No match for Ashwa Pushkar in Colts Trial Stakes |
| In the wake of a "million" race slated for next week for the three-year-old horses, most of the youngsters were opted out leaving the colts Trials Stakes at the mercy of two colts and two geldings at the Delhi races on Monday. A wise decision might be for the most who try for big purse. However, the connections of Ashwa Pushkar wanted to ascertain whether the gelding had the staying capability for seven furlong's contest. It proved worth at the Mukteshwar Stud sponsored event. With the northern region under the grip of extensive cold, there was no respite for the racing concerned people. In the absence of bonfire, they faced the chilly wind boldly during three hours programme of six races. Barring Uday Bhan Singh-trained Ashwa Pushkar, Successor and after the withdrawal of Strike It Rich, no clear mandate for the favourite was on card. Despite this, many succeeded in following the betting tradition on few closing favourites - Dazzling Light and Tiger Tiger, who justified it. Seeing the previous performance of finishing late third to Rock It in the Sports Lifestyle Million, hardly there was a place for even little doubts about Ashwa Pushkar to shed maiden status. But the presence of Rajinder in saddle of Warlord, who ran second to Odds N Evens last week, made the things little dicey. The four took off together and were in two groups before approaching the halfway down the trip. Afterwards, all looked in hurry as if the winning post was nearby. The four started staking claim before turning for the final run. However, Pushkar bore the pressure and responded well on the urgings of the visiting jockey Chouhan to put the things beyond the reach of Warlord from the top of the homestretch. The son of Diffident and Regius will have to face Rock It in the Hazara Million on January 19. Breaking Mould, who led narrowly before being faded out, could not find better place than finishing ahead of last of the four- Solid Gold. "I got it what I was looking for," Mrs Anita Chauhan, owner of Ashwa Pushkar, said. "Full credit goes to the stable jockey Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who not only looked after the horse so well in the absence of the trainer, but also his timely advice paid off," Anita added. "Ashwa Pushkar and Ashwa Paarth, both will be making it to the next million race and expected to be bringing laurels," she told me. For Successor, it was merely a formality to be completed in the Queen of The Bees Plate which was earmarked for the top-class racers. Ever since he overcame fitness problem after reaching Delhi, he improved by leaps and bounds. An encore came his way so easily that hardly anything was left for the local runners. He should continue to extend his winning streak in terms races. Aleem Khan, who trained the winner, had earlier led-in Tiger Tiger in the lower division of the Way Cry Plate. Reinman Shadab Khan stole the heart on the day by bagging the curtain raiser event - the senior division of the Way Cry Plate (1,200M) astride Dazzling Light and bringing down the curtain through Asma in the Poet's Dream Plate. The duo was saddled by Zulfiqar Khan. Dazzling Light has the calibre to even score over the longer trip. A brilliant piece of riding by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Empire Maker helped newly licensed Manbir Singh to get off the mark. Manbir, who was assistant to one of the prominent trainers in Bangalore, has been involved in racing in Australia for couple of years. Travelling in the sixth position, Gajendra just tipped his mount off the rails to come in a position from where the gelding could have seen daylight. Real Strong, who played the second fiddle, may strike soon. |
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