Satish Narredu trained Touch of Grey’s stamina proved to be the decisive factor as he tackled the opposition in the HPSL-sponsored Indian St. Leger (Gr.1), the last Indian classic of this year’s racing calendar. Touch of Grey, who had lost to Jamari and Geographique last month, appeared to have coped with the gruelling mile and three quarter trip much better than his rivals including Jamari, a feat which fetched him the third group one victory of his career. The on-money favourite Jamari from Pesi Shroff’s yard failed to hoist her flag on the Pune race-track yet again but, despite being hampered for room when Trevor Patel was aiming to launch his final bid, she was expected perform better than finish behind High Command and Julius. Touch of Grey is co-owned by Messrs Balam Mohla, S. Narredu and Mrs Yashika Apana and the grey colt was bred at the Tohana Stud Farm.

Lionel set the early pace when the race was flagged off but Eaton Square was brushed up before passing the halfway mark to divest him of his lead. Eaton Square thereafter dictated the terms to his rivals headed by Exuma, Jamari and the rest. Madam Rich after coming into the back stretch drifted out and travelled towards the outer rails all the way. Suraj Narredu meanwhile brought Touch of Grey forward to stalk Jamari and then gradually improved his position to be at the forefront as the heads turned for home. Jamari was still travelling on the bit in the hands of Trevor but the filly was caught flat-footed as Suraj catapulted Touch of Grey into the pole position. All this while Trevor was attempting to get Jamari through the shortest way home but both Eaton Square and Exuma did not oblige him.  Thus Trevor and Jamari trotted into a messy situation, extrication from which proved to be a herculean task for the jockey. That apart, Suraj took his mount slightly across when overtaking Exuma, who shifted in on to Jamari and that probably brought curtains on the favourite’s chances. Having lost the momentum, Jamari could not recover as Touch of Grey stretched out under the whip. As the front-runners were going nowhere, Julius and High Command made a bid to catch Touch of Grey but all in vain. High Command pipped Julius on the post to wrest the runner-up spot with Jamari plodding behind to be fourth.

Prior to Jamari’s failure in the Leger, Shroff achieved a hat-trick in the  preceding three events. The bay colt Alexandros was ridden confidently by C. Umesh to carve a neck victory over favourite Inquilab, Black Thunder and Kimiko in a blanket finish for the Amazing Grace Trophy. Divine Hope, who is still a maiden, was taken to the front by Suraj with Mansa Musa racing well up with the pace. Favourite Inquilab raced in the mid-bunch behind Sands of Dubai whilst High Ground, Alexandros, Kimiko and Black Thunder not too far off. Alexandros moved smoothly as the race progressed to be alongside Mansa Musa and went in hot pursuit of Divine Hope, who led the field into the home stretch. Inquilab and Kimiko went slightly wide at the turn and joined the fray even as Mansa Musa called it a day. Suraj kept Divine Hope in the hunt till the last furlong but was overwhelmed by Alexandros and Black Thunder, who slipped through between the leaders and put her head in front for a stride or two. But Umesh drove Alexandros (Moonlight Magic – Alexandra Pearl) forcefully to snuff out Black Thunder’s challenge and hit the wire before Inquilab could catch him. A long-neck separated Alexandros from Inquilab with Black Thunder a short-neck behind and Kimiko half-length away.

The bay colt Cache made ample amends for his twin failures this season when graduating from the maiden ranks in the Caprisca Trophy, a Class IV handicap event run over seven furlongs. Silver Braid called the shots in the initial stages with Running Star, Timeless Vision and Desert Classic in close attendance. G. Vivek-partnered Cache, after joining the field ahead, was racing very keen and manoeuvred his way through the pack to join the leaders when they were entering the straight. Running Star had just about seized the initiative when Cache shifted in and intimidated Timeless Vision who in turn went on to shove Running Star towards the rails. Joint favourite Saifa, ridden by K. Nazil, had just sneaked through between Silver Braid and Running Star when she got squeezed by the latter and was knocked out of contention. Before Saifa could find her rhythm back, Cache (Leitir Mor – Memory Bay) had stolen a march and scampered home to register his success. Saifa unleashed a devastating run in the final stages but it was too late. Celestina ran on to be third ahead of Star Impact.

The sparingly-raced Zuccaro defied the penalty incurred for his maiden win last month and proved too good for his opponents in the An Acquired Taste Trophy. Zuccaro was ridden well off the pace by Vivek as Fortunate Son shot into the lead from the barriers with Constable and favourite Break Point following him. Constable took charge of the running soon after entering the home stretch with Break Point trying to bridge the leeway. However, Zuccaro was shown the daylight by Vivek while approaching the final turn following which Shroff’s ward unleashed a splendid turn of foot. The chestnut son of Kingda Ka out of Mahali surged ahead with little under a furlong from the winning post to trounce his rivals. Constable retained the second spot ahead of Dream Alliance and Break Point, a neck separating these three runners.

B. Prithviraj-trained filly Chelsea, who had a forward run on debut, was backed to the exclusion of her rivals in the maiden set competing for the Mayor Baburao Sanas Memorial Trophy. R. Ajinkya-piloted Chelsea took off in the right earnest from the blocks and had Betsy, Gypsy Soul and Dazzling Duchess on her tail. Chelsea seemed to be travelling well in the final run-in but was confronted by Gypsy Soul in the last furlong. G. Santosh-ridden Gypsy Soul from Adhirajsingh Jodha’s string fought a pitched battle with Chelsea as the two fillies went hammer and tongs at each other. However, it was Gypsy Soul (Ivory Touch – Lantana Lady) who got stronger in the last couple of strides to scuttle Chelsea’s winning bid. Dazzling Duchess ran thereabouts to be third ahead of Equalizer.

The bay mare Goomah not only tasted her maiden success at the age of five but also provided her master Subhag Singh his first winner of the current season. Back in the lower class after a forward run in her previous outing, Goomah made steady progress from the rear as Prince O’War initially showed the way to the eight-horse field and led them into the straight. Antony Raj atop Goomah found a dream opening when the runners ahead travelled wide at the top of the straight. The mare carrying an imposing 61.5kg on her back took some stick from Antony before streaking clear of Red Dust and The Flutist, who made a late appearance on the scene to snatch the third place from Away She Goes.
 
Narendra Lagad trained Talking Point (formerly named Sonic Boom) came for sustained support in the bookies’ ring just before betting closed for the last race and rewarded the punters who fancied his chances. Apprentice Navnath Bhosale-steered Talking Point (Roderic O’Connor – Alexandra Mills) allowed Atomic Angel to do the initial running and swooped down on her when the field straightened for home. Talking Point soon grabbed the lead and despite drifting out under the pressure for a while in the final furlong, Bhosale brought him back on the right track to record his maiden win. Both Khaleesi and Mi Arion were unable to match the winner’s initial speed and conceding weight to him was another problem they faced. Khaleesi finished second ahead of Mi Arion, who was followed home by Precioso.