward off a late and spirited challenge from Phenomenal Memory. The two went hammer and tong for the last 2 furlongs with Yash Narredu and Sandesh, both getting the most out of their respective mounts. Jigsaw prevailed by a head at the wire to earn a long overdue victory, while Daishonin was 3rd almost 6 lengths behind. Savage Beauty was outclassed and will need the handicapper to be kind before being considered for the winners circle.

Alishas Pet from Altaf Hussain's yard gave all her backers a bit of a scare when she jumped tardily and found herself last when the gates opened! Godsent with Suraj Narredu set a good pace and was followed round the bend by another market fancy in Kaleidoscope. Alishas Pet in the meanwhile had been brushed up to about 7th position at the bend, but still had a lot of running to do. The long Mumbai straight is considered to be the most fair of all racetracks in India, as it allows a talented horse the opportunity to recover from slight errors, and that was highlighted by the eventual result. Godsent fizzled out with 2 furlongs in balance, and while Kaleidoscope briefly rallied and threatened, the race was over in a matter of strides when Sandesh pulled Alishas Pet on the outside and asked her to spurt. The winner simply sailed past the opposition to register a 3 length victory and an encore during the current race meet is more than likely. Hedwig flashed on late to finish a notable second.

The last race of the card saw public fancy Magnolia bite the dust on the back of a rather forgettable ride by NS Parmar. The 5yr old mare was only competing for the 2nd time in her career and as such should have been guided with kid-gloves. A couple of ungainly checks both round the bend as well as in the straight, all but finished any chance the favourite had. The beneficiary was Essence of Love, recently moved to the stables of B Prakash. With five-kilo claimer SA Amit astride, the 6yr old gelding raced in the centre of the track well away from all the jostling that was unfolding close home, and made the most of the allowance to swoop in late and score a memorable victory over A Sandesh and Suraj Narredu in the finish. He was the longest priced winner of the day at 30/1 and must be commended for never giving up at any stage. The favourite Magnolia ran on to be a close fourth, however, she should make amends with better handling during this race meeting.

For the professionals, trainer Faisal Abbas saddled a double, while jockeys A Sandesh and CS Jodha scored a double each.