Bid For Gold, Rommel Upset Favourites
By Epsom Ace

Kolkata. Saturday, November, 28 2009
After his super-sixer in Mumbai, trainer Pesi Shroff notched up a lucrative quadruple at the Calcutta races on Saturday. Shroff’s winners were Elegante, Corazon, Rommel and Recardo. The Mumbai ace missed out on the big ’un, The Casino Royale Goa Calcutta 1000 Guineas where Darius Byramji-trained Bid For Gold pulled off a thrilling win in the hands of local champion Christopher Alford.

 
www.indiarace.com, Royal Calcutta Turf Club

Pesi Shroff

 
Darius was tied down for the Bangalore 1000 Guineas and it was father Rashid who flew down to the city to prepare his son’s ward for the big race. Jockey Alford took the daughter of Placerville out of Queen To Conquer to the helm of affairs immediately after the gates opened. He said is a post-race remark that he decided on this move after a telephonic chat with Darius. The favourite Sans Pareil, with Ryan Marshall in the saddle, was in a box seat at the bend. Marshall tried his utmost to collar the front-runner thereafter but Christopher always managed to extract a little extra from his mount when most needed. The duo went hammer and tongs and it could have gone either way with 20 metres to go but Alford and his filly were braver and fortune favoured them at the post. Star Bright was a tame third.

The nine-card meet commenced in gripping manner, which gave an indication of what to expect during the afternoon. The favourite Island Rhythm with A Imran Khan astride, running in the Kariba Plate for two-year-olds, staved off a strong challenge from Flawed Genius to win by a short-head. The unlucky one in the race was Kayadhu who lost a little ground at the start and then made a strong bid along the rails. Her run suggests that she will hoist a winning flag soon. The two divisions of the Liberty Handicap produced major upsets. While Classic paid Rs 200 for win in the tote, Majestic Falcon paid a whopping Rs 452.

Surjeet Singh on Classic followed the front-running Mrs Jones till the distance post where he made a serious effort to get past her. He succeeded close home much to the delight of trainer Farley Rodrigues and his team. Though Yuhina was a trifle slow off the mark, she finished a good third. It is doubtful whether she could have got the better of Classic on this day as the latter was shade better placed at weights.

Majestic Falcon came out of the maiden ranks with something of a vengeance as he had played second fiddle once too often. Apprentice Armaan Khan took the Daniel David ward to the front immediately after the start and had little trouble in holding on to his lead. Smiles was a good second, suggesting that the filly has improved. The disappointment in the field were the joint ante-post favourites Sea Sprite and Skylark. The pair may need some time.

Elegante set the ball rolling for Shroff in elegant fashion. Like other more illustrious offspring of Au Panache (Campanero, Royal Panache, Da Vinci), Elegante relished the 2,000 metres trip. The only notable challenge emanated from King’s Ace in the final furlong where he was simply outclassed. Jockey Neeraj Rawal had the filly racing behind pacemaker Loughborough till the bend where she took over and didn’t look back.

Public choices won both divisions of the Romantic Notes Handicap. Surprisingly available at 3/1, the favourite Bold Babe made mincemeat of the 12-horse field in the upper division. She came with a fluent run in the straight after lying an improving fourth while Agnation called the shots. The winner was confidently piloted by Kishore Kadam.

Even more confident was Paul Mulrennan astride Corazon who was hopelessly placed before the bend. In an amazing turn of events after home turn. Mulrennan did a Houdini act and found a passage along the rails with a brilliant piece of saddle artistry. What made it even more praiseworthy was that it was his maiden start on a track new to him. Corazon has more races in store for her.

Rommel’s win the RWITC Cup was truly remarkable, as he gave absolutely no chance to the favourite Fair Option. Low-weight rider Ruzaan had him well positioned from the outset while Vignet set a cracking pace. After heads turned for home, Ruzaan gave his mount a free rein and it was all over bar the shouting. Fair Option’s classic hopes seem to have suffered a blow after this race.

Recardo brought the curtain down and in the process completed a brilliant quadruple for Shroff. The sprinter was expertly handled by R P Cleary, who took the shortest route home after the home turn. A huge gamble on Patrick Quinn-trained Rising Hero came unstuck although the gelding was well positioned to strike at the top of the straight. The disappointment in the race was Arctic Force whose poor show left much to be desired.

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