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QUESTINA WINS DRC CUP WITH A SPARKLING RUN

By Mahendra Mallya | 29 Nov 2020 | MUMBAI


Trainer Imtiaz A Sait leading Questina (A Sandesh Up), winner of The DRC Cup

Questina (Phoenix Tower – Meadowlark, Manjri Stud) came from behind with a dazzling finishing run to swoop upon her tough opponents in the final 100 meters to score an impressive victory and claim the DRC Cup in style.

They were off with a rush and it was Storm Breaker who led the closely huddled bunch into the straight, enjoying a slender lead. Storm Breaker didn’t raise any hope as he huffed along to stay in contention. Hidden Gold had barely headed Storm Breaker when Dandi March raised hopes and arrived with a good run. He zipped ahead to lead briefly but could not counter the late, but blazing run that Questina produced from the wider outside. The Imtiaz Sait charge, ridden astutely by saddle ace Sandesh, stormed ahead of the fighting trio with ease and ran away to post a comfortable victory. Dandi March finished well ahead of Hidden Gold and Storm Breaker.

Pesi Shroff trainer Tigrio (Phoenix Tower – Tigress Noire, Manjri Stud) made an eye-catching debut to beat a rather more experienced lot, scoring a fine victory on his first outing. Memorable Eyes led them into the straight but soon faded out. Exotique made a strong forward surge and shot into the lead past the 400m mark. Royalty was also there but could not accelerate well enough to bother the new leader. Tigrio was the one who lit up in the hands of jockey Neeraj Rawal. He scorched the turf and collared Exotique with ease to score with a good measure of comfort. Exotique ended a good second, while Royalty finished in the money.

Luminous (Speaking of Which – Allaire, Usha Stud) from the stables of Vishal Gaekwad, was another debutante to open his account the first time out. Jockey Zervan settled Luminous well and early close behind leader Who Dares Wins and the fancied Head Honcho until the turn. While Head Honcho bowed out, Who Dares Wins kicked on gamely into the straight. Luminous soon came with a stiff challenge and got past the leader and take charge. Timur weaved his way between horses and made a forward dash. He however was a bit erratic and drifted out taking a couple of his opponents along. Luminous, meanwhile, had stolen a march and was well out of reach, landing the spoils by a little under two lengths from Timur. Arcadia managed to pip Who Dares Wins for the place money.

Dallas Todywalla trained Lorito (Arazan – Mufradat, Poonawalla Stud) was the third debutante on the day to make a successful start. Lorito made it clear that he didn’t belong to the lowest class. What makes his debut run more impressive is that he was carrying a heavy impost of 62 kilos, then didn’t get the best of starts and was positioned closer to the rear end of the field; had to cover extra ground to make his run from the widest out, yet managed to dish out a sustained finishing effort to floor some battle-scarred opponents to emerge victorious. Lorito could not have asked for a more dramatic fruitful first outing. Jockey Trevor rode out well to guide Lorito through the rough passage. Chezza too finished on well to pip Retained Asset and Miss Scarlet for the runner up berth.

Trainer Deepesh Narredu was the lone Nobel Queen (Night of Thunder – Manila Bay, Sohna Stud) was the fourth first-timer to return victorious on the first outing. It didn’t seem all the easy in the early stages as Nobel Queen was behind a bunch of horses at the turn and had to manoeuver her way between horses to get a clear run. Casanova Prince had just taken charge approaching the distance post when jockey Yash Narredu got Nobel Queen going. The filly responded with a crisp gallop and they got past the leader with ease and then galloped further away to secure her moment of pride. Casanova Prince ended a game second ahead of North Star.

Deepesh then led-in Bonafide (Excellent Art – Bolt, Poonawalla Stud) in the last race of the day. The speedy mare, ridden by Shrikant Kamble, hit the front soon on start and accelerated well all the way to post a facile victory without seeming in any danger. Exotic Queen, Gods Word and Sky Fall all seemed to make no impact on Bonafide who galloped on gamely to win by close to five lengths.

Narendra Lagad’s Falconette (Ravel – Chhatari Stud) with jockey Kavraj Singh up, took advantage of a good start and led the field turning for home. She soon stole a march and piled up a decent cushion and that proved handy in the shorter Pune straight. Julio Cesaro made a good attempt but in vain as he had too much to do in the straight. He ended on the haunches of stablemate Falconette. Periwinkle was the pick of the beaten lot. She was way behind until the turn and then arrived with a steady gallop, covering a lot of ground to finish close behind the top two. This run should strip her on and over, perhaps an extra furlong, Periwinkle may prove to be a profitable wager.      

Trainer Deepesh Narredu was the lone pro to notch up a double.