The enduring charm of the Bangalore Derby

  

Jaandaar Gallops Into Derby Favouritism

 

By Sharan Kumar

 

The possible Pune Derby winner was sighted more than a fortnight ago. On Sunday, Jaandaar provided the confirmation. If the earlier victory was an appetiser, this was the full-course meal, with the opposition left wondering whether they had been invited merely to make up the numbers.

 

Jaandaar pulverised a creditable field to win the Gr.3 S A Poonawalla Million, a terms race for three-year-olds that has traditionally offered a useful pointer to the potential winner of the big one. His previous victory had been almost matter-of-fact, but there was enough in it to suggest that the colt was capable of much more.

 

This time he did not bother keeping the secret.

 

Jaandaar flew out of the gates, quickly established a good lead and settled into a comfortable rhythm, travelling with the sort of cruising speed that makes the opposition nervous. When Vivek G asked him to quicken in the straight, the Pesi Shroff trainee responded instantly and simply disappeared from the argument. Avener, already a hat-tricker, did well to finish second, just holding off Rampage, while Invincible Force had to settle for third.

 

Jaandaar won by five widening lengths, and the manner of the victory was considerably more impressive than the margin itself. He had a good opposition behind him, but by the time he was asked the serious question, there was very little left for them to say.

 

The three-year-old colt is now firmly entitled to start the Pune Derby as favourite, with a chance to make it five straight wins. The evidence on Sunday suggested that the gap between Jaandaar and the rest is not a crack waiting to be closed but a rather sizeable ravine.

The interesting part is that the biggest challenge could come from his own stable. D’Artagnan and Margaretta are likely to enter the picture during the Mumbai season, giving Pesi the sort of selection problem most trainers would happily accept as a lifelong occupational hazard.

 

Pesi is increasingly becoming the Aidan O’Brien of Indian racing. The big races have become so familiar territory that his success almost requires no celebration. Indeed, spotting an expression on his normally expressionless face has become possible only when something goes wrong. When everything falls into place, as it did on Sunday, there is little reason for the facial muscles to report for duty.

 

Pesi completed his double when his other got-abroad runner, Zayyan, made light of a maiden three-year-old sprint. Zayyan had previously finished a distant second at Bangalore to Alfonsine, who subsequently announced his arrival in the highest class, so there was reason to believe that the Pesi trainee had more to offer than that bare form suggested.

 

Vivek G kept matters wonderfully simple, taking Zayyan straight to the front. The second favourite travelled comfortably and, without ever looking seriously threatened, kept going all the way to the finish. Favourite Invictor was already under pressure by the final bend and never looked like making a serious challenge, eventually settling for second ahead of Rivayat.

 

Trainer Aman Altaf Hussain was the other big winner over the two days, saddling five winners, three on Friday and two on Saturday. Coffee At Eleven recorded an impressive encore in the 1400 metres Mauna Kea Plate (Div I), for horses rated 20 to 46.

 

Pesi-trained Naledi was the favourite but found Coffee At Eleven too good. Both the first two raced towards the rear before launching their bids in the final furlong, when Coffee At Eleven produced the stronger finishing burst to settle the issue. Paloma, who had missed the kick, came with a late run to narrowly miss second, with Sequential a short head further away in fourth.

 

The lower division of the Mauna Kea Plate produced a considerably bigger surprise, with Narendra Lagad-trained Majesticus landing the spoils at long odds. For much of the race, victory looked about as likely as a bookmaker volunteering to return a winning ticket. Majesticus was racing towards the rear while the front runners had established a sizeable advantage.

 

Even entering the final furlong, there appeared little prospect of him getting into the picture. Regal Warrior was battling hard with Appalachian and Avante for the lead when Majesticus suddenly found another gear. Neeraj Rawal produced him with a flourish, and the long shot got up in the closing strides to snatch victory.

 

Aman Altaf Hussain-trained Crimson Pirate was strongly supported to win the 1200 metres Excellent Sorrento Plate (Div I), for horses in the lower category. Trevor Patel sent the favourite straight to the front and Crimson Pirate quickly established control, spurted away from the opposition and recorded a facile victory.

 

Majestic Warrior, the remarkable 10-year-old veteran with 100 runs already under his belt, showed that he still has a little business left to conduct on the track, finishing second and collecting some valuable stake money. Flash Mob was third.

 

The lower division provided a proper stable duel, with favourite Phantasmique and long shot Samson, both from the same yard, breaking clear of the field and fighting it out all the way down the straight. Phantasmique eventually prevailed by a neck, with Highground taking third.

 

Dallas Todywalla-trained Little John had no trouble winning the 2400 metres Serum Institute of India Trophy, for horses rated 40 to 66. He was allowed to settle towards the rear as Black Thunder set the pace. Cardoc moved ahead of Black Thunder early in the straight, which was the signal for Akshay Kumar to get busy on Little John.

 

The response was immediate. Little John lengthened his stride and stormed away to win by more than four lengths. Cardoc finished a distance ahead of Black Thunder, who had done much of the hard work early.

 

The biggest upset of the day came in the 1200 metres Suraiya & Masoom Master Salver, where Nazak Chenoy-trained Skandha produced a perfectly timed late charge. Apprentice Omkar brought the long shot with a sweeping run down the wide outside while a cluster of horses fought for supremacy closer to the rails.

 

Skandha arrived when it mattered and snatched the verdict. Neptune, who had led from the start, nosed out Darcy and the flat-footed Admirable to retain second place.