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Vishal Gaikwad trained Frosty sprang a surprise in the 1800 metres Astana Plate, a race for horses rated 60 to 86, the highest rated event of the races held Thursday evening at Mumbai. Frosty hadn`t won for one year and as such, the filly`s narrow win over Unforgettable You must be categorized as coming against the run of expectations. The other runners in the fray appeared to have better credentials.
Neeraj Rawal took Frosty on a start to finish mission and the progeny of Cape Cross barely managed to survive a strong challenge from Unforgettable You who fell short by a whisker. With a furlong left in the race, four horses were in contention and Frosty looked most vulnerable. However, the filly lasted out. Despite being hard-ridden, Unforgettable You fell short. Timeless showed intent and aggression but tired out and barely managed to keep the third place from In My Dream.
David Allan who was been selective in his choice of rides was successful on both his rides for the day thus making it four for four for the season. David guided short-priced favourite Selfie Star to a comfortable win in the 1600 metres Proletarian Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 66. Selfie Star raced in the second position behind Silken Eyes who showed the way for most part of the trip before David pushed Selfie Star to take charge with about 300 metres left in the race. The progeny of Excellent Art had no problem in storming clear and win with a measure of ease from late-rallying Bold March. Zanzibar was third ahead of long time leader Silken Eyes.
David`s second win also came on another Dallas Todywalla trained Lady In Red. The four-year-old filly had won during the last Mumbai season in the hands of the same jockey. Lady In Red had less taker than the others in the fray with Arashi being the favourite for the 1400 metes J V Shukla – Ashwamitra, a race for horses rated 20 to 46. The fancied Collegium led the field into the straight but failed to produce anything extra under pressure. Under a relentless ride by David, Lady In Red gained ascendancy and successfully staved off a challenge form Celestial Light who made a good rally along the rails. Godsent who lost considerable ground at the start, had recovered quickly and then stayed on to finish third. Godsent has been a big disappointment ever since she beat Mathaiyus in the previous Pune season and since then has lost his way.
Imtiaz Sait trained Summer Rays was backed to the exclusion of the rest in the 1200 metres Mayor`s Trophy, a race for horses rated 40 to 66. Trevor had the progeny of Phoenix Tower race freely in front and skipped clear in the final furlong for a comfortable win. Trevor has been reportedly retained by Shapoor Mistry to ride for his stud farm horses. Flag Flying who was the only serious challenger could not change gears and had to settle for the second position ahead of Triple Threat who rallied well towards the end.
It appeared that the day was reserved for horses which hadn`t won for a substantial period. Divine Solitaire was competing in a class where the seven-year-old had won twice. However, Divine Solitaire had failed to find the winning post for about 1344 days. There was surge of betting on this even-year-old in the 1200 metres Kanthara Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 46 and those who got the clue that the problems of the horses had been sorted out, would have benefitted. Sumaaq was considered to have better credentials and was accorded the status of being a favourite. Locarno led the field for deep into the straight before jockey J Chinoy was able to induce a finishing burst from Divine Solitaire who managed to win with a measure of comfort. Way Ahead made a late charge to take the second position ahead of Super Icon while Sumaaq was a poor fifth.
Adhiraj Johha trained Royal Classic had a better record than the rest in the fray for the 1200 metres Sonalika Plate (div I), a race for horses in the lowest category. The record pertained to the fact that Royal Classic had won 417 days ago and had placed on a couple of occasions compared to the others who had no record. Wilshire and Beyond Forces were disputing the issue in the final furlong when Royal Classic was unleashed on the wide outside. Royal Classic flew home to win by a widening margin of three lengths over Wilshire who held off Beyond Forces to keep the runner-up berth. The lower division of the race saw another bolt from the blue in the form of Untitled form the stables of champion trainer of this class namely Antia. Untitled bolted to the front and stayed put there to win at long odds. Royal Ace was second ahead of on money favourite Alyaties.
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Frosty (Neeraj Rawal up) winner of the Astana Plate
Selfie Star (David Allan up) winner of the Proletarian Plate
Lady In Red (David Allan up) winner of the J V Shukla - Ashwamitra Trophy
Summer Rays (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Mayor`S Trophy
Untitled (Hanumant Singh up) winner of the Sonalika Plate (Div-II)
Divine Solitaire (J Chinoy up) winner of the Kanthara Plate
Royal Classic (S A Amit up) winner of the Sonalika Plate (Div-I)
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