Moonlight Romance on verge of a unique record
The Usha Stud Farm bred Moonlight Romance is on the verge of emulating Smart Chieftain who had the unique distinction of winning the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby, McDowell Indian Derby and the Indian Turf Invitation Cup several years ago. Moonlight Romance is already a dual Derby heroine and her win in the Invitation Cup will be a fitting tribute to the amazing talent of the talented daughter of China Visit. Richard Hughes seems to have given up his reservation that he had about the filly and has now chosen her ahead of Ocean And Beyond who finished second best in the Indian Derby. The first four finishers of the Indian Derby are all in fray and there is no reason to believe that there could be a result other than the one that we saw in the Derby. These horses have maintained their form and fitness and should once again be involved in a close a finish.
After Storm Again won the Indian Derby and Invitation Cup, no other horse has been able to repeat this feat. In the 48 years history of Invitation Cup, only 17 winners of Indian Derby have gone on to win this race. Last year Jacqueline set a record of sorts by winning four Indian classics in a row but she faltered in the Invitation Cup and was conquered by Becket in the final stride of the race. Becket was thus avenging the defeat that he suffered in the Indian Derby. The battle between these two super stars had given immense value to last year’s running of Invitation Cup at Mumbai and the absorbing finish that one witnessed enabled the event to live up to the hype. Jacqueline has since been retired to the stud farm and is in foal to Glory of Dancer and should be landing in Ireland to be covered by leading stallion Galileo. Becket however is still racing and has since won the Gr 1 President of India Gold Cup though his sojourn in Mumbai has not been fruitful as he suffered two defeats. He still has a chance to liven up the proceedings on the Invitation Cup day by making an emphatic statement in the Super Mile.
Coming back to the Invitation Cup, fillies have generally not been able to sustain their form in this premier event. If we look into the scroll of honour of Invitation Cup, very few fillies have won this event which is not the case with the Indian Derby. Moonlight Romance is a tough filly and the advantage that she has is that she is not required to travel as the Invitation Cup is being held for the second successive time in Mumbai as Madras Race Club expressed its inability to host the event due to financial crunch. Incidentally, we don’t see a single representative from that centre participating in any of the invitational events. It is a pity because Madras Race Course is one of the best in the country though racing has fallen on bad days due to absence of bonafide competition. The self-inflicted isolation has surely hurt the sport as MRC was once a premier racing centre.
Moonlight Romance is a gutsy daughter of China Visit out of a Derby winning mare Wandering Star who incidentally had lost by a whisker in a juvenile million at Chennai in her first season of racing. Moonlight Romance won the Oaks and Derby in emphatic fashion. Richard Hughes perhaps misjudged the ability of the filly as he placed too much emphasis on the poor quality of horses that finished behind her in the Oaks instead of judging he filly on her own merit. The fact that he was proved wrong may have been galling for the jockey who otherwise has not done anything wrong in his assessment of horses in India. Hughes believed that he made the right choice and was not willing to concede that he erred even after Moonlight Romance had decisively won the race.
Now Richard Hughes has brought some pressure on himself by his decision to go with Moonlight Romance. He has to prove that he has made the right choice. The big made Ocean And Beyond, did not live up to the expectations of Hughes in the Derby. ``I made the right choice but the horse was not the same I rode in the Ruia Cup. I was under pressure from the nine furlong marker,’’ he had said. Irishman Nail McCullagh gets a chance to ride the got-abroad son of Kingsalsa. It remains to be seen whether Hughes stands vindicated or McCullagh like David Allan gets a windfall.
Pesi Shroff trained Xisca who made a late rally and finished third is widely expected to give a scare. ``Earlier we believed that Ocean And Beyond and Moonlight Romance were superior. But after the Indian Derby, we have got hopes that these two races can be beaten,’’ he had said. Xisca, who is another daughter of China Visit, is also a dual Derby heroine. She has plenty of stamina but lacks finishing speed. With the experience of Indian Derby in hindsight, French champion jockey Stephane Pasquier will be in a better position to judge the way he should ride the filly in the Invitation Cup. Given the talent of the jockey and the ability of the horse, Xisca can be expected to be the dark `un in the fray.
Pesi’s other ward Macchupicchu was pushed to the fourth spot in the final moments of the race by stablemate Xisca. Prakash believed that he could have finished third but was taken unawares by Xisca. The son of Emerald Cat has proved to be an outstanding performer and he has in him to produce one big effort that could fetch him the prestigious event of Indian racing.
Business Tycoon who won the Golconda Derby is also in the fray but he stands little chance as he could have been beaten there by Balmoral Castle with the luck of the race. Both these horses are optimistic contenders and can come into contention only if there is a massive upset.
After Storm Again won the Indian Derby and Invitation Cup, no other horse has been able to repeat this feat. In the 48 years history of Invitation Cup, only 17 winners of Indian Derby have gone on to win this race. Last year Jacqueline set a record of sorts by winning four Indian classics in a row but she faltered in the Invitation Cup and was conquered by Becket in the final stride of the race. Becket was thus avenging the defeat that he suffered in the Indian Derby. The battle between these two super stars had given immense value to last year’s running of Invitation Cup at Mumbai and the absorbing finish that one witnessed enabled the event to live up to the hype. Jacqueline has since been retired to the stud farm and is in foal to Glory of Dancer and should be landing in Ireland to be covered by leading stallion Galileo. Becket however is still racing and has since won the Gr 1 President of India Gold Cup though his sojourn in Mumbai has not been fruitful as he suffered two defeats. He still has a chance to liven up the proceedings on the Invitation Cup day by making an emphatic statement in the Super Mile.
Coming back to the Invitation Cup, fillies have generally not been able to sustain their form in this premier event. If we look into the scroll of honour of Invitation Cup, very few fillies have won this event which is not the case with the Indian Derby. Moonlight Romance is a tough filly and the advantage that she has is that she is not required to travel as the Invitation Cup is being held for the second successive time in Mumbai as Madras Race Club expressed its inability to host the event due to financial crunch. Incidentally, we don’t see a single representative from that centre participating in any of the invitational events. It is a pity because Madras Race Course is one of the best in the country though racing has fallen on bad days due to absence of bonafide competition. The self-inflicted isolation has surely hurt the sport as MRC was once a premier racing centre.
Moonlight Romance is a gutsy daughter of China Visit out of a Derby winning mare Wandering Star who incidentally had lost by a whisker in a juvenile million at Chennai in her first season of racing. Moonlight Romance won the Oaks and Derby in emphatic fashion. Richard Hughes perhaps misjudged the ability of the filly as he placed too much emphasis on the poor quality of horses that finished behind her in the Oaks instead of judging he filly on her own merit. The fact that he was proved wrong may have been galling for the jockey who otherwise has not done anything wrong in his assessment of horses in India. Hughes believed that he made the right choice and was not willing to concede that he erred even after Moonlight Romance had decisively won the race.
Now Richard Hughes has brought some pressure on himself by his decision to go with Moonlight Romance. He has to prove that he has made the right choice. The big made Ocean And Beyond, did not live up to the expectations of Hughes in the Derby. ``I made the right choice but the horse was not the same I rode in the Ruia Cup. I was under pressure from the nine furlong marker,’’ he had said. Irishman Nail McCullagh gets a chance to ride the got-abroad son of Kingsalsa. It remains to be seen whether Hughes stands vindicated or McCullagh like David Allan gets a windfall.
Pesi Shroff trained Xisca who made a late rally and finished third is widely expected to give a scare. ``Earlier we believed that Ocean And Beyond and Moonlight Romance were superior. But after the Indian Derby, we have got hopes that these two races can be beaten,’’ he had said. Xisca, who is another daughter of China Visit, is also a dual Derby heroine. She has plenty of stamina but lacks finishing speed. With the experience of Indian Derby in hindsight, French champion jockey Stephane Pasquier will be in a better position to judge the way he should ride the filly in the Invitation Cup. Given the talent of the jockey and the ability of the horse, Xisca can be expected to be the dark `un in the fray.
Pesi’s other ward Macchupicchu was pushed to the fourth spot in the final moments of the race by stablemate Xisca. Prakash believed that he could have finished third but was taken unawares by Xisca. The son of Emerald Cat has proved to be an outstanding performer and he has in him to produce one big effort that could fetch him the prestigious event of Indian racing.
Business Tycoon who won the Golconda Derby is also in the fray but he stands little chance as he could have been beaten there by Balmoral Castle with the luck of the race. Both these horses are optimistic contenders and can come into contention only if there is a massive upset.
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