The Major PK Mehra Super Mile (Gr 1) was expected to light up towards the finish with a sizzling fight between current champion miler and the reigning Guineas princess Siachen and the classy Becket. The market trends revolved around these two and a bet on any other horse would be accepted by the bookmaker with a polite smile. Hence, if anyone thought of investing on Mr Greedy, he would be termed just that – Mr Greedy! It’s not that Mr Greedy is any mean horse without quality. He, in fact, has won quite a few battles which Diego Rivera would testify. However, of late, he has not been in the best of form hence the surprise.

In fact, his trainer MK Jadhav informed that Mr Greedy had undergone a surgery on his eye due to an accidental injury and was completely off the track for a couple of months. This was towards the end of the Pune season. He was on a ‘test drive’ this season and Mr Jadhav felt his second run of the season showed that he was on the right path to recovery. “I was happy with his second run where he showed positive signs. He galloped well, returned sound and ate well that evening. This was encouraging setting of the preparation for the Super Mile which, as you can see, went off extremely well.” Mr Greedy (Placerville – Angel Heights), all of seven, took on younger rivals and high-profile ones like Siachen, Becket, Onassis among others. He sat a close fourth behind Star Future, Astounding Gallop and Onassis.

Becket ran close on the rails in the mid-bunch and Siachen chose to be in the rear. Into the straight, Onassis soon shot ahead and had them all chase. Mr Greedy came past a tiring Star Future and Becket too looked to be right and ready to prove a point. Onassis had a good gallop going. He proved elusive for Becket to catch up and others too as well, but not Mr Greedy. Jockey YS Srinath, with some strong handling, egged on Mr Greedy who started to respond and gain on Onassis with each stride. Meanwhile, Siachen was simply not firing with Hayes struggling to get her to reproduce her Guineas brilliance. She ended a disappointing sixth. Becket, the other super star in the line-up, was a shadow of his old self, but did enough to run into place money.

Mr Greedy then came up with a sizzling run in the final fifty and nailed Onassis literally on the last stride. “I am happy for Mania (MK Jadhav), he had worked hard to get Mr Greedy back to old form and it is always pleasing to see such efforts pay off. Mr Greedy has it in him beyond doubt to come up with such brilliant performances and has been consistent in the past. He has had many a battle with his old foe Diego Rivera, another big hearted horse. So I am not really surprised as I know he is a gritty performer and loves a fight. The mile is his favourite distance and he proved that age is just a number,” said Mr Vijay Shirke, content with the result claiming the first two places with his horses. Portrush (Razeen – Husun) was another old timer (8-year-old) who endorsed that age, really, is just a number. He shot through from a tightly packed field to surge ahead after Illustrious and Mighty Crusader brought the field into view. Jockey P Kamlesh played his cards right and sent Portrush sailing into the lead soon past the 400. Portrush strode ahead briskly working up a handy lead. Kyles Of Bute loomed large in the later stages and gave a minor scare to Portrush, but Kamlesh ensured that there were no last minute heart-breaks. He worked relentlessly until past the winning post to hold the fast-finishing Kyles Of Bute.

Tomsk ran a noteworthy third covering a lot of ground in the final furlong to sail past a good bunch of horses at their top speed. Dear Henry progressed through the rails to end in the frame, just ahead of Aprillia. The later did raise minor hope midway up the straight, but failed to quicken towards the finish. Astapi (Placerville – Blurr) had a tough initiation to racing and his debut was remarkable for more than one reason. He ran a hard race particularly all through the home stretch. Always up with the front-runner Oriental Dawn from the start, Astapi slipped along the rails to take the lead from Oriental Dawn with Salt in close vicinity and together they entered the straight. Once in, Astapi managed to shake off Salt and started to accelerate further. Lake Superior came with a challenge in the middle while Touching the Town looked menacing on the outside. A keen finish was on the cards as the three contenders were close to one another when Astapi started to drift outward.

Past the distance post, Astapi veered out alarmingly and although jockey SA De Souza did his best to get the Altamash Ahmed-trainee on an even keel, it did appear that Astapi went on to Lake Superior. The trio hit the wire in a three-horse finish. Lake Superior, however was a clear third but Astapi and Touching The Town ended in a very close finish. Richard Hughes lodged an objection stating that Lake Superior did not get a clear run due to Astapi not keeping a straight course. A while later, trainer S Padmanabhan too put in an official protest stating that Astapi caused Lake Superior to hinder his filly Touching The Town. The stewards were divided in their opinion. The ruling went for the original winner as the majority opined that the objection be overruled. It was a touch and go affair as the objection could have gone either way.

Blackjack (Alnasr Alwasheek – Academy) returned to form at an opportune time and claimed all is well with her. Star Trainer set off at a good clip to lead the field and Blackjack quickly moved in behind the leader. Floods Of Fortune and Ancient Wonder were up close too at the turn. Blackjack progressed with a huge run and quickly surged past Star Trainer. Amouresque came through the rails but was not gathering any momentum. Rajasthan Royals looked to put up a fight and Ancient Wonder was right there with him. Ancient Wonder though, was completely overwhelmed and finished a tame third. Blackjack then unleashed a fiery burst and in no time stretched away from them all. The Bezan Chinoy-trained filly owned by Mr Jaydev Mody was a class act and ruled the final furlong as she liked. She clocked an excellent timing of 1:22.76 as against the course record of 1:22.52 held by Cabriolet.

This victory comes as a great relief as Blackjack was among the most promising fillies who had impressed most with her sensational debut, winning both her starts in Pune, implying she was something special. Well, she missed the Classics, but it’s good to see her come into her own with this near record-breaking performance. Star Symphony (Placerville – Symphony Of Fire) came with a sensational run to snatch a close verdict with a tremendous stretch-run. He was at the tail end for the most part and was still so as they turned for home. Hammerhead and Swept Away escorted the field home. While Swept Away held the stage for a little longer, the former ducked out of serious contention soon. Forward Charge was the first to catch the eye as he shot ahead midway up the straight. Tamarai was looking for galloping space and when she got an opening, Prakash got her going in chase of Forward Charge.

Star Symphony, with David Allan up, worked up a healthy pace and came swooping down on the fighting duo to get the nod at the wire. Forward Charge held on narrowly for the runner-up berth from Tamarai. Generalissimo fought his way through to end up in the frame. Jockey Richard Hughes is a fine finisher and he finished his day’s assignment on a winning note. In fact, Mystic Temple would well be the last ride of the season for Richard who is due to return after a successful stint. Mystic Temple (Duja – Satin Lover) provided an ideal opportunity for Richard to leave a lasting impression. Easing into the lead, Mystic Temple had Rising Glory close behind with Only White, National Icon, Sterling Silver and Glorious Miss in close attendance.

Mystic Temple looked the pick of the lot as they entered the straight. Richard, as usual, kept a tight leash on the Antia mare and with sheer niggling got her going to a facile victory without much ado. Mystic Temple romped home to a very comfortable victory. Hottie caught the eye, finishing on fastest, grabbing the second spot. Glorious Miss, who has changed strategy of going for it right from the start, did reasonably well to save place money. Ocean Princess (Razeen – Silver Toy) shook off her maiden ranks and experienced the first taste of sweet victory over the mile and quarter trip without dropping sweat. Richard rode as if he had to conserve all energy for the bigger assignment ahead. He eased her to settle wherever she liked and when the race got to a boil, Richard shot through with Ocean Princess between the toiling duo of Rapide and Sacred Relic without moving a muscle. He went through and confounded the rest keeping Ocean Princess on a tight rein all the way to the winning post. Arzaan and Tryst With Destiny improved to end behind Ocean Princess in that order. Richard saved a lot of effort and energy to ensure that the filly would score again in her next outing as well. Marudhara Ratan (Juniper – Let’s Twist Again) chose an ideal day to score after showing winning signs more than once. Taking charge from the outset, Marudhara Ratan settled well and went at a steady pace with Young Offender and Devil In Disguise following closely. They entered the straight with Marudhara Ratan ready to carry on. Young Offender and Devil In Disguise were struggling to stay in contention. Soon Thriller came into the picture, but his short burst had no impact on the leader.

Star Goddess warmed up in the latter half of the straight and began to ask serious questions off Marudhara Ratan. However, jockey PS Chouhan, who has grown in confidence after a commendable stint at Hyderabad, stood his ground and held on to ward off the threat from Star Goddess. Richard Hughes tried his best but could not get past Marudhara Ratan. Cogito Ergo Sum flew towards the end to run an eye-catching third. Over a mile, Cogito Ergo Sum deserves to be given a fair chance next time out. For the professionals, Richard Hughes was the pro of the day riding three winners and trainer CD Katrak pocketed two including the plum event of the day – The HDIL Invitation Cup, partnered by Richard.