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| Secret Admirer (Y S Srinath up), winning the Municipal Commissioner`s trophy |
Trainer Imtiaz Sait saddled Chamberlain (Burden of Proof–Ceil Fleuri), owned by Dr. Vijay Mallya and coming from the Kunigal Stud, scored in his first outing. Chamberlain was keen to go to the front and Hayes allowed him to do just that soon after they sorted themselves out. Coming into the straight, Chamberlain looked good and Hayes seemed confident as he was evidently unperturbed even when Easter Lily joined him alongside and Hold The Thought too was pushing them. Easter Lily headed the trio briefly but once Hayes got to work, Chamberlain surged forward to stave off the dual threat and dash to the winning post to earn his first winning bracket.
Imtiaz scored again in the 7th race with Star Crusader (Brave Act–Secret Star), owned by the Tapias. Mr. Greedy led the field soon on start and kept the entire bunch on their toes all through the race. Star Crusader joined the leader midway up the straight but couldn't shake him off till closer home. Fantastic Fury was the one who gained maximum ground in the straight to finish on full of running thus livening hopes that her next outing over the distance could bring a better result for her. Go Guzzi Go may have needed the run and will only fare better in his next outing. Vantage and Rising Hero disappointed while Eagle Mountain could fare better later this season.
Trainer CD Katrak was again in his element and saddled a good double with strongly fancied horses – Sea Of Kisses and Highland Crown, both owned by Rakesh Wadhawan and ridden by Danny Grant. Sea Of Kisses (China Visit–Stolen Kisses), from the Usha Stud, had a fight on her hands. Carmen hit the front and was travelling comfortably in the straight. Sea Of Kisses had to bridge a longish gap and nearing the distance post did not look too convincing. However, Carmen was not exactly building on on the lead she enjoyed and Grant managed to get Sea Of Kisses to go for the kill in the final 100 metres to emerge victorious. The benefit of a race experience perhaps held sway to the winner's advantage against the debutant.
Highland Crown (Royal Kingdom–Rahy's Serenade), bred at Nanoli Stud Farms, showed no signs of any rustiness and made light the 61.5 kg impost he was carrying to post an impressive win in the nine-furlong race. Settled in the mid-bunch, Highland Crown was always in close touch with the leaders. Chevron went on a start-to-finish mission and was travelling nicely indeed for the most part. Even in the straight, Chevron was striding well and Hayes was waiting to start the final charge. They looked formidable until Highland Crown appeared on the scene. The Katrak ward came charging and full of steam at that, to simply swoosh past Thanda first, who was pretending to challenge, and then Chevron who too ran a good race. Highland Crown returned a comfortable winner and will be right there in his next outing as well over the distance. Chevron was squarely beaten but will live to fight another day.
Blue Jay (Alnasr Alwasheek–Scenic Royale), owned by the Shirkes, was the only winner Shroff could pull off on a day when the Shroff stable had as many as five fancied runners. Three of his other wards, however, went down with their guns blazing. Vantage was the only one to finish off the frame. Coming back to Blue Jay, jockey McCullagh was quickly out of the gates and settled just behind Mysterio and Rule Of Law and when they came to the business end, Blue Jay responded well to take charge in the final furlong and kick on for a comfortable victory. Rule Of Law wasn't quite up to the task and was easily passed by Artistic Liason who did well to end runner-up. Princess Ruby came up with an eye-catching finishing effort to snatch the place money edging out Tattenhoe on the last stride.
Argentina, the hot favourite for the last race of the day, would beg for another chance and justifiably so. She was travelling well till the turn when Up North, the leader, shifted out badly early in the straight, taking Argentina along to the wide outside. This certainly would have unsettled the filly and McCullagh was clearly struggling to control the situation. He had to switch back in and by that time, Barbara went sailing clear and pressed home the advantage. Argentina never got back into the rhythm and lost a good opportunity of scoring. If she pinned the blame on Up North for her loss, that would be square. But taking nothing away from Barbara, jockey De Souza kept her in reserve till the homestretch and Barbara responded tremendously to accelerate towards the finish to win easing up.
Adams Law (Case Law–Adams Light), from the Jai Govind Stud, proved a tough nut to crack and justified the heavy betting that came on her in the day's opener. Backed as if defeat was out of question, Adams Law chased Rubaiyat till past the turn and shot into the lead readily on straightening up. Once into the lead, she was in no danger whatsoever and kicked on to win long way from home. Ganador improved a couple of notches to snatch the runner's up berth from Marine Zone at the finish.
Trainers Imtiaz A Sait and CD Katrak scored a double each, as did jockeys Daniel Grant, and CD Hayes. Five clear favourites out of eight races won comfortably.
