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Palazzio’s Sun Shines Bright

By Epsom Ace | 12 Mar 2011 | KOLKATA


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One just can’t keep the Alfords out of the news at the Calcutta racecourse. While Christopher Alford drew a blank on his return after a nasty fall a fortnight ago, the father and son duo of Richard and Rutherford Alford pulled of a lucrative double with the likes of Palazzio’s Sun and Raana.After failing several times under David Allan, Richard Alford-schooled Palazzio’s Sun (Alnasr Alwasheek-Palazzio) lifted the Elusive Pimpernel Cup in the hands of top-weight rider B. Mahesh. As is his wont, the six-year-old shot to the front as the gates opened and stayed there all the way. Secret Fire failed to match his class while Born To Fly lost a couple of lengths at the start, not that it would have mattered on this occasion.

Cayenne had finished close to the winner in her last essay but found the pace too hot for her liking. The fact that Palazzio’s Sun (who had burst a blood vessel last time out) was given a free rein and not disturbed by any other front-runner helped him see the winning post in taking style. Rutherford Alford-trained Raana (Hurricane State-Peace Keeper) was prepared with Palazzio’s Sun and backed confidently by the connections. The colt was the 7/2 second favourite after Aletris. He was ridden in a forward position by apprentice Shezad Khan and eventually wore down the favourite in the straight.

The afternoon commenced with six-year-old Validate (Valid Concept-Shuddabot) getting the better of stablemate and half-money favourite Washington Irvine on expected lines. Not that there was anything sinister about the result. After all, the winner did finish a good second to Ballibay in her last essay. Jockey Kamlesh varied the pace to a nicety as he made it a start-to-finish affair with the Vijay Singh-trained runner.

Despite a 5-kg penalty, Christopher Gleich-trained Giocometti (Greensmith-Indrayani) won the upper division of the INS Hooghly Cup after staving off a strong challenge from Vacheron who came with a fine late run along the rails. The favourite Rithambhra left all her chances at the gates while Mrs Jones shot her bolt near the distance post. The lower division of the same race was picked up by Accardo (Flitch-Crown Dancer) despite shouldering a heavy impost.

Dasrath Singh brought the gelding with a stupendous run at the top of the straight. Though the horse cut across the path of stablemate Andrology (who had to check), he was never in any danger of losing the race in the Stewards room. Ijlal finished a creditable runner-up after doing most of the running. By using apprentice Mohit Singh’s allowance of 4 kg, Nana Raghunath-trained Fish Pilot (Brave Hunter-Love’s A Mirage) pulled off a superb betting coup in the Navy Cup. He pegged back the front-running Alize near the distance post. The apprentice’s allowance negated the 3-kg penalty for his last good second to Zillionaire. The win was Mohit’s 10th and as such, he will be entitled to carry a whip from now. The Too Hot To Touch Cup saw Ashridge (Placerville-Academic) displaying his front-running ability in no uncertain terms. The favourite Strike A Deal ran like a dud throughout the 2,000 metres trip while the next best was Glorious Knight. Jockey Shailesh Shinde was astride the Bharath Singh-trained winner.