Becket emerged the King of the Indian turf by dethroning the queen in a well planned coup at the Mahalaxmi on Sunday. The Padmanabhan trained Becket halted the amazing winning sequence of Jacqueline by getting the measure of the filly in the closing strides of the race to lift the Gr 1 Vandrevala Foundation Indian Turf Invitation Cup, the biggest championship event of the Turf Authorities of India. Jacqueline who had won four Indian classics in a row including the Indian Derby was gallant in defeat as she dug deep into her reserves to pull off history defying win. However, Becket who has had an uninterrupted training programme for the last 30 days, proved that he was not going to be denied his rightful due.

Incidentally, both Becket and Jacqueline were bred at the Sultan Singh owned Sohna Stud Farm. Jockey Suraj Narredu rode a brilliant finish to record the biggest triumph of his career and thereby justify the confidence of Becket`s owner Haresh Mehta who had decided to reward his retained rider a wedding gift. Suraj Narredu got married on February 24 last month. Jacqueline who is easily one of the best fillies to have graced Indian turf was widely expected to get the better of Becket yet again as she continued to show zest despite an energy sapping run in the Indian Derby. The fatigue factor or the fact that no Indian Derby winning filly had gone on to win the Invitation Cup in Mumbai was not expected to be a hurdle in the path of this Pesi Shroff trained wonder filly. Becket who was on the upgrade after a series of problems had prevented him from achieving what was his rightful due was thrusting for revenge and this time out, he came from behind with an aggressive bent of mind to edge past the front running Jacqueline a shade before the winning post.

In a slow run race, Native Knight hit the front followed by Arabian Prince, Systematic, Jacqueline, Fleet Indian, Change of Luck, Sparks, Bruckner and Becket. The last named was sluggish at the start and lost about a few lengths at the start. Jockey Richard Hughes chose to sit up with the pace as it was slow and this almost paid of rich dividends. Native Knight weakened on straightening for home after doing the front runner and shifted in under pressure, in the process affecting Arabian Prince who in turn went on to Becket who was about to get into full rhythm. In the meanwhile, Jacqueline had made swift progress through the middle and went sailing clear. However, Becket got back into his stride and gradually covered up the leeway and managed to put his elegant head in front at the finish. The winner clocked a slow time of two minutes 32.09 seconds. Change of Luck ran a mighty race to finish third, four and half lengths adrift of Jacqueline. Native Knight ran on to be fourth.

This was the third Indian Turf Invitation Cup winner for trainer Padmanabhan who had won this race in his own colours through Running Flame at the same venue several years ago. For Suraj Narredu who has won classics in the South, this was the first major win in Mumbai. Suraj said that he was pretty confident of winning and was not perturbed by the slow start taken by Becket. ``I knew I had a ton in hand and barring the minor hiccup I had in the straight when I had to break the stride of the horse due to interference when I was about to put the horse in top gear, I knew that I would be able to get Jacqueline before the post. Becket is easily the best horse I have ridden in my career. He has every attribute of a true champion,`` he said.
For Haresh Mehta, this was the biggest triumph on his home ground. ``Holding Court`s win in the Bangalore Derby was something special as he gave taste of big race success. Winning the Invitation Cup on Becket, beating the best horse in the country, is absolutely an exhilarating experience,`` he added.

Trainer Padmanabhan who has made it a habit of winning big races, Becket`s triumph was a tribute to his training skills given the innumerable problems that very nearly threatened to end his career as a juvenile itself.

In yet another sensational finish, Arjun Mangalorkar trained Aboline just about nosed out Dancing Dynamite to win the Gr 1 Maj P K Mehra Memorial Super Mile, the supporting event of the day. Aboline who got a dream opening along the rails as the pace setter Iapetus drifted out in the final two furlongs and seized the opportunity. Dancing Dynamite, who had the extreme outside draw, travelled wide all the way and despite an all out effort from both the horse and his jockey Martin Dwyer, just about missed the berth by a whisker. Aboline who had beaten Jacqueline in the Bangalore Derby thus showed glimpses of his old form. His pilot C Alford got everything right on the erstwhile Derby winner which was bred at the Kunigal Stud Farm. It was a narrow miss for Dancing Dynamite who was bidding to win his second straight Super Mile of his career. The narrow defeat also denied Dancing Dynamite`s trainer Padmanabhan from recording a Grade I race double on Sunday. However, Padmanabhan had a dream week end as Palazzio`s Sun had won the Sprinters Cup on Saturday. D`Artagnan had placed third in the Sprinters Cup while Change of Luck finished third in the Invitation Cup.

The first three placed horses in the Super Mile were all from Bangalore. Aristos was a gallant third while Juventus was fourth followed by Sprint Star and Celestial Way. Not more than three lengths covered the entire field at the finish.

Trainer Arjun Mangalorkar was delighted by Aboline coming out of a bad patch. ``It was a close race and I am thrilled to win the most competitive race of the Invitation Cup weekend races,`` he added.

Mysore based Bipin Salvi had bigger reasons to celebrate as nine year old Aurelian put in a gutsy performance to edge out Forest Flair in a thriller to win the Hirco India Multi Million, a seven furlong race which attracted a quality field.

The Royal Western India Turf Club put up a brilliant show. The Racing Awards night was also conducted in splendid fashion. Chairman of Turf Authorities of India Vivek Jain and his team deserve all the praise for putting up a fantastic weekend of racing.