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The most confounding win was that of Countess in The Astrodance Handicap. The filly from Bharath Singh’s yard had displayed a marked lack of form during the last few outings and she was available at 12/1. The on-money favourite Salute The Star from the stable of Daniel David was taken to the helm as the gates opened and he appeared to have the measure of his nearest rival Apyrous when apprentice Babu Singh on Countess sneaked the filly in along the rails.
Trainer Robert Gowli picked up his fourth win of the season with All Time High. The chestnut ran two impressive races in the company of Harey Putter and was quietly fancied by the stable to land the spoils in this company. Though he declared a couple of kg overweight, jockey M Krishna appeared to be always in striking distance of Little Mombo who was running merrily up front. However, as he punched for home, Magic Mantra and Vinay Jaiswal came with a great run and threatened to overhaul him. But that’s as far as they got as Gowli’s ward flashed past the winning post.
Burst Of Speed won her fourth race of the season when she bagged the Academy Gold Handicap from Royal Charter. This Daniel David filly is in line for the horse of the season tag as she has displayed both versatility and speed. She won the six-furlong sprint in her usual start-to-finish manner.
Both Ardent Prince and Royal Dance were well-backed runners in the Another Time Handicap but neither could deliver for their backers. While jockey Christopher Alford suffered a fall from Royal Dance early in the race, Ardent Prince failed to match strides with the speedster Rithambhra who made every post a winning one. The victory fetched Mohit Singh his maiden win and he was naturally elated as he crossed the winning post.
As Royal Dance has developed a ‘malfunction’ and pulls at the reins from the word ‘Go’, Christopher tried his best to restrain him early but the colt threw his head and the bridle came off. With no control over the horse, Alford toppled over and was fortunate to escape without any serious injury. He is unlikely to ride on Friday but is assured of the coveted jockeys’ championship.
Trainer Richard Alford has done a pretty good job with Harey Putter. Though the chestnut is known to have a blood vessel problem, he came out and won a second time as he got the measure of Agnation close home in the mile race for the Black Buck Cup. A part of the credit must go to apprentice Srinivas Rao who rode a great finish after keeping his mount covered up for a major portion of the way.
The leading trainers go into the final day on Friday with David holding a slender one point advantage over Vijay Singh.
