Expedite stuns rivals in Panchshil Million

Representational image. Pic/iStock

Receiving quiet but confident support in the betting ring, the Hormuz Antia-trained Expedite decisively beat her rivals in the Panchshil Million, the prime event of Sunday's seven-race card. Jockey SG Prasad, astride the three-year-old filly owned by Mr & Mrs R Rashid and Ms Roohi Jaikishan Oomarbhoy, hugged the inner rails until passing the 500m marker, then angled out to get to the extreme outside when turning for home. Urged under the whip, Expedite then passed them all with ease to win the feature race with a measure of comfort.

Dream Seller won his second race of the season, and so did his trainer PS Chouhan and jockey R Ajinkya, when the four-year-old gelding made every post of the Dakshin Maharashtra & Goa Sub Area Trophy a winning one, beating Portofino Bay and Dexa.

At the halfway stage of the Moosa M Hussein trophy for Class III horses over 1400m, Singer Sargent, Opus One & Liam were racing at the wrong end of the field. Interestingly, these same three horses, after the front bunch (including the favourite Fontana) wilted when put under pressure, finished 1-2-3 at the winning post! Jockey Vivek G rode the winner, Singer Sargent, for trainer Faisal Abbas.

Also Read: Panchshil Million likely to prove a thriller

The Sunday card opened with a "no whip" race, the five-furlong Alameda Plate for bottom class horses aged five or more. The N Bhosale-ridden Spirit Bay, who received good support in the betting ring to race as first favourite, posted a start-to-finish victory for trainer Shazaan Shah. In the next race the Dallas Todywalla-trained It's My Time, ridden by A Prakash, outpaced and outclassed Baby Bazooka (A Sandesh up) to claim the King's Ransom Trophy for Class II horses.

Jockey S Saqlain astride Wanderlust trained by Hosidar Daji allowed Moonlight Kiss (N Bhosale up) to work up a runaway lead in the Amjad Khan Trophy before making his move at the 300m-marker to bridge the gap with every stride, passing the leader decisively in the last 100m of the six-furlong trip.

In the last race of the day, jockey A Sandesh enjoyed an armchair ride astride Malakhi who moved up to pass her rivals effortlessly to win the Richelieu Plate for trainer Aman Hussain.