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| Trainer C D Katrak leading Sea Storm (S Sameer Up), winner of The Mulraj Goculdas Trophy |
Imran Chisty is on fire. He followed his last week double with an even better performance and struck a fine treble this time scoring twice for trainer Faisal Abbas and for Arti Doctor over the grueling mile and a half trip.
Miles And More (Razeen – So romantic) was among the most fancied horses for the Shantidas Trophy. Settling behind pacemaker Royal Panache, Chisty wrested the initiative from the leader just as they started to turn for home. Miles And More was pushed into the lead and entered the straight with a handy 4-5 length advantage. This held him in good stead as towards the finish Cosmopolitan was seen covering ground steadily. Cosmopolitan raced well off the pace all through and was the last one to turn for home. He came through the rails, passed the rest of the field comfortably, and ended a good second.
Ekhabinskya (Placerville – Moving Image) shrugged off her last start failure and came up this time, with a clean-as-a-whistle victory. Chamberlain was a thorough disappointment. Ekhabinskya were in charge from early on and Imran Chisty worked up a comfortable lead as they turned for home. Chamberlain looked exhausted even as they turned and raised no hope whatsoever. Hidden Danger moved up under some forceful riding and worked hard for his second place. Uproar who ran a front running race was unlucky to have been nosed out of the place money by Exotic Star who came up with a fast finishing gallop to snatch the third spot. Exotic Star’s run was eye-catching.
Imran’s third-for-day came astride Faisal Abbas’ Tembung. Chasing Raiba until the turn, Tembung (Diffident – Aide De Memoire) surged ahead early in the straight and accelerated from there on and shut the others out to register a fluent victory easing up towards the winning post. Graces was prominent and had all the chances but simply did not quicken. Uber Alles ran a much better race to take the runner up berth. Above All is running himself into good form and Oriental Jewel is getting ready for longer trips.
Faisal Abbas too went on to score a lucrative treble. In the last race of the day, Weizhou was strongly supported in the betting ring. Now Weizhou (Senure – Priceless Moments) won impressively causing no alarm whatsoever to his followers. He took charge readily on entering the straight and marched on regardless of what was going on behind. He got stronger nearing the post and compiled a very easy victory. French Kiss never seemed interested and was languishing in the rear. She could not even come up with the final flourish that saw her clinch the second spot from Cherokee in her last start. She made a little progress only good enough to find a place in the frame. Fire Vault put in a spirited run but found the winner too good. Elementto Code needs a mention for a real good finishing effort to end a commendable third coming from the last position in the straight.
Duke of Windsor (Diffident – Priceless Asset) put it across favorite Rokeby Venus in the six furlong Warsaw Pact Plate with a tremendous burst in the closing stages, this despite jockey B Prakash dropping his whip at a crucial juncture in the straight. Estevez had taken a huge lead and was kicking on; Rokeby Venus was being ridden out to bridge the gap when Duke of Windsor joined the latter. Past the distance post, Estevez was still ahead but his lead was fast diminishing. Rokeby Venus and Duke of Windsor were fast gaining but were fighting between them to gain an upper hand. In the last 100 meters, Duke Of Windsor put the issue beyond doubt with a purposeful finish to clinch the race close home. Estevez needs watching over a shorter scurry. Rokeby Venus needs to be given another chance.
Kai (Warrshan – Star Gift) from the stables of Rehanullah Khan scored a facile victory over the more fancied Calling The Shots. Procyon made the initial running and got the field home bound. Into the straight, Crespo was the first to get past the leader but soon had Calling the Shots breathing down his neck. The moment Calling the Shots took over, McCullagh alerted Kai who was right up to the task and came up with a blistering run to easily overhaul the favorite and post a convincing victory.
Talk of the Town (Broto – Porsche Too) put in a splendid home stretch run to hammer the opposition in the day’s opener. What makes this victory such an awesome one is the fact that jockey Grant had trouble early on to get the Katrak gelding going as they jumped out. He was sluggish at the start and Grant had to whack him to remind him of the task ahead. He worked his way from the rear to be in the mid bunch at the turn. Once in the straight, Talk of the Town was a complete pro and galloped resolutely to storm past the leaders for an astounding win. The other one to impress was Snowden who was wide all through the race and finished on without strong assistance from the saddle. Keep an eye on Snowden, he is sure to come out and win before long.
Ka Ching did not live to expectations and went down tamely without resistance. Combustion led the field homewards and Misschevious Trot started to mount his challenge. Ka Ching was right there and passing the distance post Classic Star (Flitch – Romantic Moments) swooped on them all to run away with the race springing up from the rear to post a facile victory. Ka Ching would be better off in a shorter sprint. Misschevious Trot ran a good second.
The day certainly belonged to trainer Faisal Abbas and jockey Imran Chisty who scored a treble each. Trainer Cooji Katrak and jockey Daniel Grant scored a double each.
