Smart Chieftan claims Indian Derby with a late burst

MUMBAI

UNCOILING A brilliant burst of acceleration, Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy's Smart Chieftan inscribed his name in the annals of the Indian Turf as the 58th winner of its ``Blue Riband''. The son of Placerville out of Stunning only just managed to get up in time in the race for the McDowell Indian Derby, and indeed would have been a most unlucky loser in the Dancing Brave mould had he not managed to extricate himself from traffic.

Leading up to the race, Smart Chieftan had done everything right and was justifiably quoted at odds-on. He was sent in with a pacemaker in Priceless Ally, an accompaniment also made available to the trio in the Deepak Khaitan colours, whose chosen one for this role was Jeweller. The last-named led at a good gallop, with Priceless Ally pursuing him to ensure he did not flag in the early stages. As a result, the remaining nine runners were strung out in single file in the backstretch, with the favourite kept relaxed at the tail end.

Ray Of Light was the first to make a serious bid, and was immediately challenged by Congratulations and Alchemy. The trio had a furious battle, with the former showing wonderful resolution in holding off Alchemy as Congratulations weakened. Meanwhile, all were wondering where the favourite had disappeared from his vantage position on the outside as they had swung round the turn.

Richard Hughes gambled on the exhausted front runners falling away and leaving gaps, and accordingly elected to steer his mount through the inner route. Unfortunately, he could not get through, until a vacant space appeared on his left about 200 m. from home. Hughes stayed cool by angling his mount out, then got him balanced and changed his whip hand. The small-made gelding then displayed his patented deadly burst of speed under pressure, the hallmark of a champion.

Barely 50 m. from the post, Smart Chieftan got his nose in front to score by a shade under half a length from Ray Of Light. However, so fast was he moving that the official verdict given was three-parts of a length. The identical distance further behind was Alchemy, who ran a grand race for one coming off a herculean effort just 11 days earlier, and an arduous journey. The time of 2:32.04 was good without being exceptional. The successful gelding's elated trainer, Karan Singh, told TheHindu that although he had won a number of Derby equivalents in South India during his riding days, this was his first-ever success, either as a rider or trainer, in the Indian Derby.

Incidentally, the Poona Stud-bred Smart Chieftan is the first ``final entry'' to score in the Indian Derby, his connections having to cough up in excess of Rs. 3,11,000 to make him eligible. As he earned Rs. 43,00,000, that was an excellent return on the outlay. However, an identical sum invested on behalf of Great Investment was largely lost, as that gelding managed only to finish sixth, recovering just about one-third of the late entry fee.

The afternoon opened with a big crowd in attendance, reminiscent of the turf's halcyon days. For six races, outsiders prevailed, leaving novice followers of the money in disarray. First, fans of San Marino Star paid the price when B. Prakash could not bridge the gap despite desperate efforts. Here Richard Hughes wisely elected to make the 2400 m. event a test of stamina, as his mount Berlino was ideally bred for the trip. By the time he was ten lengths clear at the halfway mark, the writing was on the wall for his four rivals. Kicking on in fine style, the home-bred daughter of Foyer hung on for victory and started off Dr. Ramaswamy's day on a perfect note. Hosidar Daji saddled the Chettinad Stud-bred.

It seems evident that Secret Blessing's had been ``hiding its light under a bushel''. How else can one explain the nine length verdict in a handicap for a runner that finished fourteenth at its last start? What's more, at 7 to 2, the Joshi-trained gelding was the recipient of substantial support in the ring, second only in volume to that accorded to Adam's Legend.

Another runner that found five consecutive unplaced efforts no bar to hoisting a winning flag was Smooth Operator. Malcolm Kharadi had the Topanoora gelding in third or fourth spot on the rails, and was able to move up smoothly once asked. Yet again, the public seemed to divine what was happening as Daji's winner was a warm second choice in the betting market just a shade behind St. Vincent, who found nothing when asked. With complete outsiders occupying the remaining places on the board, the Tanala dividend was huge.

In the fourth race, Raise A Toast never raised a gallop, leave alone a winning effort, and finished in the ruck. The next-best fancied runner, Amber Wine, slipped through on the rails under Kharadi to make the event her own for trainer Robert De Mellow. A third consecutive five-figure Tanala dividend was declared as a result of such lowly contestants as Mister Money and Dancing Minstrel finishing in the money.

With 15 sprinters from Class II in opposition, the stage was set for a keen contest in the K.T. Sampat Trophy. For some reason, Gold Dust is being campaigned over sprints, and continues to receive public support. She did not even look the part in the paddock, leave alone figure in the shake- up. After Jet Set led by lengths, he was passed by Strengthtostrength, on the inside, and Table Dancing, on the outside, moving in tandem. The duo battled it out and the race was decided in the last stride when Strengthtostrength and Ravi Biramne proved stronger by a nose. Rehanullah Khan did a good job in bringing his ward to racing fitness after a six month absence caused by a joint problem. The Tote dividend of Rs. 1,722 for a tenner shows how much of a ``bookies benefit'' the race was!

Although a winner on debut, there was no way of telling how good Anagram was. Enormous confidence behind her made her a 6 to 4 favourite for the Breeders' Produce Stakes, but she ran like a damp squib. A nice type of youngster was revealed in the shape of Secret Halo, who was guided to victory by S. Rajesh for trainer (and part-owner) Rashid Byramji. The got- abroad Equus Stud-bred scored from Star Shine, whose rider lodged an objection that was overruled. After a troubled passage, Far Excellence was third and should be an early winner in maiden company.

There was an imported runner here in Zenana(USA), who finished an excellent fourth, beaten just over a length in all. As she was carrying 8 kg. more than her Indian-foaled compatriots, it is clear that she was the moral victor. Moreover, she had lost a bit of training time and was a shade overweight. There is a clear case for reducing the penalty an imported runner carries, unless we wish to continue to mistake our geese for swans.

With the tide of fortune having turned, trainer S.S. Shah gained his second win of the current campaign through the handsome grey, Khaalis, in the 1400m. R. N. Kanga Gold Trophy. Niall McCullagh had the Yeravada- bred son of Tocave Botta immediately into the lead and rode a brilliant tactical race in front, holding off Mission Impossible. As the first successful clear favourite of the afternoon, the five-year-old gelding returned to wild applause.

The McDowell Indian Derby having also fallen to a hot order, the stage was set for yet another favourite to oblige, but the public somehow misread the form. Newcomer Endorsement received maximum support, even though making her debut, while Lady Moura had already shown herself to be well above average, and logically ought to have been better fancied. Sure enough, the latter, an attractive daughter of Cristofori from C.D. Katrak's yard, came through in style to peg back the hard-ridden favourite. Incidentally, she has tested positive for a pain-killer at her previous run and the matter is before the stewards. Even in an unwieldy field of 22 runners in the concluding event, there was tremendous support for Ella Mon Amour, everyone's idea of a ``take-out'' bet. The Manjri-owned homebred did not fail as she detached herself from her baying pursuers and chalked out a six length triumph from Gold Buck and Comment Allez Vous. That sent home the large multitude in a grand frame of mind.

Earlier, as many as 11 races had been contested on Thursday, with the proceedings teeing off with a 2000 m. event. B. Prakash used the occasion to commence a fantastic four-timer, demonstrating a superb sense of timing and judgement of pace in bringing in the winners. After a couple of unsuccessful efforts over shorter trips, Chelsea finally found a vehicle to display her staying prowess and came through to annex the 2000m. event with ease. Sandeep Mangalorkar's ward is well-bred enough to repeat.

Another Malvado four-year-old was not so fortunate. Kept fourth or so in the 1800m. W. Buckley Stakes, the fancied Eastern Command was perhaps a shade unwisely positioned on the outside throughout, seeing daylight, which used him up and left nothing for the final assault. Taking full advantage of his predicament, Fortune Favours shrugged off her defeat last time out and scythed down the opposition, adding a point to the tally of Sanjay Kolse.

Although a venerable nine years of age, Amarilo still has some fire left in him. Benefiting from being kept relaxed at the tail of a six- horse field headed at a decent clip by Pickpocket, Vinayak's ward came flying at the finish and just pipped Executive Decision in the shadow of the post. He thus annexed the 2400 m. Governor's Trophy by a widening half-length.

On most days there are no races run at trips longer than 1600m. Here there were as many as four, a sign of quixotic programming, and the fourth of these treats for racegoers was the Kr. Ramkrishan Singh Trophy, over 2400m. The bandaged Ovid led as usual before Picasso and Sea Saga chose to have a private battle until into the straight. That set up the race perfectly for Double Impact, stalking this duo, and once Prakash released the brakes, his triumph became a formality. Sea Saga hung on for second, with Along All third.

The moment the gates opened, Pesi Shroff sent Conduction into the lead, and the Mallya standard-bearer kept his supporters hopes aloft until he was overtaken by the eventual winner 200 m. from home. This turned out to be the lightly-raced Winnington, from Uttam Singh's yard. The Portroe gelding essayed a fluent challenge on the outside and the 6.5 kg. that he was receiving proved decisive.

An impetuous move by Tony Bernard astride Josh King in the next race led to the crashing fall of Rodeo Star, mercifully without serious injury to his rider, S.S. Bhati. The heavily-backed Josh King managed to end up second after liberal application of the whalebone, but all this punishment turned out to be futile as he was disqualified for his rider's misdemeanours. Another son of Gold Discovery, Loaded Dice, showed resolution by stretching out to score for Damodaran Pillai and S.M. Johnson. Asprilla made up much ground, knocking off Golden Glitter on the way, but was allowed to retain her ultimate placing.

Of late, trainer Hormuz Antia has been utilising the services of T. S. Jodha, and the team struck in fine fashion through Phrawin. The rider did well to get his mount off to a flier from her wide outside draw and was in the leading group before the final turn. In the run-in, she stretched out to land the 7 to 2 price. As a grandson of Epsom Derby winner Slip Anchor, Anchors Aweigh predictably found the 1200 m. trip too short and was doing his best at the finish.

Standing in for Narendra Lagad, Amjad Khan opened his innings through What's Cooking. The price of 16/10 on a runner entrusted to Hamir Singh was evidence enough that something was indeed cooking with the hitherto-unsuccessful Gold Discovery filly, who had not been closer than seventh in her past five outings. Park Royal's second was in keeping with his immediate past effort and he should oblige over 1400 m. or longer.

The day's feature, the Y. M. Chaudhry Memorial Million had four winners, a pair of maidens and two hitherto unraced juveniles in opposition. The degree of confidence behind the Vijay Mallya- owned Six Speed, shipping in from Bangalore, was so high that she was quoted at odds- on. Darius Byramji's ward is an attractive, classy individual, and she lived up to her looks by taking the lead early in the home stretch and safely holding off Running Star. Placerville's chestnut daughter has a bright future over the sprinting trips for which she is bred - she cut the splendid time of 1:12.65! Matisse showed early speed and was a decent third - she should easily annex a maiden.

Recent track work had hinted that Raring To Go was ready to live up to his name. The booking of C. Rajendra on the Manjri-bred, in preference to another runner in the same race outfitted in the Manjri silks, was a pointer that punters ignored, as the Don't Forget Me gelding was allowed to run loose at 8 to 1. He proved to be fit for the fray and held off the late move of the public choice, Moment Of Truth.

The long afternoon concluded with a well-deserved win for Raza Ali's Spur Of The Moment. The Marienski gelding reproduced his recent form and accelerated under strong driving to nail Fortune Cookie who was attempting to give the Antia/Jodha pairing a double. R. Shelar was able to get his winning mount on to the rails despite being drawn wide, but was unsparing with the whip, which was rather overdone.

DARK LEGEND

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