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GALLANTRY WINS TALYARKHAN TROPHY ON DEBUT

By Mahendra Mallya | 21 Feb 2019 | MUMBAI


Dr Ram Shroff leading Gallantry (A Sandesh Up), winner of The A F S Talyarkhan Trophy

Malesh Narredu trained Gallantary (Kingda Ka - Vittori, Nanoli Stud) took a while to warm up and finished with a steaming gallop to win the Talyarkhan Trophy making it a memorable first win. He was off quickly and soon settled in second behind Belenus who lead them all the way into the straight. 

Belenus kicked on after entering the straight and Gallantry, with jockey A Sandesh in the saddle, started to work his way to wipe off the two-length plus lead that the leader enjoyed. Sandesh had to urge Gallantry and started pushing him to quicken. Gallantry responded well and soon started to cover the leeway and draw level approaching the distance post. He then surged ahead and sped away from Belenus to post a facile victory without encountering any serious challenge, winning it by a margin of two and half lengths. Belenus held on, warding off the late finishing Properly Posh to keep the runner up spot. 

Spitfire (Phoenix Tower - Athlone, Manjri Stud) showed he was cut above the rest while toying with the opposition and taking his career win tally to three. His chief rival Flying Visit had made his move early, leading the field right from the start. Spitfire was not too far away nestled between horses in the mid-bunch and improved steadily round the turn to be handily poised for the final run. 

Flying Visit was clearly ahead with 400 m to go but Spitfire accelerated fluently to collar Flying Visit soon after and then cruised ahead without encountering any resistance. Spitfire, trained by Pesi Shroff provided an easy ride to jockey P Trevor who just had to guide the tote favourite to eventually win by a healthy margin without having to go all out. Flying Visit found a better horse on the day. Questionable can take some positives from this run as he improved considerably to finish close behind Flying Visit. 

Jockey A Sandesh had a lucrative day driving home four winners in all including the feature event of the day - the Talyarkhan Trophy. He started off with a fine piece of riding astride trainer MK Jadhav's ward Ame (Diffident - Premier Connection, Yeravada Stud). He had to endure a bit of jostling early on and was up to the task finding his way to be second behind Bohemian until into the straight. Ame surged past Bohemian soon on turning for home and set off to build a handy lead. Sandesh rode out persistently and kept Ame well ahead of the pack to score comfortably in the end. Wabi Sabi, Highland Wind and Forever Free finished in a heap for the minor placing. 

Sandesh partnered Benevolence (Dean's Kitten - Bibi Karam, Sohna Stud) to hand the Imtiaz trainee filly her maiden victory on her ninth start. This one too was an easy assignment going by the manner in which Benevolence skipped away without needing to dig deep. 

Golden Orchid faded out soon after leading them into the straight and just as Dazzle N Daze put his nose in front, Benevolence zipped past to storm into the lead. It was all over then and there. Benevolence charged ahead with Sandesh egging her on, adding turf with every stride and drawing away from the rest. Fanfare did get squeezed between horses early in the straight but she did wriggle out soon enough and had every chance to do her best. however, Benevolence stretched out nicely to shut out any challenge and won with a good margin looking the winner long way from home. Fanfare ran on to take the runner-up spot, while Arrecife finished a third close behind. Savage Garden improved to finish close behind Arrecife and bears watching over the current or longer trips. 

Sandesh rounded off his day with another good effort atop Altaf Hussain's Angels Harmony (Varenar - Aliwiyya, Equus Stud) He was off to a quick start and led right from the beginning, chased by a bunch that was huddled together and hounding the leader. Sandesh rode out confidently in the straight and kept the tempo up as the others were vying behind him. Angels Harmony galloped determinedly and never let her guard down. Soon it turned out to be a futile chase for those behind her as Angels Harmony sustained her momentum and pulled off a comfortable victory, which was her first in Mumbai. Her only other win was in Pune in July last year. Isinit kept her decent form going by another place effort that got her the second slot ahead of Ebony and Transform. 

Aberlour (Burden of Proof - Quiet Storm, Kunigal Stud) was another one who registered his first win on the Mumbai turf his second over all. This one though was a tough race to crack for Aberlour and he deserves credit for his spirited effort and able but low-profile jockey SA Amit showed out in his efforts to match up to and beat greats like Trevor and Zervan this time. 

Zervan ridden Sullivan made the first charge soon on entering the straight and getting past Flammeus. Aberlour made his strong bid from the outside and came in charging at Sullivan. Strong Storm also put in his bid and Amit rode out well to launch an all out attack and snatch the race getting the better of two stalwarts in a close finish. Aberlour won by half a length from Strong Storm, another length and something behind was Sullivan. 

Hanumant Singh, another low-profile jockey did well astride Untitled (Sussex - Overdrive, Pratap Stud). Surprisingly although both Untitled and Slam Dunk belong to the same connections, both were supported strongly and were the top attraction in the betting ring showing a rare trend. 

Slam Dunk led them until into the straight and soon jockey Hanumant Singh had Untitled surge past his stable mate. Once ahead, untitled took complete charge and galloped away resolutely to romp home a clear winner. Adele improved positions and ran a good second. Slam Dunk stayed on to finish in the money, warding off Ridgewood Star and Roystone Rock. 

For the professionals, jockey A Sandesh was the star of the day scoring four winners.