Superstar Ruffina (Excellent Art – Miss Danehill, Villoo’s Greenfield Farm) yet again emerged victorious, stamping her class and showing blazing speed to be crowned the Sprint champion for the successive second year. She won the Sprinters’ Cup 2019 showing the kind of top speed that pitches her right among the ‘All-time greats’ of Indian racing history! Ruffina beat an illustrious set of speedsters with minimum effort and it’s the manner of victory that stands out in placing her high above the rest. There was not a moment of anxiety as Ruffina settled in the mid-bunch and opened, I would say half-throttle and that was enough to dominate high class opposition, making some regional-best runners look ordinary.

Star Baron got past Clymene in the early stages to lead the field, while jockey Sandesh eased Ruffina close behind in the midst of a huddle, with Rahul’s Pet and Mauritania right there and Tutankhamun keeping Ruffina company. Accolade and the rest were not too far away either, while Corfe Castle was at the wrong end of the field all the way into the homestretch.

Lord Baron paled quickly as Ruffina bulldozed her way through the pack cleanly bushwhacked her opponents with an early getaway. The moment Ruffina took charge past the 300 m mark, it was all over for the rest. The Dallas Todywalla trained wonder-filly simply sped away and romped home without dropping sweat. She accelerated beautifully and won the admiration of the entire racing fraternity as she flew past the winning post, for a final time as it was later revealed by her owner, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, that she would now retire to his stud farm.  

Ruffina won without a fuss Mauritania edged out Tutankhamun for the runner up berth, while Accolade ended a good fourth. Corfe Castle was hopelessly poised coming into the homestretch, but did well under the circumstances to finish one off the frame.

“She is an easy filly to train,” revealed trainer Dallas Todywalla, “and a pleasure to have in the yard. I was happy with her final workout and was confident that she would do well. All I do is keep her happy and that’s all she needs. She has given me great joy and she is right among the top horses that I have been fortunate to train,” concluded the trainer.

Sacred Roman (Holy Roman Emperor – Clicquot, Jai Govind Stud) was keen and bullish right from the start. He showed positive hurry as he darted into the lead soon at start and jockey Leigh Roche held him on tight reins all through the straight as they passed the winning post the first time. There was no much change when they returned for the finish and Sacred Roman looked the same as he did when he had set the tone for the race soon on start, about two minutes earlier. Kambaku had tried to essay the runaway tactics and he snatched the lead going into the back stretch. The field spread out considerably. Sacred Roman planted himself firmly in second all the way until into the straight, while fancied runner Whatsmyscript was languishing in the rear, streets away from the action. He raised neither a quality gallop nor an iota of hope.

Sacred Roman looked fresh for the showdown as he easily sped past Kambaku soon on turning for home. The Pesi Shroff trainee showed tremendous acceleration as he stretched away from the rest. Sacred Roman was leagues ahead as he galloped zestfully and showing no fatigue what so ever. I doubt if Shroff’s cuff even moved when he would have put the back of his palm to his ward’s nostrils on his triumphant return. Raees ran on to peg back Kambaku for the runner up berth. Kambaku did well to grab the third place, while Nanhipari earned some brownie point for a good effort of figuring in the frame.

Jockey Suraj Narredu had to dig deep to force a win atop favourite Brainstorm (Dream Ahead – Roof Fiddle) to clinch the J & T Million in an exciting finish. The rest fell back and it was Isabella and Brainstorm going at each other in a battle-royal that lasted through the final 300 meters. Isabella held a slight edge until Brainstorm drew level with still more than a 100 to go. Brainstorm seemed to have got the measure but Isabella fought back strongly and they flashed by the wire inseparable to the naked eye. Brainstorm just managed to win by a short-head. That’s My Class did well to finish third ahead of Courage.

Shroff trained Valegro (Canford Cliffs – Choice House) stuck by Shaquille in the lead all the way into the straight. He soon upped the ante and shot ahead in the final two furlongs and once jockey Leigh Roche assumed charge, Valegro galloped on powerfully to sustain the momentum and draw clear of the rest and win the Country Stud Farms Million with ease. Valegro did commendably well to adjust to the shorter trip after having made the pace and lasting well into the straight in the Indian Derby. Akita Pro emerged from way behind and finished a good second ahead of Super Dart and Treasure Delight.

Swansea (Whatsthescript – Guest of Honour) drove the weight advantage to the hilt moving up smartly through the first two furlongs to go for the lead as soon as she could manage. She entered the straight with a handy lead and galloped well to build on it. Neither Born Greek nor Consigliori made any impact on her as she kicked on into the final furlong with a sizable lead. Roma Victor took a while to get going, while Victory Parade drifted under pressure and this made Swansea’s task a tad easier. Roma Victor galloped strongly in the final furlong, but had too much to do. Swansea, trained by L D’Silva and ably ridden by C Umesh strode out nicely to stay well ahead of Roma Victor and bag the Deccan Bookmakers Welfare Association Juvenile Million and bring up her maiden victory in style. Born Greek withstood the late assault of Victory Parade to save the place money.

Well-backed Siyabonga (Kingda Ka – Carousal) thrilled her supporters by dishing out a clinical performance to claim the Global Stud Million. Jockey Akshay Kumar held the Laxman Singh trained filly in the sixth position in the crowded bunch and switched lanes soon on entering the straight. Ashwa Arjun was just trying to extend his lead but had Siyabonga challenging him strongly past the 400 m mark. He fought hard but could not stand the assault as Siyabonga strode out powerfully to surge ahead approaching the distance post. Siyabonga looked the winner long way from home and landed the spoils in an emphatic manner. Ashwa Arjun didn’t let anyone else get past, while Soul Empress improved to beat Alta Vita for the third place.

The Laxman Singh – Akshay Kumar combo struck again in the very next race with Mozambique (Western Aristocrat – Jahanara) to clinch the Telangana Race Horse Association Million with an impressive show of speed and dominance. Mozambique was clearly superior to the rest and this one panned out to be a one-horse race.

Mozanbique led from the start and entered the straight with a big lead and she galloped on gamely all the way to the wire, giving not even a semblance of a chance to any of her rivals. They all came panting in after she zipped past the post on a tight rein. Run Forest Run improved to take the runner-up slot well-ahead of  Royal Green and Rapid Fire.

Deshmukh’s Actually (Royal Gladiator – Antilia) held on grimly to the lead that he had compiled coming into the final furlong. He had to counter a very strong bid from Wood Bridge and jockey PS Chouhan did extremely well to ride out Actually to full potential and eventually bring home the Bol Sports Bulletin Million in a tight and determined finish. Wood Bridge didn’t everything right but failed to nail Actually. Diesis Dream pegged back Mossad to save place money.

For the professionals, ace trainer Pesi Shroff won three races, while trainer Laxman Singh saddled a double; jockeys Akshay Kumar and Leigh Roche scored a double each.