The Prasanna Kumar-schooled bay filly Mountain Jewel proved to be a thorn in crowd favourite Red Bishop’s path to glory as she snared the Pesi Shroff trainee in the final lap of the Race2Win Foundation Deccan Derby on Sunday. It was sort of an ominous start for Shroff as jockey Kirtish Bhagat was unbalanced and thrown off the saddle astride Matisse soon after the field of twelve jumped out of the gates. Matisse, apparently, was supposed to set the pace for his stable-mate Red Bishop like he did during the running of the Colts Championship Stakes last month. Consequently, a couple of furlongs from the barriers, Yash Narredu-piloted Mindful wrest the initiative from Northern Waves and went on to call the shots with Andre and a bunch of keen runners in tow. Red Bishop, meanwhile, was biding his time in the rear bunch with Mountain Jewel running last behind second favourite Arrived.
 
As Mindful was leading his rivals into the home stretch, Trevor Patel shifted outwards to make his move with Red Bishop while Antony Raj brought Mountain Jewel even wider and was travelling on the extreme outside. Mindful was caught hold of by K. Mukesh Kumar-steered Northern Waves soon after crossing the two-furlong marker even as Tolkien, Red Bishop and Mountain Jewel came breathing fire on her outside. Red Bishop gained the upper hand over Northern Waves and with it a slender advantage over Mountain Jewel. However, the race was far from over. On the contrary, it set the stage for a nail-biting finish.
 
Once he ranged alongside the favourite with Mountain Jewel, Antony Raj rode like one possessed and summoned all his skills to drive the filly. Mountain Jewel responded magnificently to Antony’s call and surged ahead to overpower Red Bishop in the last hundred metres. Both Trevor and Red Bishop were not done with it yet and the bay gelding gave his heart out when waging a fierce battle with his adversary. But Mountain Jewel (Deauville – Kanchenjunga), who was primed for this showdown by Prasanna Kumar, refused to succumb and spurned her rival’s onslaught with true valour. Mountain Jewel eventually prevailed over Red Bishop by a neck allowing Antony to avenge the narrow defeat he suffered astride Prokofiev in the Colts Championship Stakes. Northern Wave was a distant third with Tolkien taking the fourth spot. Arrived found this company a bit tough to cope with and ended fifth, a neck behind Tolkien.
 
Prasanna Kumar’s protégé Mountain Jewel is the proud property of Mr Rajendran representing Rapar’s Galloping Stars LLP & Mr K. Kaliyaperumal. Mountain Jewel’s success not only added another Group 1 winner to the prospering tally of Usha Stud Farm’s classic winners but also provided its first season sire Deauville his maiden classic winner. The Hyderabad Race Club was successful in roping the Race2Win Foundation to sponsor the Deccan Derby for the second year running. The sponsor’s contribution towards the stake money was instrumental in making the Deccan Derby the most sought-after racing event by race-horse owners during the current monsoon racing season.