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Ancient Wonder Obliges in Style

By Mahendra Mallya | 16 Apr 2011 | MUMBAI


Mr. Haresh N Mehta & Trainer Mansoor Shah leading Ancient Wonder (Suraj Narredu Up), winner of The Cursetjee Dhunjishaw Trophy

Ancient Wonder (China Visit – Dazzling Queen) notched up a fashionable victory to justify the strong support he received in the betting ring. Quoted at 6/10 on, Ancient Wonder took on a small bunch of runners and scored a clinical victory without much ado. Settling behind Oh Calcutta, Ancient Wonder with Suraj Narredu atop, shot ahead past the 400 metres and galloped on strongly to thwart the attempt of River Blitz. Ancient Wonder took a while before getting into a fine rhythm in the last furlong to stretch out nicely to post a convincing victory to the delight of his supporters. Saints N Sinners (Burden Of Proof – Corsicana) was the least fancied in the field of four runners lined up for the Ocean Breeze Plate, a five-furlong sprint.

He created a flutter when he marched on ahead stretching his start-to-finish essay all the way past the winning post. Bullet had to eat humble pie yet again and turned out to be the best ‘Second-Horse Pool’ candidate for the season, ending the season with four runner-up titles in five starts. He ran third in his other outing. Saints N Sinners galloped ahead soon on start and built a sizable lead turning for home. Highland Bounty, Ashwa Paarth and Bullet followed in that order. Jockey Sandesh ensured that he had enough in hand as they went for the kill and although Bullet came forth with a good gallop in the final furlong, Saints N Sinners had covered it well and his longish lead helped him stay ahead at the winning post.

Bullet could only narrow down the margin and finished on the tail of the Rehan-trainee. Star Treasure (Placerville – Mitzvah) ended his season campaign on a winning note just as he had started off with a victory over a mile. Apprentice jockey Akash Agarwal took Star Treasure to the front on jumping out of the gates and maintained a comfortable lead all the way into the straight. Once into the straight, Star Treasure galloped on resolutely and never gave even a semblance of a chance to his rivals. Glowing Star and Blue Flash fought out for the runner-up berth. Blue Flash surrendered the second spot after going ahead of Glowing Star who wrested back the place position in the last few strides.

Orito (Major Impact – Radiant) lived up to his debut run promise and duly compiled his maiden victory without any anxious moments. Settling into the fourth position behind Classic Ruler, Samiel and Arabian Pride, Orito got into top gear soon on straightening for home. Orito, with a smooth but fiery gallop, surged past the front-runners and extended his lead to be by himself at the distance post. Constantina, trying different tactics coming from off the pace, livened up a little and pretended to make a race of it when she moved to one behind Orito.

However, Orito kicked on regardless and Constantina ended up chasing the winner home. Flying Jewel only managed to peg Samiel back for the place money without making any impact on the top two. Midnight Club (Royal Gladiator – Temple Bay) scored an impressive victory outpacing Sea Wonder convincingly over the five-furlong scurry. Taking to the lead soon on start, Midnight Club, with five-kilo claimer Srikant Kamble astride, shot further away on entering the homestretch. Sea Wonder improved position and was one behind the leader but found the Midnight Club too good to handle. Midnight Club never loosened her grip on the race and romped home unchallenged to post a facile victory. Arabain Power did well to come from the rear to earn place money. Flying Star (Senure – Matisse) literally flew to the finish to register an impressive victory justifying the overwhelming support he received in the betting ring.

Sitting on the tail of his main rival Laurus Pride, Flying Star made a serious bid soon on turning for home. He took charge passing the 400 m mark easily sailing past the leader and once in the lead, he looked good to outpace the rest. Laurus Pride went all-out in chase but the winner proved too good. Fiery Fortune did well to come from a non-prominent position to gather enough momentum to finish a good second just ahead of Laurus Pride and Golden Kingdom. The best finish was left for the last race of the day as the fortunes swung rapidly in the final furlong. Lord Of Killarney was a bit too keen from the start and jockey TS Jodha had trouble controlling the favourite, who was trying to bolt away. This led to Lord Of Killarney taking the turn in a longer curve, yet Jodha did well and managed to lead the bunch entering the straight.

He sailed ahead and passing the 300 had a handy lead and was travelling well too. Towering High and Fantastic, who were next up, were struggling to keep up. Highland Vision started a forward surge and nearing the distance post, was wearing down the lead, catching up with the leader. Inside the final furlong, Highland Vision was visibly gaining on the favourite and soon charged ahead to grab the initiative. Silver Screen (Diffident – Silver Academy) then produced a scintillating burst of speed and challenged Highland Vision in the last 50 metres. Although Highland Vision fought bravely, Silver Screen had enough speed and ground to just about pip Highland Vision on the post. Lord Of Killarney ended third a good 2¼ behind, well ahead of Towering High. For the professionals, apprentice jockeys A Sandesh and Akash Agarwal notched up a double each.