Neil Darashah is on a high. The talented young trainer recorded a classic double in the Ooty season through Battalion, winning the colts and the Derby at the Blue Mountains on Sunday.

In a chat before the season started at Udhagamandalam, a confident Neil disclosed that he was taking Battalion and a couple of other horses including Thomas Moore to Udhagamandalam and that Battalion back after a minor setback in training  will make his presence felt against the best in the Nilgiris.

“He is a damn good horse. He is back fit and ready and I’m confident that he will match strides with the best in the plums,” said Neil.

Well Battalion did just that, winning the Colts and the blue riband of the season in the hands of Mumbai-based pro Zervan who produced a copy book effort on the Derby winner who looked a picture of fitness at the parade ring.

It was clear at the acceptance stage that Neil held a whip hand in the Derby with Battalion and Thomas Moore adapting well and giving a good account of themselves before the biggest plum of the season.

Among the four colts and an equal number of fillies claiming a statutory gender allowance of 1.5 kilos in the mega event run over a mile, the Mumbai challenger Shield Of Achilles from trainer Mallesh Narredu’s yard started the favourite before Thomas Moore garnered the maximum support while the winner of the colts, Battalion was freely available at (4/1) in the betting ring.

The moment the eight aspirants for the Derby sash came under the starter’s flag, Zervan quickly pushed Battalion to the front and seized the initiative and the talented son of Phoenix Tower out of Athlone from the Manjri Stud Farm  galloped to fame to the delight of the Neil Darashah camp.

A delighted Neil Darashah revealed that the colt enjoyed the climate at Nilgiris and produced his best in the blue riband. Local mainhope Queen Of Clubs did well to gain the runner-up spot ahead of the favourite Thomas Moore while Shield Of Achilles failed to make an impression finishing down the field.

It was good to see more than 1000 racing buffs enjoying their moment on D-day despite the fact that a sharp shower before the fifth race delayed the proceedings.

The chairman of the Madras Race Club, R Ramakrishnan  most satisfied with the outstation participation in the season and the performances of the local trainers and jockeys confidently declared that both Madras and Ooty  were back on the high road and in a couple of years they will be back in the premium fold.

“All credit to my committee and my hardworking secretary Karthikeyan. They really have worked to make me proud,” said RK adding that the racing buffs at this centre  back in good numbers gave it a clean chit and this augurs well for the sport at this centre.

The Board Of Appeal chairman, K Ganapathy revealed that the tote collections all through the season had been good and the fact that Bengaluru, Mysore and other centres have been able to generate good revenue on Ooty races is a good sign for MRC.

“It was a competitive season and this provided the punters the confidence to invest  and the results obtained have been appreciated, “ said K Ganapathy adding that with a little more support from the media and  promotion campaigns, MRC will be back at the top.

It is learnt that a number of small trainers from Mysuru and a couple from Bengaluru who are struggling to compete against the best are now looking to shift base to Chennai and if that happens, new trainers and owners will help MRC recover lost ground and gallop to fame in the years ahead.

“I’m very confident that it will happen.  The start is very encouraging and we will leave no stone unturned in our effort to climb up the ladder,” signed of RK.