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IMMORTALITY WINS VILLOO POONAWALLA INDIAN OAKS (GR1)

By Mahendra Mallya | 07 Mar 2021 | MUMBAI


What a Finish! The Villoo Poonawalla Indian Oaks (Gr1) lived up to its top billing with a fantastic fight between two top notch fillies Immortality and Forest Flame that went all the way to the wire. The usually accurate commentator Deepak Rajpal too was non-committal saying “It’s anybody’s race, it could be Immortality or Forest Flame,” which is rare considering his hawk-eye-spotting that we are familiar with for decades!  

The start though was a sedate one as they went about their motions with the ‘elite’ in the field expectedly racing off the pace. Successor set a decent pace with Arcadian, Fire N Ice and Lake Tahoe making quick progress to race in the front bunch. Born Queen was thereabouts, while Immortality, Forest Flame and Lombardy were towards the rear end.

Arcadian and Successor were fighting hard for the lead and also to stay in contention soon on turning for home. Alluring Silver made an early move and progressed to close in on the front runners. Born Queen was in trouble finding herself surrounded from all sides; Forest Flame went for the railings and Trevor’s brave move nearly paid off. He found the room he was hoping for and soon went past Acadian and Successor to snatch the lead. Immortality was gathering momentum and she easily galloped past Alluring Silver and there began the fight between Forest Flame and Immortality, the battle-ground measuring just under 200 meters.

Both Forest Flame and Immortality (Multidimensional – Psychic Light, Usha Stud) were in full flight and going neck and neck. When Immortality put her nose in front it was clear that the bob of the head would be the deciding factor as Forest Flame was up to the challenge as well. Immortality got the nod right Jockey PS Chouhan astride Immortality ought to take a bow for a job well accomplished. Nevertheless, Chouhan would have also heaved a sigh of relief, as many would have felt that he had left it a tad too late considering the filly’s forward run at Hyderabad. That’s what success can do – eliminate all uncomfortable questions post the race result!

“It was too close a call and I am delighted that Immortality eventually returned victorious. This is the 16th Indian Oaks (Gr1) success for Usha Stud and we were tied with the Poonawalla Stud Farm at 15 each. Immortality is an out and out stayer and our Stallion Multidimensional is a great staying influence. I feel she would have won with a better margin had she not been languishing in the rear for as long as she did. She has a tremendous turn of foot which she showcased in her Oaks win as well at Hyderabad where she led from the half-way mark by a comfortable margin. This was way too close but I am happy all the same,” said owner and breeder Ms Ameeta Mehra over a telephonic conversation.

For Pesi too this was a record 9th Success in the Indian Oaks (Gr1). With the legendary Uttam Singh earning a blissful retirement, Pesi is the most eligible one to take the mantle of being the ‘Ladies’ Man’ title from the original master trainer.

Another Multi Classic winner Lagarde (Kingda Ka – La Terrasse, Nanoli Stud) also hoisted his flag on the iconic Mahalaxmi turf with a hard-fought victory while winning the Ramniwas Ramnarain Ruia Gold Cup (Gr3). Going over the 2000m trip start to finish, Lagarde showed courage and grit warding off a stiff challenge from old foe Nisus.

Nisus joined Lagarde soon as they turned for home and the epic battle began early in the straight. Although Nisus was constantly threatening having joined Lagarde on the outside, he could not get away. Lagarde was up to the challenge and put in a determined fight making Nisus stretch to the maximum. These two were well ahead of the rest approaching the distance post, which is why the late finish from North Star and Roaring Tiger fell through. Lagarde stayed on to win by half a length from Nisus, with North Star just holding off Roaring Tiger by a neck for third place. Roaring Tiger had too much to do in the straight and although he finished close among the top four, he never really was in the running on all practical terms as was the case with North Star as well. For Lagarde, this was his fourth win on the trot and fifth overall from six starts. His three wins before the Ruia Gold were in the Classics – the Bangalore 2000 Guineas (Gr2), the Indian 2000 Guineas (Gr1) run at Pune and the Bangalore Derby (Gr1). The Ruia Cup now enhances his chances for the forthcoming Indian Derby (Gr1) at the end of this month.

Malesh Narredu saddled a double on the big day. His ward Storm Breaker (Leitir Mor – Haunting Memories, Poonawalla Stud) put in a determined show to first fight off Hidden Gold and then fight even harder to snatch victory right on the post after Golden Guest appeared to have had it sewn up. Hidden Gold and Storm Breaker entered the straight together and matched strides in the early half of the homestretch. Just when Storm Breaker seemed to have had the measure of hidden Gold, Golden Guest arrived with a strong finish. While Hidden Gold was dispatched, Golden Guest had a slight upper hand as he headed past Storm Breaker. However, jockey Akshay Kumar astride Storm Breaker rode hard and clawed his way back to get the nod right at the wire to clinch a thrilling last stride victory. Golden Guest went down by a short-head, while Hidden Gold ended another two lengths behind.      

Malesh Narredu then saddled Leopard Rock (Kingda Ka – Besame Mucho, Nanoli Stud) who thundered away carrying all of 62 kilos in the hands of jockey YS Srinath to score his fifth win from seven starts. Leopard Rock settled in the mid-bunch until the turn as Sky Fall led them in, with Red Carnation, Rambler and Market King close behind. Leopard Rock looked dominating as he came at them full of steam and stormed past to seal the issue early. He galloped on gamely to score a facile victory by a healthy margin. Favourite Costa Rica arrived with a late run to finish second ahead of Sky Fall.

Pesi Shroff trained Theodora (Letir Mor – Lovely Kiss, Poonawalla Stud) scored a facile victory on debut, with apprentice jockey Kirtish Bhagat having to do precious little in the saddle. Theodora settled well and quickly in second position, unperturbed by the sizable lead that Little More had compiled in the early half of the race.   

Although Little More was still well ahead on turning for home, Theodora caught the eye in the way the filly was cruising along. She soon swept aside Little More and rocketed ahead at good speed to make it a no contest. Theodora could only be faulted for not maintaining a straight course as she drifted out and then back inwards, but she was way too far ahead for any concern. She won by a good margin of four-and-half lengths. Gutsy Girl ran on to finish second, while William Wallace improved positions in the straight to rally well and snatch the third spot from Aira and Streek in a three way finish for the minor slots.      

Trainer SN Joshi’s Gold Crest (Juniper – Ocean Crest, Master Racing Stud) scored an encore and that she had promised in her previous winning run. It was not as easy this time though as she had to dig deep to get the measure of Northern Singer, who fought all the way.

Dancing Emperor led them into the straight and fell back. Stick to the Plan had barely taken over when Northern Singer came along and snatched the lead. Gold Crest was some distance away with about a furlong and half to go and apprentice jockey AS Peter got into the act and started bridging the gap at a brisk rate. He got past half a dozen rivals to get to Northern Dancer and there the fight began with a little over 100m to go. Northern Singer stayed put for as long as he could but in the last couple of strides, Gold Crest collard him to lunge forward and win by 3/4 of a length. Myrcella finished fast too but was way too late, finishing another neck behind Northern Singer.

Justified (Multidimensional – Secret Garden, Usha Stud) rose to the occasion and finally added to his solitary victory, which had come in April of 2019 on his second start. With a string of ordinary performances since, the tote dividend on Justified showed in the three figures for a tenner.

On the turf, Tiberius raced in the front at an average pace to lead them all the way into the straight. Moriseiki got alongside soon, but didn’t have much left to build on it. Brazos surged in front and led for a brief length of time before Sandesh got Justified to the front. Once in the lead, Justified had it easy and he kicked on ahead and increased the gap over Brazos. Much was expected off Socrates, but he had given away a lot of leeway and found it tough to even make a fight of it. Perhaps the tilt in weights contributed to his loss as he finished a tame third, more than six lengths from the Imtiaz Sait trained winner.

Kamilah (Roderic O’Connor -  My Lakhsmi, Villoo’s Greenfield Farms) scored a memorable debut win in the hands of jockey Sandesh. The Sunderji ward made a dash for it soon after entering the homestretch. Visionary was out in front with Ahead Of His Time just beginning to chase the leader down. Alfayiz too was moving between horses when Sandesh opened the throttle on Kamilah. The filly accelerated well instantly and sustained her upper hand all the way past the post to carve out a comfortable victory. Alfayiz managed to pip Ahead Of His Time on the post to snatch the runner-up berth. Alfayiz may have a valid reason to complain as he got hemmed between Ahead Of his Time and Kamilah at a crucial juncture and got a check. That perhaps skewed his rhythm which probably made his task a lot more difficult. He bears watching next time out.

Steppenwolf (Dean’s Kitten – Queen Rania, Sohna Stud) pulled off a sensational win fighting all the way to the wire. Apprentice jockey K Nazil was resolute and rode his heart out as did Neeraj Rawal atop Oui Sauvage the close runner-up. This pair were stuck by one another right on entering the homestretch and battled every inch of the ground. At one point Oui Sauvage even looked like he would break free, but Nazil and Steppenwolf were not in a mood to relent. They put in an even more determined show and never let Oui Sauvage any advantage than he had already taken. In a last ditch effort, Steppenwolf gave it his all and just managed to touch the wire with his flared nostril to avoid a dead-heat and snatch the race in an absolute humdinger of a finish! Arc Shine had to move around the top two as she got stuck behind them and that may have cost her dearly as she finished a close third. Goshawk too received a check and did well to finish in the frame.    

Narendra Lagad’s On Va Danser (Varenar – Snowy Day in La, Equus Stud) pulled off an upset win in the concluding race of the day. Trinket was on a start to finish mission and fought hard all through the six furlong sprint. On Va Danser came with a challenge midway down the straight, with Titanium also throwing in his might. Who Dares Wins was not too far away, but failed to quicken. Jockey Kavraj Singh rode out hard to get On Va Danser home with a length and something to spare. Trinket held on from Titanium for the runner up berth. While Who Dares Wins ended a tame fourth, Farahnoush recovered well from a tardy start, rallying well from the last position to finish one off the frame finishing just half a length behind Who Dares Wins.

For the professionals, trainers Pesi Shroff and Malesh Narredu and jockeys A Sandesh and Akshay Kumar scored a double each.