Horse racing: Kildare kills opposition

This picture has been used for representational purpose

The Sunderji-trained Kildare outclassed his four rivals in the Republic Cup, the prime event of Friday's nine-race card. Kildare, ridden by A Sandesh, clocked 1m:24.54s for the seven furlong trip. The five-year-old gelding is owned by the mother-daughter duo of Mrs M B Dubash and Ms Farida B Dubash.

Iron Age, ridden by S Zervan who substituted Y S Srinath on the Imtiaz Sait-trained horse, hit the front as usual, but could not open a decisive gap as Sandesh quickly got Kildare alongside to contest the lead. By the time they approached the home turn, it was clear that Iron Age was not his usual self and he virtually surrendered the race, plodding to finish last of five.

In the homestretch, Kildare and Sandesh surged ahead like a malfunctioning diwali rocket moving horizontally, and the race was practically over even before passing the distance post. Flying Visit (P Trevor up) and Augustus Caesar (Neeraj Rawal up) were involved in a photo for the second place, albeit nearly four lengths away from winner Kildare, the former winning the photo verdict by a short head.

Terrific Trevor

Jockey Trevor Patel started the day with a bang, reeling off the first three races on the card. His hat-trick included Live By Night (Tr: S K Sunderji), Cellini (Tr: Bezan Chenoy) & Hidden Gold (Tr: Dallas Todywalla), the last-named winning the supporting event, the Shantidas Askuran Trophy, a six-furlong sprint for class II horses. Trainer Sunderji, for whom Trevor won the opening race, ended the day with a brace thanks to Sandesh winning the feature race for him with Kildare. Similarly, trainer Dallas Todywalla, for whom Trevor rode Hidden Gold, also managed to record a brace as Sandesh drove his ward Beemer to victory in the lower division of the Adolfito Plate. Sandesh, too, thus recorded a double in the process for himself.

The wrong 'un

There have been many instances in the past of a trainer fancying one horse, but the goddess of luck willing otherwise and forcing him to lead in another unfancied horse as winner. Pesi Shroff experienced the phenomenon on the Friday card.

His ward North Star (P S Chouhan up), carrying the colours of M Deboo, was the Tote public choice. But Arcadia, owned by Pesi Shroff himself in partnership with his wife Tina, son Yohann and daughter Anya, upset the applecart of the favourite who failed to collar Arcadia after the 4-year-old bay filly hit the front on turning for home. The long shot Arcadia was ridden by jockey S Mosin.