We went into this race with fingers crossed because there were concerns about the summer and the heat, trainer Shazaan Shah said after the race, we are happy he (Joaquin) won much more easily than we expected him to win
Mahalaxmi racecourse in Mumbai. Pic/Shadab Khan
Carrying top weight of 59 kg on his back, Joaquin (S Zervan up) improved from the last position to sweep past his three rivals to win the Serjeant At Arms Trophy, the feature event of Sunday's eight-race card at the Mahalaxmi racetrack. The Shazaan Shah-trained five-year-old, whose odds intringuingly drifted from on-money status and doubled up to 6-to-4 at race time, clocked one minute 23.13 seconds for the seven-furlong trip, putting a humiliating 5-3/4 lengths between himself and runner up Gazino (A S Peter up).
"We went into this race with fingers crossed because there were concerns about the summer and the heat," trainer Shazaan Shah said after the race, "we are happy he (Joaquin) won much more easily than we expected him to win."
In the A Hoyt Plate, where most of the betting money was split almost equally between top riders P Trevor (Aah Bella) and Neeraj Rawal (Mystical Rose) who both went out at 17-to-10 each, small time jockey Vishal Bunde pulled off an excellent start-to-finish victory for the Karthik-trained Aira in the nine-furlong race at the lucrative odds of 11-to-2.
The day's shortest-priced favourite Hooves Of Thunder won the Diego Rivera Trophy, but only after sending shivers up the spine of his followers. The Malesh Narredu-trained three-year-old, ridden by P Trevor, started shortening his strides in the final furlong even as Fashion Icon (Neeraj Rawal up) moved up with menacing strides. The winning post, however, came to the rescue of the favourite who managed to spare a dwindling half length to the challenger.
Jockey P Trevor soon completed a quick, back-to-back double, taking Sinner on a successful wire-to-wire mission in the Municipal Commissioner's Trophy. Trevor's exceptional riding saved the day for the Imtiaz Sait-trained four-year-old whose wayward ways in the final furlong could have cost him the race with a lesser rider.
Trevor then went on to complete a treble, winning the Captain G Hall Trophy astride the Pesi Shroff-trained Faith who humbled hot favourite Inishmore (C Umesh up).
