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Onassis won without breaking into sweat and this augurs well for his chances in the bigger races to come. I remember Pesi Shroff singling out Onassis during that exceptionally rewarding day for Pesi when he sent out six winners in a single day. Despite Jacqueline and Astral Flash figuring in the six winning streak, Pesi had surprised me saying that he found Onassis as the top performer of the day. How right he was! The blinding speed with which Onassis won showed Pesi meant what he said during that impromptu chat with me at the end of the day. Onassis, then, will be the one to watch out for the bigger occasions.
Star Future (Diffident – Sure Future) had made his only appearance on the Pune track, a winning one. Coming with no prep run for the Hello! Million, Star Future was in command soon on settling down and only got stronger in the straight. Favourite Moonlight Romance, who was chasing Star Future just couldn’t keep up to the acceleration showed by Star Future and was made to fight even to keep his second spot. Ciel Indienne and Batista were both gaining on him at the wire.
Forest Flair (Placerville – Tide Of Fortune) missed the record timing by a hundredth of a second while winning the WIRHOA Trophy for four year-olds and over a six-furlong sprint race contested by a bunch of fiery speedsters. Favourite D ‘Artagnan shot into the lead and entered the straight with his rivals hounding him like a pack of wolves. The challenge came from either side as Forest Flair quickly moved alongside on the outside and Portrush making a serious bid from the inner rails. Jockey KPG Appu was certainly not at his best and that’s a very huge shortcoming for rivals to exploit in such a close run race. Forest Flair put in a determined gallop and B Prakash went hell for leather to drive home the narrow advantage to triumph. Prakash was simply splendid with his saddle work and had a decisive hand at returning victorious in the most gripping race of the day. Portrush drove the weight advantage to the hilt and, despite failing to collar Forest Flair, gave a good account of himself while beating this strong set. D ‘Artagnan held to run into place money, while Red Romeo and Spiritual were strong finishers. The second name in particular, caught the eye.
Ares (Celtic Swing – Glowing Sands) ran a cracker of a race and eclipsed forest Flair’s existing record for the five-furlong scurry. Ares looked the winner early in the straight when he moved up effortlessly past Ekhabinskya who had led them into the homestretch. Ares cruised past the leader and when jockey Imran Chisty got busy, Ares leapt forward and left the rest struggling to scramble for the minor placing. Ares was fluent, fast and fabulous in his victory and the new record time he posted came with awesome ease. Blue Danube just couldn’t come to terms and was never in the hunt. Monopoly just managed to pip Ekhabinskya for the second spot.
A freak incident in the Greater Mumbai Police Trophy robbed race goers of an interesting finish that was expected going by the betting trends. The trio of Sea Sparrow, Saint Vincent and Lone Monarch had garnered but all the betting in the ring. Each had a major share of supporters and the race itself ought to have seen a close fighting finish. As fate would have it, both Cooji Katrak’s horses, Sea Sparrow and Lone Monarch for some reason refused to jump out of the gates despite frantic efforts by their respective jockeys. Neither would budge and I must add that it looked comical to see the jockeys desperately trying to get their mounts out of the gates. That was not to be and both did not take any active part in the race.
Tequila took upon himself to lead the reduced bunch and held on his own until the last furlong. Saint Vincent (Ikhtyar – Magick Sword) took a while to get past the leader but in the final furlong put in a sustained run to win comfortably with Mulrennan partnering the Pesi trainee in complete control.
Surmount (Diffident – Angel Guardian) pulled off a smart gamble for trainer HJ Antia in a close finish involving Honeyday in the first race of the day. It was like a cavalry charge and the lead was disputed with every bob of the head. Surmount had a slender lead that looked vulnerable all through. Accurize was the first to provide a strong challenge and then came Honeyday with a big run. Past the stands, Grey Island too came into the picture. At the wire, Surmount had got it right by a whisker. Jockey Hanumanth Singh would rue his effort and certainly missed a more than good chance of winning his first race in a long time.
Oriental Magic (China Visit – Summer Queen) lived up to the promise he had shown in his last start. The Sunderji ward encountered a stiff challenge in the final furlong from Chopasni and the duo fought an engaging battle opposite the stands. Oriental Magic, however, pulled away in the dying moments to spare over a length at the wire. Premier Connection ran on to finish third while Celtic Manor did not make any impression even though he was prominent in the straight.
Maverick (Sir Bruce – Wonderful Babe) has done well under trainer Nirad Karanjawalla and posted his second victory this season. Sitting in striking position behind leaders Mypethoney and Any Time Money, Maverick surged ahead effortlessly into the lead early in the straight. Once in the lead, Malesh Narredu got the gelding to quicken and never looked in trouble at any stage. Secret Talk ended second and Onus Probandi third ahead of Fascination who did well to recover from a slow start.
Tabar (Ontario – Gallarus) galloped gallantly making his appearance at a late stage adding to the anxiety of his backers. Silver Soul had stolen a march and was comfortably in front with the last furlong to go. Tabar was too far back for comfort but the Cooji Katrak trainee came with a powerful finish to breeze past Silver Soul in a flash. Top Action ran a decent third.
For the professionals, trainer Pesi Shroff and jockeys Imran Chisty and B Prakash scored a brace each.
