Real Smasher Gets the Booty |
| Real Smasher proved to be the best young miler as he annexed the Rosario Multi-million at the Delhi races on Monday. Trainer Alim Khan was the lone professional to earn double on the day. However, for the race goers it was a black day, as all the favourites disappointed barring Ka Ching. The second richest event of the season that offered more than Rs 1.5 million for the top slot turned out to be a lacklustre affair. A field of eight was sent out including the public fancied Ashwa Pushkar. But Real Smasher had something else under his belt. The horse took a lesson from his previous outing where he had to be content with the third place after adopting a wait 'n watch tactics. Jockey B Prakash, who took away the North India Derby few years ago, utilised the advantage of being familiar of the track and soon forced the son of Ontario and Smash For Cash to set his own pace. Giving a slight breather nearing the final curve proved to be vital and by the time Ashwa Pushkar came into action, Real Smasher had already made a smash for cash. Undoubtedly, a reverse handicap helped the gelding. A class penalty was up against Ashwa Pushkar but taking the field without sweating out much in the trials affected a lot. Coming from the mid-field, he was shown the daylight only after straightening for the homestretch. However, the duo gave an impression that the next season would certainly be dominated by them. Ashwa Parvez, who was absent at the trials, ran on to be a decent third. Breaking Mould and Ashwa Panna, who finished fourth and fifth respectively, have the potential to come up. The curtain raiser event, Divine Trophy, saw a gruelling battle between Mojo and Jolteon for the top honours. The judge even had to seek the help of photo-finish camera to segregate them but even that didn’t help. They were declared joint winner after travelling nip and tuck for the last furlong. The favourite, Firecracker, toiled hard but was unable to move higher than the close third place. Sangeet Charan-trained Sarir completed a hat-trick at nourishing odds in the upper division of the Himachal Soap And Detergent Trophy. Chevron, who left no stone unturned to foil the start-to-finish bid of the victor, failed short by a half-a length. Sunehree Parinda's late attempt to justify the top billing was further kept at bay by Invincible Force, who finished a neck ahead for the third place. The lower division of the Trophy saw Ka Ching tasting victory at ease. He should complete an encore. Rawsom ran on to be fair second ahead of the late finishing Kohinoor Beauty. S P Singh-saddled Pacemaker set his own pace in seven-furlong Klik Trophy to dash the hope of Mettalika for completing an encore. The gelding should repeat. The runner-up should make amends. In the day's concluding event, Divine Thunder caused an upset. Skyros, who ran a trifle late for the third berth behind Kemrock, should raise a winning gallop. |
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