Indiarace.com - india's first & foremost horse racing portal

SHIVALIK SHOWERS TROUNCES MEAGRE OPPOSITION

By Epsom Ace | 20 Sep 2017 | KOLKATA


Trainer J E Mckeown leading Shivalik Showers (Hindu Singh Up), winner of The Alternator Cup

James Mc Keown-trained Shivalik Showers (Dancing Forever – Sun Shower/  Hazara Stud) simply trounced the meagre opposition in the Alternator Cup at RCTC on Wednesday. After leading for the first third of the 1800m trip, jockey Hindu Singh permitted Captain Cook to take over the running till heads turned for home. When asked for an effort, the six-year-old pulled away from his rivals easily. Trainer Vijay Singh and visiting jockey S John combined fruitfully once again to fetch home a well-backed double with Cadman and Namcha. Cadman lifted the Gloriosa Cup far easier than verdict while the highly rated Namcha, who is a full brother to Waveafterwave, made every post of  the 1400m trip a winning one in a common canter. He has more races in store.

The cloudy afternoon soon turned bright for trainer Farley Rodrigues as he took over from where he had left off on the last race of the previous raceday when Magic In The Air just scraped in. Farley’s Major Colours (Arabian Gulf-Trace Of Magic/ Manjri Stud) won a well thought out race in the hands of Shezad Khan on this day. The observant will note that the dam of the winner is named Trace Of Magic – the spell was obviously still present for a trainer who deserved it no less with such a small string of six horses. Shezad maintained his mount at a well positioned fourth from an outside draw. After the turning for home, Major Colours shot ahead but was drifting out even though Shezad had the whip in his left hand. The favourite Looking Good was making a late run for the post in the final furlong and promptly objected on the grounds of interference. However, the red cone was rightly lowered after the Stewards had heard the jockey and watched the video several times.

The Gloriosa Cup had only five in the fray. Vastly improved Cadman (Dancing Forever-Lambency/ Hazara Stud ) made mincemeat of his rivals in the hands of S John. It was Rewalding on a start-to-finish mission who did rather well and was superior in all respects to the field barring the winner, who actually won easier than verdict. Under John’s urging, the colt unleashed a powerful gallop in the straight to get the better of the front-runner.

Vijay Singh’s Namcha (Arabian Gulf-Royal Liverpool/ Manjri Stud) was the pick of the  day. He won his maiden race without raising a sweat and has more races in store for himself. Despite shouldering the heavy impost, he was always comfortable in John’s hands, Raqs Sharqi was ridden flat out to finish a poor second.

Another facile winner of the day was Arti Doctor-trained Mocha Loca ( Western Aistocrat- Hoofbeats/ Yeravada Stud) who won the Arizona Pie Handicap very impressively with Christopher Alford in the saddle.  The best of the rest was Demonstrate.

After his last narrow victory, Raunak Banerrji’s King’s Crown  (Top Class-Bella/ Mukteshwar) was given a minimal penalty of 3kg which was astutely nullified by the connections by declaring an able apprentice with an identical allowance – Nikhil Naidu. On this occasion, the four-year-old got the better of the public choice Sangfroid close home. The joint favourite Ashi Nangsey found the 8kg penalty plus the 1.5kg over-weight of the rider a little too much to handle. She nevertheless ran a fair race.

In the day’s final event, favourite Queen’s Command left all his chances at the gates. Carralisa ran a forward race and was shaping like a winner but the change of tactics by the Jaiswal stable paid rich dividends. Vinay Jaiswal kept the speedy Jabble (Samhoon-Cherokee)  in check till the final furlong and moved up with a late burst to land the spoils.