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FRANCIS BACON POSTS THIRD WIN THIS SEASON

By Mahendra Mallya | 26 Sep 2021 | HYDERABAD


Trainer L V R Deshmukh leading Francis Bacon (P Trevor Up), winner of The Major Mir Mujtaba Hussain Memorial Cup

Francis Bacon (Born to See – Look Over) justified the heavy support and thrilled his backers with a resounding win to clinch the Major Mir Mujtaba Hussain Memorial Cup with a good measure of comfort.

Settling alongside leader City of Wisdom, Francis Bacon was kept in check by jockey Trevor until into the straight. The leading pair had a fair leeway over the rest, hence when Francis bacon quickened for home, there was a lot of ground for the others to cover. Francis Bacon, a frequent front runner, found it easy to build over the lead and gallop on all the way and win by a good margin of three and half lengths. Dandy Man who improved from the rear, did raise hopes midway down the straight, but just could not sustain. He however, beat the rest to take the runner-up berth. Mark My word edged out The Special One for the third place.  

Laxman Singh trained Limoncello pulled off a start to finish victory but she had to be pressed as there was a strong challenge from close rival Due Diligence in the homestretch. After a good jump, Limoncello settled in front with Uravsi, Advance Guard close behind, while Due Diligence raced in the mid-pack until into the turn. Limoncello shook off the two behind him and sped ahead. Due Diligence progressed well and covered the gap to join Limoncello approaching the distance post. The duo fought hard for the next few strides, but Limoncello galloped on gamely, even pulling away from Due Diligence in the final couple of strides to emerge victorious by little over a length. Due Diligence returned a gallant runner-up finishing well ahead of the third placed Advance Guard.    

Icicle (Tenth Star – Connemara) put in a commendable performance that showed that she had sharpened up considerably after her debut run in March this year; her trainer D Netto had nursed her well in her recent morning track work to keep her ready, at her fighting best. Jockey Ashhad Asbar settled her in the mid-bunch until the turn and made headway soon after.

Quality Warrior led them into the straight with Divine Chakram but the latter bowed out of contention soon thereafter. Special Effort could not muster well enough and was galloping to stay in contention without raising any hope. Once Icicle arrived to take charge, the rest were done in. Icicle proved the fittest of the lot and surged ahead comfortably to then draw away from the field and compile her maiden win on her second start. Dream Station improved well to finish a decent second, beating front-runner Quality Warrior to third. Debutante Blue origin had an educative run and should strip fitter in his next.

Leo D’Silva trained Art In Motion (Green Coast – Pensacola) coasted to a fluent victory at longer odds, beating the fancied horses comprehensively. He was out quickly and jockey Afroz Khan had her in second behind Classy Dame until into the homestretch. Art In Motion didn’t take too long to surge ahead of Classy Dame and take charge. Story Teller improved as he got past the early leader, but found it tough to catch Art In Motion. Favourite Sea Wolf made no impact and with Story Teller not matching up, Art In Motion galloped away to glory, to win by a little over two lengths. Story Teller followed the winner home, while Classy Dame kicked on to finish in the money.

NRI Sport had been knocking on the door, while racing forward and placing in his last two outings. He came good in the hands of jockey Mukesh Kumar while galloping to his maiden win on his fourth attempt. The Sreekant trainee chased leader My master all the way into the straight before unleashing a spirited run to surge into the lead early in the straight and sustaining the momentum all the way home. The well-backed favourite Mireya didn’t show early speed and was closer to the rear and like she did in her last run, she veered out considerably towards the outer fence, thus losing whatever chance she had to make it count. Mireya ran on to take the runner up berth, but she was more than three lengths behind NRI Sport at the winning post. Aryaman showed good resolve though he lost the runner-up slot to Mireya closer home to finish half a length Mireya.

Jean Lafette (Knight’s Tour – Juex De Danse) thrived under jockey Ajinkya’s hands scoring his second win on the trot with the same rider. Jean Lafette travelled smoothly close behind leader Ashwa Jauhar and Kingston and made his move from the inner railings. Ashwa Jauhar shaped well in the first half of the straight as Kingston was trying hard to pick up speed. Jean Lafette was close behind these two with Hard to toss making her run from the outside. Ashwa Jauhar could not sustain past the distance post and just when Kingston was gearing up, Jean Lafette quickened between the two and shot ahead to skip away from Kingston and score by just over a length. Ashwa Jauhar kicked on to finish in the money.

Able Love (Sedgefield – Lopamudra) finally achieved her maiden success on her ninth start and she made it comfortably despite her jockey Gaurav Singh losing the whip at a crucial juncture. Miss Little Angel guided the field into the straight with Costello breathing down her neck. Soon Costello grabbed the lead and was dashing ahead when Able Love started to accelerate on the outside. She picked up speed and just when Gaurav went for the whip, it slipped out of his hand and fell. Gaurav did let the loss of whip get into his mind and focussed on urging the Ravindra Singh trained filly forward. Able Love was up to the task and charged ahead, moving faster with every stride and collared Costello and then stretched further ahead to win comfortably. Costello ran well to take the second spot well ahead of Over Joy.

Golden Forza (Varenar – Incandescent) created a flutter, putting on a fine start-to-finish show, where he got better towards the finish, snuffing the fight off his opponents in doing so. The Sreekant trained gelding had never finished in the frame in any of his six previous starts, hence was neglected in the betting. Jockey Mukesh Kumar set off well and had Golden Forza leading them into the straight. Silver Set tried to match strides but fell back. Big Day seemed on course but could not quicken well enough. Hashtag put in a burst and managed to beat the front running bunch, but could not sustain it well enough, hence found Golden Forza too good on the day. Golden Forza stretched further away in the final few strides to win easily by two lengths. Winning Player caught the eye, covering a lot of ground while finishing in the money, close alongside Hashtag.

For the professionals, trainers Laxman Singh and Sreekant saddled a double each, while jockey Mukesh Kumar scored a brace as well.