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Dr. MAM Ramaswamy must be a delighted man. Having won both the Indian 1000 and 2000 Guineas Sunday to Sunday and the forthcoming Indian Classics looking very much within grasp, the Racing Baron from South India could be looking at his best year at the Indian Classics. Sweeping Success (Placerville–Lady Moura) will represent the Gold, Brown Belt in the Indian Oaks and with Bourbon King (Diffident–Queen Ann) to take care of the Indian Derby and the Indian St. Leger, it could well be a Racing Grand Slam for the formidable combination of Dr. Ramaswamy, trainer Ganapathy, jockey Colm O’Donnaghue and the Poonawalla Stud Farms - the Breeders. Dr. Ramaswamy’s decision to assign both the Classic rides to Colm O’Donnaghue has been spot on but one wonders whatever happened to his stable jockey B. Prakash. After opening up Bourbon King’s current campaign with a victory in the Mystical Super Mile Trophy, Prakash must not have nursed even a stray thought that he would miss out on partnering India’s top colt. After all, Prakash has piloted Bourbon King in all his recent exploits. Even his suspension (intentionally or otherwise) was such that it would not interfere with the important dates. That he is fit and able - there is no doubt! The only logical assumption one can draw is whether Dr. Ramaswamy doubted his stable jockey’s morale and being a perfectionist, he must have taken the tough call on switching the jockey on Bourbon King for the big race. A huge gamble, but it paid off handsomely. Prakash may have missed out on a classic winner but must be proud that the target was achieved. Team work, after all, does pay off. The field of ten jumped out evenly and Mejestical set about his task of a pacemaker. He was followed by Perpetuity, The Hurricane, Astraea, Giocometti, Bourbon King on the rails with Hotstepper, Carindhu, Czar Alexander and Alvida close behind. At the top of the Straight, The Hurricane headed past Mejestical who had played his role and Perpetuity was passed on either side by Bourbon King on the outside and Astraea on the inside. Czar Alexander and Hotstepper began their chase, and Alvida and others were clearly not up to it. Bourbon King (Colm O'Donnaghue) took charge 300 m from home from The Hurricane. Astraea came alongside between the two and while O'Donnaghue was giving it all. Astraea (CD Hayes) waited till the 200 m before Hayes began an all-out effort. A brave ploy that didn't work as Bourbon King only got stronger at the finish. Astraea was a commendable second as was stablemate Czar Alexander. Hotstepper did well to figure in the frame. Bourbon King may not have appeared to have won as fluently and easily as his reputation demanded, but his superiority was never in question. The rest, barring Astraea and to an extent Czar Alexander, simply struggled to keep pace which suggests that Bourbon King will be hard to toss in his future endeavours at Mahalaxmi and none seen in the two Classics will bother him. The G. Essaji Trophy opened up the proceedings on the Johnnie Walker Gold Label Indian 2000 Guineas day and going by the betting ring status only two horses were in strong contention. Prince Lochinva at Evens and Kingdom Of Love at 3 to 1. While the former attempted it start to finish, the latter preferred to wait and strike. At the turn, Price Lochinva (Rajendra) was travelling well and the top-weighted Kingdom Of Love (CD Hayes) began to unleash his challenge. The duo got together about the distance post and fought it out all the way to the finish. It was a classic battle and towards the dying moments Kingdom Of Love got the measure of the favourite by just ¾ L. Kingdom Of Love is now on a hat-trick and I will not be surprised if he pulls one off. Prince Lochinva will live to fight another day. Refuse To Bend finally lived up to his name and held on despite drifting out towards the finish. Emerging Power brought the field home and was soon passed by Refuse To Bend (Nirmal Jodha) who improved his position rapidly at the turn. With 300 m to go, Refuse to Bend went ahead of Emerging Power who was weakening and Encouragement started to move alongside to challenge. At the 200 m, Refuse to Bend was a good 2 L in front but soon started to drift under pressure and surprisingly the jockey continued to whip with the same hand causing it to drift even further. Fortunately, the winning post came to his rescue. Refuse To Bend just managed to have his neck in front on the line. Teaser was his consistent self and faithfully came into place money edging out Vijayi Bhava who ran all over and could have done with better handling. Summertime Promise was a hard ridden fifth while Uber Alles and Tullamore both ran on close to the front finishers. Keep an eye on Tullamore. Autonomy (Razeen–All Heart) had shown plenty of quality in his prep work and was tipped by the pundits to make a winning debut. In the ring he was backed overwhelmingly and the gelding delighted his followers by obliging in the most convincing fashion. Settling in the mid-bunch, Autonomy (Daniel Grant) cruised ahead early in the straight and produced tremendous acceleration to widen the gap from Star Presentation (O'Donnaghue) and Synergetic (Rajendra). Such was his turn of foot that Grant took the luxury of peeping over his shoulder as early as the 200-metre marker and once again closer to the winning post. Autonomy was very impressive and in my mind has registered the most impressive victory by a 2 year-old thus far. Just to refresh your memory, Successor, Angel's Glory, Red Romeo and Queen's Guest were impressive winners in their respective races and Red Romeo was a few split seconds quicker than Autonomy. However, I am most impressed by this gelding. The Johnnie Walker Green Label Trophy saw a breathtaking finish in a prolonged duel between Desert Sky (SN Chavan) and Calling The Shots (SA DeSousa). The two were stuck alongside each other well before the turn and then went hell for leather right from the mouth of the straight. In the final furlong the count was on the bob of the head as each was heading the other with the nod and when it mattered most, Desert Sky put his nose in front. It was commendable that commentator Deepak Rajpal called it one of the closet finishes this season. It was a split verdict even within the racegoers. Uruj, who lost a lot of ground at the start, did well to finish third although under the whip all through. After the benefit of a run on the opening day where she finished on a good third from a long way back behind Successor and Kiara, Aurora Aurealis (C. Rajendra) was installed the firm favourite. Settled into the third position close to the leaders, Aurora Aurealis hit the front early in the straight but had Absolute Reality (Sunny Chinoy) coming at her nearing the distance post. For a moment it looked like Absolute Reality would trouble the favourite as Sunny Chinoy joined alongside with 200 m to go and Aurora Aurealis began to drift out a bit. However, thanks to Rajendra's superb control, he not only managed to halt the drift but also push the filly ahead forcefully to stretch away form any possible threat lurking around. In the end, Aurora Aurealis bounded forward to post a relatively easier win than it seemed possible just a few strides earlier. Pomme De Terre ran on to finish third. Real Dream came from a long way back to end a faraway fourth. The Talsiker Trophy saw a three pronged finish. Pillatus (Grant) was the favourite and was racing in the mid-bunch till the straight. Seillans (Ruzaan) hit the front early on and led the field into the home stretch and was soon engaged in a contest by Mysterious Star (SA DeSousa) and the two were joined mid way up the straight by Pillatus who charged up but could not sustain. DeSousa's reluctance to take Mysterious Star through the slight opening on the rails around 400 m fearing a trap, may have cost him the race considering the close verdict, but in a split second decision he is the best judge. However, I am tempted to feel to the contrary particularly on hindsight, as there was enough space and Seillans did run a bit erratic and it even looked at one point – just before the 200-metre marker - that Mysterious Star veered just a wee bit due to Seillans. Seillans ultimately managed to spare a head in the end and Pillatus who couldn't sustain till the very last, finished half a length adrift. Party Celeberation and Spiritual Hymn (the latter lost some ground at the start) ran on to finish fourth and fifth. Pillatus and Mysterious Star are both to be noted. Trainer Vinayak compiled a back to back double with Aurora Aurealis and Seillans. Ten runners vied for the Maharaja Sir Pratapsingh Gaekwad Trophy. Suraj made the front running till into the straight with Desert Dust and Sea Storm in close attendance. Cotswold Arms was fifth and Balance De Power was in the rear. On straightening up, Sea Storm led briefly but was soon past by Cotswold Arms who put in a sustained run. At the distance post, C. Rajendra was speeding past Sea Storm decisively when a late challenge came from Balance De power. Cotswold Arms galloped gamely on and held the threat form Balance De Power by half a length. Sea Storm ended third and Suraj fourth. The Wild Eagle plate saw a major upset when Green Valley (Neeraj Rawal) failed to hold on and surrendered the race to the final assault of Touch The Sky in the last 100 metres. Calling the shots for most part of the 6-furlong trip, Green Valley stayed ahead till past the distance post, thwarting the challenge from Thundering Tan. But in the last part, when Touch The Sky suddenly came alive, Green Valley could not keep up and had to be content with the runner-up berth. Touch The Sky is incidentally owned by Mr. and Mrs. Mohan Thakur and Mr. Shagun Thakur who also owned Wild Eagle – winner of the Indian 2000 Guineas 2001. Monarchos was an impressive third and Catalunya did well to run on from behind to end fourth. Keep an eye on Monarchos.
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