An eventful afternoon of racing was capped with a ‘googly’ from the Pesi Shroff yard as their half-money favourite Chios bit the dust while 7/1 shot Cotswold Arms (Labeeb-My Tres Bien) staved off a strong challenge from Credit Squeeze to lift The Aperitivo Cup. Most punters would have probably played Cotswold Arms had Chios not caused the chaos. As they say – it’s a mug’s game as far as turfites are concerned. Those in the know will take them for a ride every now and then for their own gain – scruples are thrown out of the window on those occasions.

The number of ‘sporting stables’ are dwindling by the year as owners will always cite the increased BTF and huge cost of maintaining a string as excuses to make an extra buck or two (or even a little more) on the side. If the day ended disastrously for punters, it started equally poorly as 8/1 outsider Flaming Love (Don Micheletto-Flame Of Love) made The Allied Forces Handicap her own in the hands of Md Imran to hand him a rare win. With a pretty name like Flaming Love, she is bound to be shrouded in controversy. While the owner maintained that there is no love lost between him and his trainer for keeping him in the dark, the grapevine has it that he had a decent touch on it.

Well, if there’s ‘no business like show business’, the same goes for racing – one just can’t trust anyone or unravel the real truth. Perhaps a Hercule Poirot or Ms Marple would have been a little more successful. The trainer spoke to this correspondent and put a lid on the matter by stating matter of factly that the filly took a good jump from the stalls on this occasion. That’s fair enough logic if one is willing to accept that she lost her starting blocks on New Year’s Day – as I said before, punters will inevitably be at the receiving end of the stick.

At times, odds can dictate where the starting blocks have to be placed. Owner Gill had this to say: “I want to sell my horses and get out of the game but just can’t find any buyers for my string.” One can either accept it or take it with a pinch of salt. It was the premier owners from the south of the country who saved the day for local racegoers. While Dilip Thomas-owned Oakdale and Arbroath romped home at cramped odds, the Dr Vijay Mallya-owned duo of Awesome Indian and Arabian Prince made their pockets swell. The man who led in all four was trainer Bharath Singh. The latter trains the first three and deputized for Jaggi Dhariwal by saddling the ‘Prince’. Arabian Prince (Burden Of Proof-Arabian Rose) won The Indian Champion Cup in great style from Hall Of Glory and Fleet Indian.

The race was delayed as Cambiasso played up and had to be withdrawn. Succeeding Star set a scorching pace with the 10-to-8-on favourite in second slot. Fleet Indian was travelling a couple of lengths behind the favourite. Once Paul Mulrennan decided to take over the running from the front-runner before heads turned for home, it was pretty clear that the champion chestnut would be difficult to catch. Both Hall Of Glory and Fleet Indian were engaged in a tussle for the runner-up berth four lengths behind. Jockey Imran Chisty failed to keep his engagements. As such, his three winning mounts were booted home by Dasrath, Mulrennan and Shailesh. Dasrath had plenty in hand as he guided the 10-to-4-on public choice Oakdale (China Visit-Adesina) to a comfortable triumph in The Real Dancer Plate.

The best of the rest was Accoast. Despite a 7-kg penalty, Arbroath (Hurricane State-Integral) won The PP Ginwala Memorial Cup without too much trouble. Black Falcon left all his chances at the gates while Accardo was always struggling. In fact, the latter’s stablemate – Andrology, was a fairly good second. Awesome Indian (Brave Act-Indian Style) closed at 2/1 as Debonaire Girl attracted the bulk of the betting in The Eastern Command Cup. However, Shailesh Shinde rode a measured race on the eventual winner and collared the front-running ‘Girl’ near the distance post. Cuba Libre (Diffident-Cool Water) won The Lt Gen Jameel Mahmood Memorial Trophy with quite a bit of help from the saddle. Apprentice Arman Khan kept the natural front-runner in check and then brilliantly opted for the rails as the favourite Glorious Invention threatened to pull away from the field in the straight.