Saturday’s racing at the Pune racecourse, when the Yohann Z. Poonawalla-sponsored Turf Club Trophy (Gr.3) was to be run, carried a promise that the sport would be exciting. If close finishes are a measure of excitement, there was certainly no shortage of it. For the punters, however, it was something of a horror show — especially for the fan following of champion jockey A. Sandesh. Sandesh is no Superman and does not possess the extraordinary powers or skills of the fictional character many of us grew up with. Nevertheless, bettors tend to fancy his chances on almost every mount he rides, whether chosen by or assigned to him. That tendency proved disastrous for them on Saturday. It was a disastrous day for Sandesh as well. He had four rides, all first favourites, but on each occasion he had to settle for second place behind the eventual winner.

Though running with seasoned campaigners in the Turf Club Trophy, Sandesh-partnered Encino was installed as the favourite. Encino from Adhirajsingh Jodha’s stables almost made it but lost by a whisker. Guess who defeated him? Pradeep Chouhan-saddled Ultimo, the 25 to 1 outsider! Ultimo, with Dashrath Singh up, hit the front when the five-horse field was flagged off for the seven-furlong event and enjoyed an uncontested lead till Encino ranged alongside and fought a stirring duel with Ultimo in the final 150m. Somehow, both Ultimo and Dashrath showed tremendous tenacity, and, as the race went to the wire, the photo finish revealed that Ultimo (Surfrider – Honey Dew) had prevailed by a nose. Kavya laboured hard to finish third, just in front of Social Butterfly, who had reached the haunches of Ultimo in the last furlong but was denied a clear run by the pair ahead. In a bid to reverse the result,  Sandesh lodged an objection against Dashrath, but the three stewards — including one who had been picked up from the owner’s stand — overruled it.
 
Earlier in the day, the Rajaram Chhatrapati Trophy saw the Chouhan trainee Youremanorborne carrying the public’s purse ahead of Zacharias, last year’s Pune Derby winner. As it turned out, the script as far as the running of the race was concerned, was the same as played out later in the Turf Club Trophy. Break Point, also sent out by Chouhan and ridden by Vivek G., surged ahead from the gates and played a merry tune to his four rivals. Vivek, aboard Break Point, glanced through his legs as the field approached the final bend to see how Youremanorborne was faring behind. But the favourite was still in the process of gathering steam in what eventually was a futile chase. Vivek then went into overdrive and spurred Break Point (Dreamfield – Sweet Caroline) to a facile four-length win over Youremanorborne, with Golden Dancer and Zacharias trailing behind. Zacharias had a slight handicap advantage over Break Point vis-à-vis their last encounter when the former went down by half a length. However, as the eventual result showed, Zacharias’s performance was clearly out of sorts. Both Sandesh and Chouhan were embarrassed when they were booed by the spectators as they returned to the paddock. Chouhan in particular as both the winners he led in were unfancied, or so the racing public believed. One hopes that both professionals realise that they won’t always receive bouquets from the public and that, in horseracing, when money speaks louder than talent, the bricks can never be far away.
 
Sandesh tasted defeat in his very first attempt of the day astride Spotlight, who came across one better in Esteban (formerly known as Millenium Star). Esteban, whose potential had been kept under wraps and who had successfully accomplished the weight-reducing mission following his maiden victory last year at Pune, pulled off a nice coup and provided veteran trainer Narendra Lagad with his first winner of this season. Esteban, in an apparent replay of the mock-race he won last Sunday, made every post of the Western India Trainers’ Association Trophy (Div-II) a winning one in the hands of rookie Avinash Paswan, who showed remarkable composure and confidence. Paswan was not intimidated by Sandesh’s presence atop favourite Spotlight, who chased the winner all the way over the six-furlong trip but in vain. Majestic Warrior finished a distant third, while Appalachian ended close behind.
 
Later during the day, Ramswarup was another apprentice jockey to display grit and determination against Sandesh, who was astride hot favourite Undercover in the Western India Trainers’ Association Trophy (Div-I). Marius led the field in the early stages of the sprint, while Chelsea and Santana Row gave chase. With a furlong left for the destination to arrive, Santana Row looked poised to overtake Marius before Sandesh brought Undercover with a powerful run to seize the advantage. Ramswarup encouraged Santana Row to fight back, which the Adhirajsingh Jodha-schooled filly did to earn her maiden success by a neck. Believe finished in the money by tackling Marius near the post.
 
The five-kg claimer A. Omkar also found an opportunity to shine as Nazzak Chenoy-nurtured Shambala resumed his winning ways after two disappointing runs at Mahalaxmi. The speedy favourite Credence embarked on a start-to-finish and remained in contention till Market King posed a threat which was dealt with by Credence. However, Shambala (Planetaire – Ice Cube Baby) unleashed a brilliant run when shown the daylight by Omkar on entering the straight to overpower Credence inside the last hundred metres of the Western India Race Horse Owners' Association, a six-furlong sprint for horses in Class I. Market King ran third, three-parts of a length behind the runner-up while Fighton found his rhythm a bit late and finished an identical distance away in fourth.
 
Ramswarup achieved a back-to-back double by steering Vortex to a well-deserved victory in the Jockeys Association Trophy. No-hopers Desert Classic and Luminosity showed the way and brought the field into the straight where Ramswarup brought Vortex into contention. Shazaan Shah-groomed Vortex (Dreamfield – Legendofthephoenix), who raced in a striking position alongside Shaandaar, made a decisive bid as soon as they entered the home stretch to take over the running from Luminosity and stayed on course to escape the clutches of Alexios, who threw a strong challenge at the winner in the final stages of the race. Shaandaar held on grimly to be third ahead of favourite Enrich while Giant Gold ended a neck behind. Yash Narredu-ridden Enrich from Malesh Narredu’s barns travelled on the outer flank in the straight, going further wide in the closing stages, which may have put him at a disadvantage.
 
Imtiaz Sait-saddled Age of Reason came in for sustained support in the betting ring replacing Trevor Patel-piloted Red Rose as the favourite in the Indian Association of Equine. Age of Reason proved the market forces right by obliging them with a superb finishing burst. Earlier, CS Jodha-steered Monterey led all the way over the mile journey before being challenged by Tempo, which he staved off. Meanwhile, Age of Reason (Study of Man – Villanueva) responded well under Neeraj Rawal’s whipping to swoop down on Monterey and claim victory just a few strides before the winning post. Tempo retained the third spot while Red Rose finished a tame fourth.
 
Seven-year-old Adonis not only proved to be a breadwinner for his master Vijay Kasbekar, who has just three horses under his training, but also earned precious stake-money for his owners in the day’s concluding race. S. J. Sunil-ridden Adonis, who had a forward run earlier, was settled alongside Okinayume and Ashwa Ankara in the front bunch headed by She’s A Teaser. Adonis moved resolutely when asked for an effort by Sunil inside the last furlong and a half and foiled She’s A Teaser pillar-to-post bid in the last couple of strides to win by a long-neck. Favourite Ashwa Ankara came with a menacing run close home but failed to make it and finished a short-neck behind the runner-up while Flashman improved late to be fourth.