The excellent sense of placement of his ward Go Guzzi Go (Senure – Ghazwat) proved to be a crucial factor in Dallas Todywalla`s ward`s victory over the fancied duo Rommel and Highland Crown in the Royal Windsor Plate on Saturday.

The bay gelding was entrusted to Dashrath Singh and he too gave a confident display in the saddle when riding Go Guzzi Go off the pace as Cavaradosi set the early pace. Rommel was the first to join the issue with Cavaradosi when entering the home stretch but Go Guzzi Go stretched out nicely to frustrate the favourite`s hopes. Joint favourite Highland Crown once again found the weight a stopper and Imran Chisty did no favour to his chances by taking things a bit too easy astride the C. D. Katrak trainee till the Rommel and Go Guzzi Go far beyond his reach. Disappointing as it may seem, a couple of performance this season do not reflect the true ability of Highland Crown.

Karthik Ganapathy saddled juvenile Blazing Spectacle (Rossini (USA) – Bongusto) gave a spectacular display of his speed in the Supri Super Sprint. B. Prakash had to brush Blazing Spectacle before the grabbing the lead but once the chestnut rig settled down, it was evident that it would be a Herculean task for pre-race favourite Torrential to collar him. Blazing Spectacle had something in reserve when finishing clear of Torrential. Demonstrator got noticed when he covered good ground towards the end to finish third ahead of River Lass.

El Tropico, Tequila and Dear Liza, all having a solitary win to their credit, found winner Attila`s brilliance too good for their comfort in the October Handicap. Pesi Shroff trained Attila (China Visit – Al Dente) stayed close on the haunches of his owner-mate Tequila, who went surging into the lead from the barriers. Tequila was a spent force in the final furlong and capitulated far too meekly when challenged by El Tropico and Attila. Favourite El Tropico found the 6.5kg deficit too heavy a burden to bear against Attila and the latter stamped his authority in no uncertain terms. Dear Liza faced hurdles at the gates yet again and got going only in the final furlong. Like El Tropico, Dear Liza too done in by the handicap difference. Tequila`s performance, of course, was the poorest of all considering the 3.5kg claimed by N. S. Parmar aboard the Narendra Lagad saddled filly.

All those who backed Any Time Money to the exclusion of his rivals in the curtain raiser realised to their horror that their trust in the sprinting abilities of Hormuz Antia`s candidate was breached. The punters knew that their money had gone down the drain on finding Any Time Money shorn of the speed which he displayed when on a weight-reducing mission. It was War Major and Classic Spirit (Hymn – Spirit of Patxi) who disputed the lead till Magansingh Jodha`s contender overpowered her adversary. Refuse to Bend laboured hard but lacked acceleration. Arabian Power retired to be fourth ahead of Any Time Money whose performance was another example of how ridiculously easy it is to hoodwink the punters. A four-month suspension was given to Rathore on the same day but it remains uncertain whether it is a deterrent one.
Blade Runner (Alnasr Alwasheek – Name of Love) found the six-furlong trip to his liking and finally tasted some success. The Malesh Narredu driven Blade Runner from Imtiaz Sait`s yard came from the rear to collar Shodaan, who had just got the better of Yourethetouch. Favourite Hammerhead dealt a severe blow to his followers by a lacklustre show though he did manage to finish in the money ahead of Kalinga Star.

Hosidar Daji schooled filly Empress of India (Puerto Madero – Maya) earned her maiden success in the hands of Malcolm Kharadi with her powerful run down the straight which put paid to the hopes of Black Falcon and Tommy Carmichael.