The Ramniwas Ramnarian Ruia Gold Cup (Gr2) may had seen a small field of three and with Serjeant At Arms in the fray, it may have further been reduced to a no-contest, however even under such circumstances watching a top notch horse performing extremely well is a treat indeed! Sandesh too played his part early on to infuse wee bit of anxiety by hold Serjeant at Arms a tad too far back in the rear after taking a level jump.

Highland Breeze shot away to a comfortable lead galloping at a comfortable pace too, with St Andrews a couple of lengths behind and Serjeant at Arms (Ikhtyar – Rahy’s Serenade, Nanoli Stud) a good four lengths further away. They got closer to one another at the final turn and Serjeant At Arms was in cruise mode all the way and he sailed ahead early in the straight and won drawing away effortlessly, Sandesh not having to move a muscle to finish off the race in just over 2 minutes. His victory was clean as a whistle and a testimony of his staying prowess. There is no doubt that the extra 400m for the Indian Derby is well within his compass and Serjeant at Arms will be one of the top contenders  for the richest race of the land. Trainer SS Attaollahi obviously has done a marvelous job in getting Serjeant At Arms to such high level of fitness and he also seems to be peaking at the right time.  

Jockey Sandesh had another fruitful day at the office returning with a treble on the day. He next won with another classic contender from trainer Malesh Narredu’s yard Frivolous (Misremembered – Christmas Fever, Hazara Stud) to another thumping victory to clinch the Forbes India Cup in style. Frivolous had no difficulty in surging ahead early in the straight past June and then accelerating smoothly to keep his rivals at bay. Multiglory tried hard to catch up, but Frivolous proved too good to down. Sherlock, the second in demand after Frivolous, faded away without raising any hopes.

Sandesh then partnered the ever improving Critics Choice (Tariq – Berkeley Lodge, Pratap Stud) to score a resounding victory in a tough bunch with surprising ease. Renee brought the field homewards and was shaping well. Holy Smoke was the first to challenge the leader with Dancing Prances not too far behind.  Congressional along the rails was not finding anything worthwhile and Airco too was struggling to keep up. Critics Choice burst on to the scene with a scintillating gallop and once she caught up with the fighting duo, she surged past and took control. The Hosidar Daji trainee has defied the odds each time and has proved to be one of the best sprinters on the circuit currently.

Timeless (Surfrider – Showstopper, Ruia Stud) showed a good range in his gallop as he came well off the pace, literally from the last position to turn the tables on his rivals at the business end. Stunner led them all the way into the straight. Both Windsor Forest and Timeless who fought out the finish were at the rear of the field. Favorite La Magnifique was in fifth until the turn, tried to quicken but failed to fire. Windsor Forest improved rapidly at the turn and readily surged into the lead. She was shaping well past the distance post with the ones close behind her not making much impression. Timeless with P Trevor on board, arrived with a blistering finish to gain ground rapidly and managed to pip Windsor Forest on the post.

Flashing Honour (Arazan – Leave it to Me, Villoo’s Greenfield Farm) was another one to rise from the rear and finish with a flourish. Ridgewood Star entered the straight with a big lead but blew it away. Soon Prince of heart and Sumaaq got past with Sumaaq holding the upper hand. Othello and Nelsons Blood moved up together, but when Flashing Honour arrived with Dashrath Singh in the saddle, it was all over in a flash. Dashrath rode out and got the Karthik ward to accelerate strongly to easily sail past Sumaaq to deliver the goods. Prince of Heart just managed to hold on to place money as both Othello and Nelsons Blood were all over the Prince at the wire.

Waheed trained Celtic Prince (Dancing Forever – Celtic Memories, Hazara Stud) has shown remarkable form of late and he created a flutter while beating the strongly fancied pair of Star Councillor and Artistic. It was Artistic who dictated the terms most of the way with Celtic Prince and Charging Tigress close behind. Star Councillor came next with Shadowfax alongside the rest in the rear.

Artistic continued to gallop well to maintain his lead but soon Celtic Prince drew alongside. The pair fought out for a brief while, but Celtic Prince got better at the finish to win drawing away. Star Councillor ran on to take the third spot.

Altaf Hussain trained Alishas Pet (Ace – Entendu, Poonawalla Astonish Stud) pulled off a well fought victory to claim the Sir HM Mehta Trophy. Approaching the distance post, they were all in it with Stardom Calling fighting hard with Magical Memory. Alishas Pet soon joined the fight and was picking up momentum nicely. Benezeer started to cover ground from the outside. She took a tad longer to get into top gear and that delay cost her dearly. Alishas Pet warded off challengers from either side to prevail by a narrow margin. Benezeer and Magical Memory were involved in a dead-heat for the runner up slot.

Alpine Express (Rebuttal – Pinkchuchi, Hazara Stud) scored a clinical start to finish victory with a strong finishing gallop in the final furlong. She entered the straight with a handy lead with favourite Gran Paradiso in chase. Apprentice jockey SA Amit rode out brilliantly to keep the Vinesh ward going at a good clip. Gran Paradiso tried hard to catch up but his efforts were in vain. Alpine Express kicked on gamely to win comfortably from Gran Paradiso. Adams Beginning ran on to finish third ahead of Furioso.

For the professionals, Sandesh returned with a fine treble.