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IMMORTALITY WINS HRC GOLCONDA OAKS (GR2)

By Mahendra Mallya | 31 Jan 2021 | HYDERABAD


Trainer Pesi Shroff leading Immortality (PS Chouhan up), winner of the HRC Golconda Oaks (Gr.2)

Pesi Shroff trained Immortality (Multidimensional – Psychic Light, Usha Stud) blossomed to produce an imposing gallop at the business end, showing great character and determination in keeping the favourite Lombardy at bay and winning the HRC Golconda Oaks (Gr 2).

The early pace of the race was slow as most of the runners were reluctant to go into the lead. Fire N Ice took it up and led a closely knitted bunch over half the 2400 m distance, before making way for Immortality to take charge. Jockey PS Chouhan made the bold move to hit the front with a little over five furlongs to go. Lombardy made smooth progress and before long was right on the tail of the new leader.

Immortality entered the straight with Lombardy right behind and it was clear that these two were the only serious contenders as the others were not making much impact on the duo.  Lombardy at one stage, closed-in; Immortality drifted outward as well and there was a furlong more to go. Trevor even shifted lanes and moved inwards, but Immortality sped away in the last few strides and snuffed the fight out of Lombardy to win with a comfortable two and quarter lengths to win the classic with unexpected ease. Lombardy fought hard but her effort was good enough only to fetch her the runner-up slot. Lake Tahoe, Luminous and Fire N Ice finished together taking the minor slots with little separating them.

“It is a moment of joy for several reasons,” said Ms Ameeta Mehra, breeder and owner of Immortality. “Yes, she won well beating the local champion Lombardy, which we all felt would take some doing. What gave us a real sense of satisfaction was the fact that Immortality won despite such little experience. Her first run ought to be discounted, as that was a year back. So effectively, she was only one run old. The postponement of the Oaks at Hyderabad made us think about running her here. She had put on condition after her maiden win and although she had won a class IV race at Pune, Pesi and I decided on giving her a chance. I was only hoping that she would run a good race and see how she took to the longer trip. What she produced was delightful. Lombardy looked a picture in the paddock and honestly, I would have been happy if she had paced, given the lack of time in preparation, thereby pushing her into the deep end sooner than ideally should have been the case. Immortality certainly did us proud,” said Mrs Ameeta Mehra, breeder and owner of Immortality.  Asked if she had deliberately not sold the filly, Ameeta said, “I had retained the filly as I thought she was of higher value than the offers I got and I am now pleased with my decision to keep her,” concluded Ms Ameeta Mehra.  

Galloping Gangster (Declaration of War – Firebird) trained by Laxman Singh and ridden by Suraj Narredu, scored an emphatic win, producing a strong finishing run to post a handsome victory. The Great Gatsby led them into the straight with Pontius Pilate, Yours Forever and Galloping Gangster tuning in for the final run. The Great Gatsby travelled in nicely but when asked for an effort, he fizzled out. Galloping Gangster got going and shot ahead of the leader and then accelerated fluently to stay afar from the rest. Yours Forever tried to catch up in vain, finishing second best by over two lengths. Nayadeep improved to beat Pontius Pilate for the place money.

House of Diamonds (Smuggler’s Cove – Choice House) put up a determined show winning the Sweet Girl Plate start-to-finish. The Sequeira trained filly had Days of Reckoning alongside as they straightened up for home and Marinetti lurking close behind. Jockey Akshay Kumar rode out the filly vigorously all the way, successfully warding off Days of Reckoning first and then holding off the late challenge from Conscious Gift. House of Diamonds though always ahead, had to sustain his momentum all the way as the challengers were keeping her on her toes all the time. She eventually hit the wire etching out a half-length victory over Conscious Gift. Exclusive Art was the one to catch the eye, finishing from a long way back, doing well to snatch the third spot from Days of Reckoning as she did arrive with a good burst of speed towards the end. Marinetti disappointed as he had all the chances, being prominent at the turn, but just could not capitalize.  

Blue Valentine (China visit – Angelic Aria) was made to fight hard to make a successful debut, with Sun Dancer first and then Lightning Fairy making the Deshmukh trained filly run all the way. Trevor followed Ice Berry until into the straight and soon surged ahead working up a nice pace. He built a handy lead within the first furlong of the stretch and then all he had to do was sustain the momentum. Sun Dancer put in his bit at the distance post but was finding it difficult to get too close to Blue Valentine. Lightning Fairy was the one to rush the leader. She was way down the field with only one behind her when they entered the straight, yet Lightning Fairy covered considerable ground to only fall short by a neck! For a first run, Blue Valentine did very well to hold her ground and earn a memorable debut win. Lightning Fairy would rue not being able to open her account despite a commendable effort. Sun Dancer finished a fair third.

Another debutante Watch My Stride, from Sequeira’s yard too made a flashy start to his career with a resounding win against a more experienced lot.  Watch My Stride (Whatsmyscript – Flamingo Fan) got off to a good start and jockey Akshay Kumar drove him to the front setting off at a good pace. Proud and Limoncello were up close while Siyavash had to come out a wider draw from the gates.

Watch My Stride strode out well once they entered the homestretch and soon looked dominating over his rivals. Proud did shape to get a bit closer, but could not do so as Watch My Stride kicked on gamely bouncing off towards the winning post, keeping Proud safely behind to notch up a well-earned winning bracket. Proud ran on to finish second just under a length behind, while Limoncello did well to finish in the money.

Different (Green Coast – La Reine), trained by Hassan, lived up to the promise of his two previous runs and this time showed a lot of resolve to cross the line and picked up his maiden victory. Gusty Note was in front and Different had to pull up all his might to wear him down. Jockey Akshay Kumar gave it his all to get past Gusty Note and just when he looked to have had it covered, Scramjet arrived with a big gallop to nearly spoil his party. Scramjet covered considerable ground especially in the last 100 meters but fell shy by a neck. Different scraped through as Scramjet came dangerously close,  to finish a notable second. Gutsy Note did well to finish in the money.

L D’Silva trained Blink of an Eye (Total Gallery – Wow The Critics) was another one to score a maiden victory on the day. Jockey Laxmikanth guided Blink of an Eye to the front with Art In Motion close behind, the rest following a couple of lengths away.

Blink of an Eye raced ahead on turning for home leaving the rest to chase her down. Art In Motion could not hold on for too long and fell back as Appenzelle started to warm up. However, Appenzelle just could not accelerate well enough and Blink of an Eye looked safely ahead in the final 100 meters. Hurricane too was right there making his presence felt, but it was Star Dancer who caught the eye with a scorching finish as he got them all but the winner. Star Dancer had left too much to do in the straight, yet he finished less than a length from Blink of an Eye and that was a commendable effort and well worth noting for her next run.

Other than Galloping Gangster and Different, the rest of the winners were at the helm at the turn.  Keeping to the day’s trend, Classy Dame (Corporate Jungle – Yasmine) too won employing the start-to-finish tactics to bring up her maiden win on her tenth start.

Classy Dame galloped gamely right from the start and had a decent lead coming into the straight. She then accelerated well in the hands of apprentice jockey Abhay Singh and stretched out nicely to look the winner coming into the final furlong. She had enough momentum to last her through and she won well, easing up in the last part. Super Act, although never in the hunt, ran on to finish second ahead of Stormy.

For the professionals, jockey Akshay Kumar was the leading pro for the day riding home three winners, while trainer RH Sequeira saddled a double.