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MULTITUDE AND SURAJ STEAL THE SHOW

By Epsom Ace | 23 Jul 2019 | KOLKATA


Trainer Vijay Singh leading Multitude (Suraj Narredu Up), winner of The Harry The Horse Cup

Trainer Vijay Singh and ace visiting jockey Suraj Narredu combined with telling effect to register a brilliant treble at RCTC on Tuesday.  Vijay Singh’s seven-year-old Multitude (Multidimensional-Haedi) was given a calculated ride by Suraj Narredu to land the spoils in the seven furlong race for the Harry The Horse Cup. Suraj had him in touch with the front-runners Lincoln and Amorous White till into the straight where he changed gears to draw clear. However, the race was far from over as recent Delhi migrant Big Orange moved with giant strides in the final furlong. Narredu had to pull out all stops to ensure that the backers of the public choice did not return home disappointed. Amorous White ran a good race to finish a fair third.

The day in fact belonged to Suraj as he enjoyed a hundred percent strike rate with a score of three wins from three rides. Suraj’s other two winners were the Vijay Singh-trained pair of Adhira and Sniper – both running in the popular green-and-gold silks of Subir Dasgupta.  Though Top Notch was the piping hot favourite in the Annihilator Plate for three-year-olds, he never looked a winner at any stage of the race and finished a tame third. The filly Adhira (Varenaar-Charlotte Point) was blazing the track and she reproduced it in Suraj’s hands as the gates opened. After taking charge early in the race, she never looked back. Stablemate Inca was slow into stride but finished on impressively to be a good runner-up. The other two fancied runners in the race – Mckeown-trained Avebury and Avellino – were both completely outclassed by the winner and the last named had the ignominy of finishing last. With this victory, Adhira may spearhead the owner’s hopes in the Fillies Trial in early September.

Despite an eight-month lay-off, Sniper’s preparation proved sufficient to overcome his rivals in the mile race for The Vagabond Handicap. The four-year-old by Kingda Ka out of Zellers pulled off a difficult win – thanks to the perseverance of his rider. It seemed that Bharath Singh-trained Bojangles may make every post a winning one but the front-runner came unstuck in the final 100 metres of the mile race. It was his first attempt over a mile and his performance was noteworthy. Fiorelle was an eye-catching third.

The afternoon’s opener, The Jeweller Handicap, was bagged by the 5/2 public choice Mr Fogg’s from Arti Doctor’s yard. The six-year-old bay gelding was given a confident ride by apprentice RS Bhati to get the better of Aquitania and the fast-finishing Othello. Trainer Arti Doctor completed a double when Trevor Patel guided home the public choice, three-year-old filly Eastside (Arabian Gulf-Khursaniyah), to a splendid win in The Smart Charmer Cup. After lying in mid-division till the top of the straight, Trevor set her alight and she responded magnificently. This top-weight victory makes her a front-line contender for the Fillies Trial in early September.

The second race of the day for the lowest rated runners, saw a keen tussle between Aggression and Xlite before the latter prevailed thanks to CS Jodha’s finishing punch.  The Javed Khan-trained six-year-old by Sussex out of Bling had the benefit of a run and it paid dividends. Rodrigues-trained Gramercy Park ran a forward race and will be worth following. She is a well-bred four-year-old filly by Win Legend out of Manhattan Rain and is certain to improve further.

The disappointment of the afternoon was Bharath Singh-trained Aquaracer in the Fair Mona Handicap, who despite carrying a feather-weight of 46kg on her back, finished a bad last. She did not plant in the gates, which means that she was not prepared enough to race. In the same race, the favourite Angel Grace finished an unimpressive fourth. The race was won by top-weight Midnight Star (Gaswar-Minnie Mouse) from Manvendra Singh’s yard who was given one hell of a ride by top-weight jockey Mahesh. Another heavyweight Lumos was a good second. In this race, backers of Angel Grace and Aquaracer felt cheated but they had nothing to complain about for the rest of the afternoon.