River Blossom (China Visit – Austria) owned by Mr. Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan from the stables of Siraj Sunderji cruised home for a splendid victory in the Governor's Cup on Sunday. Sailing into the lead right from the start, River Blossom just appeared to know what exactly was expected of her. Jockey Daniel Grant was most willing to let River Blossom get into her own rhythm and was quite content to give her a free run till well into the straight. With a two length lead to play with in the straight, Grant waited as the others were pushing and riding out but making little impression on the leader. Arts made a strong bid only in the final furlong and began to cover ground but only to reduce the margin of victory. Astral Flash too improved in the final stages to easily race past Rokeby Venus for place money.
Among the beaten lot Red Dragon moved up a few notches to finish one off the frame. Rokeby Venus was prominent till the final furlong but failed to accelerate. River Blossom looked comfortable all through while who Arts ran in patches will improve to chalk up a better result soon. Astral Flash merits watching as well as she too ran in close.
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| River Blossom |
Moon storm was the public rage in the ring with Blade Runner the only other horse in the betting. Malesh Narredu guided Moon storm to the front and appeared to be cruising to a handy lead as they straightened for home. At the distance post Moon storm was still comfortably in front and Blade Runner (Alnasr Alwasheek – Name of Love) was being asked for an effort. Jockey Hayes got the right response from Blade Runner and the Imtiaz ward owned by the Jagtianis surged to challenge the long time leader and get past in the last couple of strides.
Ekhabinskya was the another public choice that went down dismally after the first race failure of Moonstorm. Leading form the start, Ekhabinskya faltered badly in the final furlong to surrender tamely first to Blue Daffodils and finally to Insite Soul the winner. Insite Soul (Black Cash – Infinite) who came charging in to wrest victory from Hymns To Freedom in the final stages in his last outing, repeated the strategy for the same result. Only this time it was done in better style and verdict.
Ekhabinskya led till the distance post but looked vulnerable as Blue Daffodils was always gaining on her. Insite Soul moved outwards and made a final charge full of steam and the brief dazzle allowed jockey David Allan to win pulling up, exhibiting great fitness in the process. A hattrick is well on the cards for the Katrak trainee. Blue Daffodils ended a good second. Global Spirit, from the winner's stable covered good ground to end just off the frame and is getting ready for better performances in the future. It would be worth watching her next outing as she may show further improvement.
I had reckoned that Peninsula had it in her to make a fight of it against Congrats but the mare just failed to provide even a yardstick measure as she simply refused to get out of the gates bringing back memories of her identical debacle in the McDowell Indian Derby of 2008. With the main threat out of the running, Congrats (China Visit – Congratulations) dominated the rest and won as she liked from the word "go"!
Congrats, who looked big and strong in the paddock, set her own comfortable pace and never allowed Brad who set about in chase all through, to even entertain a hope of getting any closer leave alone passing her. With a lead of 2-3 lengths at the turn, Congrats built on it and stretched further away without having to fire on all cylinders to notch up an impressive win, outclassing her rivals with every stride.
Speaking to Indiarace, trainer Imtiaz Sait said "I am impressed with her performance and she did what we expected of her. I am targeting the Oaks surely, but before that I will also give her another 10 furlong race or even a mile and a half, to fine tune her. She was weighing 15 kilos more than she did during her last run. She is a big made filly and pretty strong too. Her staying ability is what makes her a formidable contender". With Peninsula still lurking in my mind, I gave in to my temptation and asked him what if Peninsula had taken a level jump? Imtiaz replied matter-of-factly "what if"? Implying that the result would have been no different!
Cest Bon (Razeen – Priceless) made a smashing debut and sparking speculations that there is something classy about her. It may be a little premature to pin high hopes on this Dhunjibhoy filly, however, one can't help but acknowledge that she is extremely talented and one can count the Pesi Shroff to get the best out of her.
Starting off well and sitting pretty behind Hisham the leader, Cest Bon moved with effortless grace to sail into the lead soon on straightening up. Once in the straight, Cest Bon only got better and galloped away out of reach, the jockey looking over his shoulder more than once, toying with the opposition. Cest Bon clocked the best timing for the distance on the day (1:24.36) without being extended. She is sure to progress well from here on.
Raquel (Black Cash – Ravij) made ample amends to her last start failure and McCullagh ensured that there were absolutely no hic-cups whatsoever. Settling into the third with in touch with the leaders Raquel made her bid past the 400 m marker. Frangipani did not quicken and squandered a handy 3 length lead tamely when Raquel started questioning his superiority. Once Raquel shot in front she looked good to last out. Ka Ching tried desperately to mount a challenge but found the winner elusive. Walking Tall made good progress to end a notable third. Frangipani had a good lung opener and over a shorter sprint will be a force to reckon with.
Spica (Senure – Media Frenzy) showed tremendous acceleration in her final finish and sped past Fair Tactics and Zarzaitine to post an impressive victory. Pillatus was not in the best of positions and at a crucial juncture was caught between horses. By the time he got himself free of the cluster, Spica had stolen a march and with the winning post far too close, Pillatus had to be content with the runner up berth. Pillatus did shape up well and this run is best forgotten.
Covenant (Exploit – Laurie Begone) created a flutter by kicking on ahead from the gates and holding on gamely past the post. Available at lucrative odds, no one suspected Covenant's intentions as he led the field early and into the straight. Red Indian who was in hot pursuit got hotter towards the finish and the two battled the last furlong. Red Indian fought bravely but was never able to get past a resolute Covenant and the allowance claiming Zervan was up to the task as well taking on the 'in form' Daniel Grant. One would have expected a better finish from the Irishman, who would be one of the first to agree that it was a touch and go affair. Premier Perception got a check while trying to create space between Generalissimo and Nimble Feet, and despite losing a little ground did well to recover quickly and cover ground to save the place money. The winner apart, both Red Indian and Premier Perception ran well.
Mr. Greedy (Placerville - Angel Heights) was fit and fierce especially in the homestretch. Mickey Mantle got slowly off the blocks and could not improve as much as he would have liked. Mr. Greedy, who was prominently in the front running in his last start loss to Star Crusader showed that he liked the shorter 7 furlong trip better and sped away to win by a comfortable margin. Calling The Shots improved well towards the end to peg back Misschevious Trot for the runner up berth.
Argentina (Alnasr Alwasheek – Virginia Flapper) had to work hard for her maiden victory. Sitting well off the pace for the most part of the journey, McCullagh started to goad the Shroff ward at the turn and from there on it was an all out effort. In the Straight, it was Secret Talk who took over and was soon joined by Forever Amber. At the distance post, Forever Amber had the measure of Secret Talk but was challenged by Argentina who had pretty much warmed up by then. In the final 100, Argentina looked stronger and she went on to prevail by a length. Musical Rhythm made a late dash to finish ahead of Secret Talk for the place money.
Trainer Pesi Shroff had a good day saddling a treble while Imtiaz Sait scored a brace. Among the jockeys NG McCullagh partnered the Pesi treble while CD Hayes assisted Imtiaz's double.
