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Racing : Horse
The Proletarian's gutsy performance
By Dark Legend
MUMBAI, DEC. 6. Whereas the first Graded Stakes event of the season had drawn a mere two runners, as reported last week, the second garnered practically a capacity crowd. As many as 17 lined up for the A.C. Ardeshir Trophy, a Grade 2 feature run over the metric mile on Sunday.
And the race provided a rare spectacle, with half a dozen in contention close home. The magic eye showed that the gutsy runner, The Proletarian, as having his nose in front of Ocean Breeze, who in turn was a head clear of all-the-way leader, Pleasures. Just a short-head further behind came Adamile, who was conceding a lump of weight to all those in front of her.
Bred by Nilagiri Stud Farm at the Sohna Stud, The Proletarian is a hard-working son of Conquering Hero out of Nica Libre. Introduced late to the racing wars by his painstaking trainer, Imtiaz Sait, he has stood up admirably to a strenuous campaign which has seen him start 16 times on five different tracks in just over a year, during which he has amassed Rs. 26,58,870. He was ridden to perfection by the Delhi-based Rajinder, scoring his first ever win on the Mahalakshmi track.
Another rider to gain that distinction was the Calcutta professional, Christopher Alford, and he too was provided with his victory vehicle by Sait. However, few could have divined that Austral, an unheralded ``also ran'' both times he had raced, would sprout wings and saunter home with ease. As a son of Green Forest in the D. Khaitan silks, he certainly had the antecedents for the job, if not the form.
Sait completed a treble through the medium of Victory March. This former inmate of Narendra Lagad's yard has proved very hard to keep in good condition. When she was seen to emerge from the paddock in pristine shape, her chances seemed rosy indeed, and she duly obliged under C. Rajendra. The two three- year-olds in the field, runner-up Bryce Canyon and fourth-placed Initiate, were outclassed. Their turn will come, though, soon enough.
The afternoon's proceedings commenced with a facile victory for the odds-on Centenary from Jaggi Dhariwal's stable. The orphan daughter of Storm Bird could repeat, although her effort has received due notice from the handicapper.
Incidentally, it would seem that either the markings on the railings are incorrect or the Judge is badly placed to determine the victory margin from his perch high in the grandstand. This writer adjudged the winning gap to be eight lengths or so, based on the numerals displayed on the rails, but it was given as a ``distance''.
At 7 to 2, Divine Honey was a gift to discerning punters. After all, she had the experience of a previous race, had beaten the two others who had had a run, and was strongly supported by her connections. The value of this public exposure was demonstrated when her chief market rival, Forest Angel, contrived to get herself entangled in the starting gate. Although the latter trotted sound thereafter, she is certain to have been shaken up by the incident. Meanwhile, the Hanut Singh-trained daughter of Alnasr Alwasheek checked in by nine lengths!
A new innovation, the maiden race for second-crop runners, drew 17 runners and was divided. In both cases, deserving performers that had been knocking on the door were able to record their initial career successes. These were the top- weighted Monte Carlo Magic and Bud Royale, both odds-on choices. If the races lacked competitiveness, this was not due to the terms, which were highly favourable to the non-performers, but because of the dreadful calibre of these untalented runners. The Indian breeding industry really needs to do something about the fact that it is producing so many duds.
Believers in ``horses for courses'' would have been delighted by the performance of Cats Concert. The daughter of Razeen has a 0-for-6 record at Pune but was 4-for-7 at Mumbai prior to this start. Those who followed her on this basis were rewarded by a victory at the juicy price of 7 to 1.
Young Aadesh Kumar did a perfect job on Sanjay Kolse's ward, keeping her within striking distance of the leader and launching his effort at precisely the correct moment. Cristina gained ground to be a good second. Her problem is that she never runs two races alike.
Earlier, Thursday's action brought big smiles to the Dhunjibhoys, as three of their runners came up trumps. These victories included one of the most impudent wins anyone is going to see, that of the Classic hope Tobler in a Class 2 handicap.
Reverting to the metric mile after essaying 2000m is never easy, but the son of Rebounding Thrill made it look trivial. Mallesh Narredu cruised up on tight reins from the rear, and allowed his mount to produce his burst on the very wide outside, extinguishing the hopes of the followers of Soviet Ace.
The other Dhunjibhoy winners were Reconquista, reappearing after a long absence, and Kazakh, who likewise had missed the Pune Meeting. It has to be said that, considering their credentials, neither had any worthwhile opposition.
The Stewards were not satisfied with the fourth-placed effort of Magic Honey behind Reconquista, and have punished his rider, S.S. Rathore, by suspending his licence till the end of the season. What is more, they have suspended trainer Hanut Singh for two months on the ground that he tacitly approved of Rathore's method of riding.
The only other Classic hopeful of consequence to display its wares during the period under review was Iceberg. This small-made filly from Bezan Chenoy's yard overtook her rivals 350 metres out with a dramatic change of gear, and sailed home untroubled, with Niall McCullagh enjoying the luxury of a peek over his shoulder.
Jubilant owner Capt. Jamshed Appoo told The Hindu that the rider had recommended that Iceberg be allowed to join the same owner's Rage in the line-up for the McDowell Indian 1000 Guineas, as she had shown enough to deserve a chance.
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