Taking a lesson from her last narrow defeat at the hands of Dedication, the in-form Coco Chanel made no mistake this time in the Bol Publication Cup on Friday. The Anupam Sharma-trained filly later inspired her stablemate Storming Success to make a winning debut in the Juvenile Cup, the other prestigious event of the day.
The grey filly once again made a crucial start after losing the valuable ground over the six furlongs contest. But Apprentice jockey Irfan Ali, who had the bitter memory of the mile's defeat, did not let the mount run freely when the speedy customer Degas, Red Cat, Soul Satisfaction and the others were busy in their work till the final turn. Moving bit by bit, she improved her position and started devouring ground with a furlong left. And before Red Cat was able to convert his handicap advantage into the winning, she overshadowed him despite conceding the weight of 12.5 kilograms with a narrow margin of half-a-length at the wire.
"She has turned out to be fantastic," Madhurima Singh, co-owner of Coco Chanel, told me. "She will be making to the Kolkata Monsoon season and be kept there till the end of 2008," Shailendra Singh, co-owner, said. "She would be retired to the stud after the next December and is likely to mate with a good stallion – Epicentre - already stationed at my Stud (AB),” Shailendera added. Red Cat is termed as a good sprinter and should soon make amends. Degas, who was in with a lack of form, should definitely spring a surprise, if the scale comes his way.
The victory of Coco Chanel paved the way of Storming Success to achieve success in the maiden attempt. He looked hesitant after the break and that made his partner jockey R Parmod to sweat while guiding him. Lying fourth before the bend, he fell back further by a place on the turn. But Parmod did not lose heart and forced the Don Micheletto and Arabian Light's son to raise a gallop from the widest of the track to overcome the zigzag running only inside the final 50 m.”The colt has a bright future and will go a long way," Anupam Said. Captain Planet never came out of the shadow of the second position. On mature, he is worth for the longer trip. Faurties, another debutant, was in a start-to-finish attempt but could not sustain. He should not hold the maiden status for a long period. More Than A Woman was ridden out poorly.
Behaving Badly began the day with a stunning upset whereas Consulate followed the footsteps of the Mumbai-imported animal by bringing the curtain down on the years' last Delhi race. The former should complete an encore. Protection, who had impressed a lot over the shorter trip, managed to taste victory over the longer trip (mile) in the lone attempt. She bears yet another chance. Prince Railco, who registered an emphatic victory in the upper division of the Punters Plate, has the credentials to complete a double.
