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CAPTAIN COURAGE WINS DR SC JAIN SPRINTERS' CUP

By Mahendra Mallya | 10 Feb 2019 | MUMBAI


Trainer P Shroff leading Captain Courage (P S Chouhan Up), winner of The Dr S C Jain Sprinters' Championship (Gr.2)

With the late withdrawal of Ruffina, the Dr SC Jain Sprinters' Cup (Gr2) wore an open look. Captain Courage however, bagged the prize race with surprising ease, beating younger horses and clocking a fast time. 

Iron Age and Lincoln were the joint leaders until into the straight, with Bateleur following about three lengths behind. St Andrews came next with Captain Courage and Holy Smoke had Clymene behind him. 

Neither iron Age nor Lincoln last too long and soon St Andrews picked up speed and shot ahead. Bateleur may have got hampered for a free run and that could have cost him dearly. St Andrews was galloping well and had a handy lead too, but the way Captain Courage (Admiralofthefleet - Celestrella, Kunigal Stud) arrived he looked far too superior. Jockey PS Chouhan rode out the Pesi Shroff seven-year-old with aplomb to accomplish what seemed an improbable mission as Captain Courage had drawn a blank both in 2017 and '18 - his last victory was in September 2016. Interestingly, Captain Courage had won five races on the trot starting with his maiden win in December 2015. And the 1:09:91 that he clocked is his personal best!

After Bangalore based Narredu brothers Rajesh and Suraj pulled off a sensational Indian Derby conquest, their local cousins Deepeash and Yash got into the act with the success of King Khalil (Multidimensional - Khalila, usha Stud) winning the Dr Jagjit Singh Trophy a thoughtful memorial race named after the ghazal Maestro. King Khalil worked his way to the front and led them into the straight with a handy lead. Arabian Storm could not muster well enough but fought before fading away. Tenerife moved up along the rails, while it was Frieze who added pep to the finish. King Khalil had a two-length lead inside the final furlong and with Yash riding out persistently, ensured that there was no last moment shock. Frieze cut in the margin rapidly and ended half a length behind King Khalil. Tenerife saved the place money. 

Bronx (China Visit - Blue Ridge, Usha Stud) galloped to his fourth win in seven outings, his first over the 2000m trip. He raced well off the pace that was set by bottom weighted Sagittarius and made his move in the homestretch. he galloped fluently and cruised past his opponents one by one to surge into the lead midway in the straight leaving Sagittarius behind and canter to victory without having to exert much. he looked in perfect sync and should be able to add to his win tally in the kind of form he is in currently. 

Star Aligned (Azamour - Strictly, Kunigal Stud) had to fight her way to win the Tapped Cup for Class IV run over the mile trip. Sitting up in third behind Strong Storm, Star Aligned moved up in the straight and began her chase early. Strong Storm put up stiff resistance but jockey Leigh Roach goaded Star Aligned on to finally over power the leader closer home. Star Aligned wore down Strong Storm with a persistent effort to win by a little over a length. Its A Deal ran on to finish third. 

Juliette (Musketier - Gimmesumsugar, Sohna Stud) showed tremendous improvement over her debut run to clinch the NM Irani Trophy for maidens. The Cheetah was sent out on a start to finish mission and he led them into the straight galloping in good rhythm all the way through. Neither  Dream nor Eclair who were closet to him made any impact as The Cheetah easily kept them at bay. However, the pressure mounted when Victorious Sermon started to inch closer and then Juliette too started to cover ground and get abreast.Juliette was easily the pick among the three finishers as she stormed ahead to win convincingly. Victorious Sermon pegged back The Cheetah for the runner-up berth. 

Bhaktawar (Multidimensional - Almandine, Usha Stud) scored his second victory on the trot with another fine show. He was up in the third spot as Artista led them into the straight. Bhaktawar, with Neeraj Rawal in the saddle, pushed ahead past the front runners to go for the lead past the 4000 m mark. Neeraj Rawal had to keep on course as Super Mario was getting too close for comfort. Bhaktawar however, stayed put and kicked on gamely to thwart the attempt made by Super Mario to pull off a narrow victory although he never looked in danger at any stage. Grand Eyes improved well to take the third placing. 

Saffron Flower (Sedgefield - Saffro, Jai Govind Stud) finally achieved her maiden success in her 17th start. She had to make her move on the outside as there was heavy traffic near the rails with Ricardus and Top Wizard at the helm. Dream Trail made a good forward move and soon took over and was galloping well past the distance post. hi ho Silver made his move between horses and was also prominent. But when Saffron Flower arrived, they all looked beat in an instant. Saffron Flower, with apprentice Shubham in the saddle galloped resolutely to stride away from them all and score a comfortable victory. Hi Ho Silver, Dream Trial and Top Wizard finished on in that order in a heap. 
For the professionals, trainer Pesi Shroff and jockey PS Chouhan scored a double each.