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Faisal A Abbas trained Clymene bounced back to winning ways after a gap of 350 days with a start to finish dash, staving off the strong challenge of Gazino to win the 1200 metres Hall of Famer Trophy, a race for horses rated 80 and above, the feature event of Sunday’s Mumbai races. Pesi Shroff saddled three winners with Leigh Roche being associated with two of his winners.
The speedy Clymene hit the front from the inside draw with Awesome One in the chase while Gazino, Excellent and Intense Stylist raced behind in close proximity. The last-named did not show the speed of old and was several lengths adrift of the front-runner. Trevor Patel was able to get Clymene going in front without coming under too much pressure and held off the only threat on the horizon namely Gazino who made a good rally in the stretch. Awesome One who fell back when the pace quickened rallied to snatch back the third position from Intense Stylist by a whisker.
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Rehanullah Khan trained Sharareh had given every indication in her last effort at Pune that she was ready to strike and justified such an expectation in the 1000 metres Venus Arising Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 46. Sharareh had won in the identical class 276 days ago. Steppenwolf surprisingly was backed as if his defeat was out of contention. Pradeep Chouhan had Steppenwolf lead from the beginning with Maestro in the chase while Sharareh was settled in a handy third position. Bhawani Singh on Sharareh got busy inside the final 300 metres and the second favourite easily overwhelmed the favourite and went storming clear for an easy win. Isinit ran on late to nose out Highland Woods for the third position.
Pesi Shroff trained Mzilikazi who had recorded an impressive win during the Bangalore Summer Season had failed to live up to expectations over extended trips at Pune. He was back to racing over a sprint in the Sardar Harcharan Singh Brar Memorial Trophy, a race for horses rated 20 to 46. Mzilikazi came in for good betting ahead of last start winner Dandi March and the prolific performer Auspicious. Mzilikazi met the unexpected challenge from long shot Tanjo who led from the start and put up a tenacious fight before Leigh Roche on the favourite was able to get the nod in the closing moments of the race. Dandi March who lost some ground at the start rallied well in the straight and finished on strongly to occupy the third position.
The combination of Shroff and Roche had a quick double with the jockey extracting that bit extra from Rhapsody to pull off a tight win over Daddy’s Pride in the 1800 metres Lady In Lace Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 66. Daddy’s Pride had beaten Rhapsody in the Pune Derby and the former still enjoyed an edge after calculating the difference in weights, but the latter was subjected to extensive preparation whereas one could not spot Daddy’s Pride to have had the requisite workouts. After My Precious led deep into the straight, Rhapsody had the lead going into the final furlong. Pradeep Chouhan on Daddy’s Pride brought the fancied runner from the rear of the field with a ground-saving effort along the rails. The two fought out a stiff battle before Rhapsody asserted herself. Hokkaido was third more than four lengths adrift.
Imtiaz Sait trained Memorial Eyes who had run second behind Sultan Suleiman in his only run at Pune was made the strong favourite to win the 1400 metres Municipal Commissioner’s Trophy, a race for horses rated 20 to 46. The race produced an absorbing finish. Zervan on Tudor Hall managed to push his horse through the gap between front-running Martini and Golden Era with a furlong left in the race. After an intense battle for supremacy, Tudor Hall managed to neck out Golden Era to land the spoils at nourishing odds. Run Forest Run who came up with a threatening run was a close third. Memorable Eyes ran green and finished a tame fourth.
Trevor Patel who had a double for the day guided Pesi Shroff trained Royalty to a thrilling win over Lady Lanette in the 1200 metres Dashmesh-Win Legend Futurity, the season’s first race for two-year-olds. Lady Lanette benefitted by the inside draw and led all the way with Royalty racing in mid-group and several lengths to make up the front-runner. The driving finish of Trevor got the desired response from Royalty who covered the leeway in the final furlong with brisk strides and just about nosed out Lady Lanette in the concluding stride of the race. Both these horses benefitted by the race run they had at Pune. Intense Approach necked out Successor to save place money.
Trainer Ivor Fernandes saddled one of those rare wins when the lesser fancied Whispering Queen managed to snatch the verdict from favourite Shapath in the closing stride of the race in the 1600 metres A Geddis Plate, a race for horses rated 4 to 30. After Saddle The Wind led the field deep into the straight, Shapath rallied well along the rails to storm ahead. Whispering Queen who was handily placed drifted out under pressure but gathered steam in the hands of apprentice jockey A S Pater and came up with a renewed challenge and managed to get the verdict in thrilling fashion. Arizona Pie ran on to get the better of Saddle The Wind to save place money.
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Sharareh (Bhawani Singh up) winner of the Venus Arising Plate
Mzilikazi (Leigh Roche up) winner of the Sardar Harcharan Singh Brar Memorial Trophy
Rhapsody (Leigh Roch up) winner of the Lady In Lace Plate
Tudor Hall (S Zervan up) winner of the Municipal Commissioner'S Trophy
Clymene (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Hall Of Famer Trophy
Royalty (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Dashmesh - Win Legend Futurity
Whispering Queen (A S Peter up) winner of the A Geddis Plate
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