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MULTITUDE ADDS ANOTHER FEATHER TO HIS HAT

By Epsom Ace | 20 Aug 2019 | KOLKATA


Trainer Vijay Singh leading Multitiude (Suraj Narredu Up), winner of The Calcutta Monsoon Sprint

Trainer Vijay Singh’s well-tuned seven-year old war horse, Multitude (Multidimensional-Haedi), added one more feather to his already well-plumed hat when he won the Calcutta Monsoon Sprint in breath taking style at RCTC on Tuesday. With the vastly experienced Suraj Narredu in the saddle, the prolific sprinter was seen to be well off the pace for most part of the 1200m journey while Lincoln and Amorous White cut the wind. Suraj urged him to raise a gallop in the straight and he responded in stunning fashion in his own time to peg back Amorous White close home. It was almost as if the crack sprinter was aware where the winning post was and refused to be hurried. Kudos to his mentor!

The Calcutta Juvenile Sprint also went Vijay Singh’s way as Adhira (Varenar – Charlotte Point) romped home with Nikhil Naidu astride. The jockey had the misfortune of suffering a fall after crossing the winning post as Adhira hung in and bumped into the rails. Atom finished on a good second while the favourite Angel Grace was a laborious third thanks to Suraj’s unending efforts to get her to raise a gallop. It’s quite possible that some of these youngsters are not too keen on the monsoon track but may show their true mettle in winter.  

The day started with a good double for jockey CS Jodha. In the day’s opener, Jodha left nothing to chance as he guided Javed Khan-trained public choice The Last Judgment (Sussex-Midnight Club) to a comprehensive victory over his ten rivals. Next, Jodha won the 1100m race for the Thrifty Allan Handicap without much ado. Following stablemate and favourite Gaurish till the distance post, Vijay Singh-trained Marigold (Saamidd-Quiet Appeal) won as she liked. Sk Israil incurred a fine of Rs 10, 000/-  for the dissatisfactory handling of Uncrowned King.

Trainer Daniel David opened his account for the season with six-year-old Aquitania who was available at 10/1 and was the afternoon’s biggest outsider to come good. Following Stunner till well into the straight the speedy mare by Admiralofthefleet out of Rhapsody In Blue skated clear with apprentice Tejeshwar using the fly-weight to telling effect. The 5/1 favourite Whitewalker showed his ugly side once again as he refused gallop after the gates opened.  Christopher Alford incurred a fine of Rs 10,000/- for dropping his hands before the winning post while riding Lady Two.

Trainer HS Bath’s Fiorelle (Sedgefield-Alsabecaa) won the mile race for the Desiree Handicap in taking style. The favourite Sniper ended up a poor third after leading till the bend. Aapna Time Ayayega continued to earn his corn bill with yet another runner-up berth. 

The day’s proceedings came to an end when Raunak Banerji’s Joss (Aarazan-Sprungli) got the better of three-year-old favourite Topnotch over a mile. The seven year old drifted out to the outer rails and jockey Mahesh did the right thing by not fighting the drift. He continued to gallop on resolutely despite Srinath doing his utmost atop the favourite. It’s quite possible that the reason for his continued failure to hoist the winning flag lies in the fact that during his seven outings, Topnotch has not been able to hit the front at any stage in any of those races. This may just be the reason for his shortcoming. Once he sees daylight, he may be a transformed galloper.