Forest Flame humbles Juliette

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Five-year-old Forest Flame led from the word go and posted an impressive victory in the Threptin Fillies' & Mares' Stakes (Gr 3), the feature event of Sunday's eight-race card. Jockey A Sandesh, astride the Suleiman Attaollahi-trained mare set his own pace to show the way to Kamilah (Neeraj Rawal up) and Juliette (CS jodha up).

Forest Flame quickened around the final bend to establish what looked like a comfortable winning lead, and though the piping-hot on-money favourite Juliette found her galloping shoes in the final 100m of the nine-furlong trip, Forest Flame rather easily spared her elegant neck to Juliette at the wire, without giving any anxious moments to her followers. Forest Flame was bred at the Poonawalla stud farm by Mrs Behroze Z Poonawala who owns the daughter of Leitir Mor (out of Memory Bay) with her own daughters Simone and Delna, besides the three gentlemen--Mukul Sonawala, DR Thacker & CK Urs.

Also Read: Juliette for Threptin Fillies' and Mares' Stakes

Jockey A Sandesh had also ridden a winner earlier in the day when he steered In Contention for trainer SK Sunderji to bag the class II, Yana Plate. His double was matched by a rookie rider, Praveen Shinde, who exploited his allowance at the scales to score with Liam (trainer: Ms Nazzak Chinoy) in the upper division of the October Handicap, and Tristar (trainer: Nosher Cama) in the last race of the day.

Incidentally, the last-race winner Tristar was the only first favourite to oblige the followers of money, as six of the first seven races threw up surprise winners at the odds ranging from 5-to-1 to 10-to-1.