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DANDI MARCH BAGS LONGCHAMP MILLION

By Mahendra Mallya | 17 Feb 2019 | MUMBAI


Dandi March (A Sandesh Up), winner of The Longchamp Million

Dandi March (Chevalier - Salt, Ruia Stud) put up stiff resistance to ward off favourite Thailand to bag the Longchamp Million the feature event of the day. 

Miss Boss led the field early and had Namaqua close behind, with Dandi march and Thailand racing together, while Blazing Bay was at the tail end. Dandi March made his move early and soon pounced on the front running duo to wrest the advantage. Once in the lead, jockey Sandesh had to only sustain the momentum and the Shiraz Sunderji ward galloped relentlessly all the way. Thailand missed the chance and fell back initially as they turned for home and then found it tough going to bounce back. He covered good ground in the late stages to finish on the haunches of the winner. 

Noshir Cama trained Pokerface (Stern Opinion - Silk Runner, Pratap Racecitement) had few takers although he had been fairly consistent of late. Pokerface, with jockey B Nikhil in the saddle, stuck close behind leader Colombianaprincess until well into the straight and then unleashed a powerful run to overhaul the leader and build a sizable lead. True Grit started to progress on the outside but could not close in on Pokerface. Oracle too was close behind but failed to muster. Just when it looked like Pokerface was going to have it easy, Charging Tigress started to devour ground giving the rail-birds something to shout about, but it was an effort far too late and Pokerface held on to win with a fair measure of comfort. Charging Tigress finished a good second pegging back True Grit and Oracle in a close finish for the minor slots. 

Trainer Malesh Narredu's ward Astounding Bay (Arazan - Southern Bay, Poonawalla Stud) notched up her maiden victory on her fourth start in a thrilling finish. Starting off quickly Astounding Bay led them all the way into the straight before the dramatics began. While Downey  started to goad Silver King from the bend, Moriseiki stuck by the pair until the end. Jockey Yash Narredu had a task on hand as Astounding Bay was running a bit erratic right through but he handled the filly well to stick it out until the end. He was challenged from either side with Silver King getting too close for comfort and Moriseiki asking questions from the outside. Astounding Bay held on grimly to pull off a narrow win with Silver King and Moriseiki breathing down her neck. 

Jockey A Sandesh played a big part to get Sylvester across the line in a tight finish. He had to cover considerable ground in the straight as initially both Whoopsidaisy and Flying Dragon were resisting stubbornly. jockey Sandesh rode his heart out and also had to make split-second decisions which way to move, but kept his presence of mind and moved between the two horses in front. He got that little bit extra out of the Adhirajsingh Jodha trainee and headed Flying Dragon in the nick of time to carve out a narrow victory. Whoopsidaisy ended third a length and half behind. 

Divine Power (Arazan - Amazing Ray, Poonawalla Stud) and Jetfire had a marathon dual as they fought stride for stride right from the turn. They were stuck together for the good part of the straight and it was Jetfire who blinked first. Divine Power, trained by Altaf Hussain and well ridden by jockey NS Parmar, prevailed, winning by well over a length to add to his solitary career win. For Jetfire it was another heart-break, finishing second best for the sixth time! Myrcella finished a neck ahead of Officer In command for the third place.

Unimaginable (Saamidd -  Fabulousday, Hazara Stud) scored his maiden win after a long dual with Speedo in the straight. Speedo  led them into the straight and soon was challenged by unimaginable. Both the horses had apprentice jockeys astride with PS Kavraj and Malam Singh going at each other in a no-holds-barred contest. Unimaginable eventually wore Speedo down but not without a jostle that could have helped end Speedo's challenge earlier than it did.Bee Quirky nosed out Padmakosa for the third place. 

For the professionals, jockey A Sandesh was the lone pro to register a double.