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ROCHE PUNCHES HOME OOMPH IN 1000 GUINEAS

By Ikram Khan | 01 Dec 2018 | BANGALORE


Trainer P Shroff (Deputising trainer Vishal Gaikwad) leading Oomph (Leigh Roche Up), winner of The Bangalore 1000 Guineas (Gr.2)

It was all Oomph in the first classic of the season. The Mumbai filly in the hands of Irish pro Leigh Roche produced her best to emerge the best of her age and sex in the 1000 Guineas on Saturday. Champion trainer Pesi Shroff who led in the filly was delighted. The trust in Oomph to deliver on the big stage finally came good and that provided a reason to smile.

The Sulaiman Attaollhi schooled Cerise Noir on the strength of her last win was the firm favourite in the classic journey. The Padmanabhan-trained New Creation too had her fair share of supporters while the two Mumbai hopefuls, Hammersmith and Oomph were ignored by most bar a few fluke seekers. 

Cerise Noir hit the front and set the pace in the mile long classic trip. The public choice who appeared very keen looked good at the top of the straight before she came under pressure in the final furlong. At this all-important juncture Roche packed punch on Oomph to seize the initiative and galloped home to the delight of the Mumbai camp. New Creation, David Allan astride flashed on the scene late and snatched the runner-up berth from Blue Moon while Cerise Noir had to rest content with the fourth spot.  The supporters of the public choice were not happy with the effort of Zervan. They reckoned that the Sulaiman ward would have done much better had Zervan exercised proper check while setting the pace. But the fact remains that Roche produced a flawless effort and this proved decisive at the end though it must be mentioned that New Creation was a trifle unlucky, deprived of the room and space when the race came on a boil in the final furlong.
 
The five to one shot Automatic who had failed to justify favouritism in his last essay at Mysore produced his best after he was gelded three days later. Ahsan Qureshi produced a copybook effort on the winner from Hidayat Khan’s yard. The favourite Fire Glow raced in patches and eventually failed to make the frame. Pinyada edged out Sedulous to gain the runner-up berth while Surf Romance came home fourth. Now that Automatic is back on the winning road it will pay to follow him when saddled next. 

Hidayat later led in the favourite Akita Pro who proved too good in the upper division of the Dharmasthala Plate run over a distance of seven furlongs. The public choice who was strongly fancied on the strength of her last effort, second behind Air Command, justified the confidence of her supporters powering home in the hands of Suraj Narredu. Spirit Bruce edged out Mercury at the post to gain the runner-up spot. The winner is in good nick and is set to provide an encore.
 
Suraj earlier guided home the public rage Spanish Beauty to a resounding win in the upper division of the Mount Joy Plate run over a sprint. The Arjun Manglorkar ward who had finished second behind Blue Moon who finished a creditable third in the classic was head and shoulders above her 13 rivals and it came as no surprise when the filly provided Suraj an arm-chair ride to success. Propine did well to finish second ahead of Industrialist while Vernesco made the frame.
 
Trainer Dominic recorded a fine double through Castaway and Wings Of Desire. The former powerfully piloted by leading pro Trevor Patel came up tops in the upper division of the S Rangarajan Memorial Trophy while Wings Of Desire bolted in the lower division.
 
The Padmanabhan-trained Salvador Dali surprisingly garnered the maximum support in the event despite making a comeback after a five-month lay-off. Nevertheless he managed to put up a creditable show finishing second behind Castaway who completed a hat-trick of wins after recording two straight victories in the summer season. 
Despite being drawn (14) Wings Of Desire hit the front in the hands of Sandesh and left the rest for dead the moment Sandesh drove her in the straight to romp home in emphatic fashion. Venus Bay from Prasanna Kumar’s yard and War Hero from the stables of Neil Darashah were also fancied strongly in this event. While Venus Bay finished second, War Hero who had impressed most while finishing second behind Lady Legend in his last effort surprisingly failed to even make the frame.
 
In the lower division of the Dharmasthala Plate, Sahara from Neil Darashaah’s yard was backed to the exclusion of her 13 rivals. Her connections were so bullish that they considered Sahara a money for jam bet. But that was not to be, the favourite finishing a poor third behind the winner Lofty Thoughts and Armenia. The big betting on Sahara helped the supporters of Lofty Thoughts gain a good price on the winner. The Prasanna ward won in style and is likely to repeat when saddled next.
 
The opening event, the lower division of the Mount Joy Plate produced a shock result, Benediction from Darius Byramji’s yard piloted by Irvan Singh earning his winning bracket. The public rage Constantinople failed in her attempt to make a winning debut and only managed to finish a tame third behind Desert Angel.