The bottom-weighted filly Thalassa, ridden by apprentice Aditya Waydande, edged out Christophany in a thrilling finish to win the Gamble For Love Trophy, the feature event of the opening day’s races of the Pune Racing Season here on Friday (July 18).
The winner is owned by Mr. Cowas D. Bajan, Ajay Jalan rep. Ultimo Stud Farm Pvt. Ltd, M/s. Thanniru Srinivas, Ranjit Pai, Narendra Kumar Ambwani and Chanakaya Sanjeevkumar Gaur. Faisal Abbas trains the winner.
1. SEASON OPENER PLATE (Div. II) (1,000m): LORD ERIC (P. Trevor) 1, Lightning Mcqueen (Yash) 2, Menjou’s Moustache (Ramswarup) 3 and Moment Of Madness (Siddharth) 4. Not run: Otello. 1-3/4, 1-1/4 and Short Head. 58.82s. ₹18 (w), 10, 16 and 29 (p). SHP: 41, FP: 83, Q: 54, Tanala: 478 and 380. Favourite: Lord Eric. Owners: Mr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla, Mr. Adar C. Poonawalla & Mrs. Natasha A. Poonawalla rep. Villoo Poonawalla Racing & Breeding Pvt. Ltd., M/s. D.R. Thacker rep. DT Racing & Breeders LLP, Karius Dadachanji, S.R. Sanas. Saleem Fazelbhoy & Mukul Sonawala. Trainer: Dallas Todywalla.
2. ELEGANCE PLATE (Div. II) (1,200m): BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (Aditya Waydande) 1, Purple Martini (Nirmal) 2, Talking Point (Prasad) 3 and Leo The Lion (A. Prakash) 4. 1-1/4, 4 and 1-1/4. 1m, 10.44s. ₹25 (w), 10, 23 and 37 (p). SHP: 52, FP: 207, Q: 103, Tanala: 1,091 and 611. Favourite: Bohemian Rhapsody. Owners: M/s. Zaheer Lalkaka, Vikram Bachhawat rep. Bachhawat Farms Pvt. Ltd, Homi D. Bhagwagar, Arzaan H. Bhagwagar & Hosidar Daji. Trainer: Hosidar Daji.
3. VIBRANT PLATE (Div. II) (1,400m): FABLE (A. Sandesh) 1, Beyond Stars (Antony Raj) 2, Moonlight Kiss (C. Umesh) 3 and Golden Heart (S.J. Sunil) 4. Not run: AR First Star. 3-3/4, Head and 3/4. 1m, 26.30s. ₹16 (w), 12, 13 and 25 (p). SHP: 41, FP: 77, Q: 70, Tanala: 221 and 97. Favourite: Fable. Owners: Mr. Tegbir Singh Brar rep. Sarainaga Racing Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: Adhirajsingh Jodha.
4. SEASON OPENER PLATE (Div. I) (1,000m): BEE MAGICAL (Neeraj Rawal) 1, Zephyr (Yash) 2, Mojo (Merchant) 3 and Diligence (Trevor) 4. 2, Short Head and Short Neck. 58.73s. ₹22 (w), 20, 10 and 60 (p). SHP: 41, FP: 62, Q: 47, Tanala: 813 and 326. Favourite: Bee Magical. Owners: Equus Racing & Mr. Mukul Sonawala. Trainer: Imtiaz A. Sait.
5. ELEGANCE PLATE (Div. I) (1,200m): SHE’S A TEASER (Bhawani Singh) 1, Zip Along (C. Umesh) 2, Continental Drift (Santosh) 3 and Ma Cherie (Prasad) 4. 4-1/2, 3/4 and 2. 1m, 11.32s. ₹49 (w), 17, 12 and 20 (p). SHP: 34, FP: 130, Q: 63, Tanala: 573 and 476. Favourite: Zip Along. Owner: Mr. Ketan S. Wakkar. Trainer: S. Waheed.
6. D.K. ASHISH SALVER (1,200m): DARCY (A. Sandesh) 1, Merlet (Antony Raj) 2, Between Lands (Yash) 3 and Conjurer (V. Bunde) 4. 2, 2-1/4 and 2. 1m, 9.49s. ₹29 (w), 13, 10 and 16 (p). SHP: 43, FP: 96, Q: 38, Tanala: 383 and 263. Favourite: Merlet. Owners: M/s. Chanakya Sanjeevkumar Gaur & Narendra Kumar Ambwani. Trainer: Faisal A. Abbas.
7. GAMBLE FOR LOVE TROPHY (1,400m): THALASSA (Aditya Waydande) 1, Christophany (Neeraj) 2, Market King (Antony Raj) 3 and It’s My Time (Sandesh) 4. Long Neck, 2 and 3/4. 1m, 24.55s. ₹96 (w), 28, 12 and 41 (p). SHP: 20, FP: 889, Q: 215, Tanala: 3,130 and 3,577. Favourite: Snowfall. Owners: M/s. Cowas D. Bajan, Ajay Jalan rep. Ultimo Stud Farm Pvt. Ltd., Thanniru Srinivas, Ranjit Pai, Narendra Kumar Ambwani & Chanakya Sanjeevkumar Gaur. Trainer: Faisal A. Abbas.
8. VIBRANT PLATE (Div. I) (1,400m): WIND DANCER (Navnath Bhosale) 1, Challenge Accepted (Antony Raj) 2, Pure (Parmar) 3 and Endurance (V. Bunde) 4. 3-1/4, Long Neck and 4-1/2. 1m, 25.95s. ₹89 (w), 16, 10 and 13 (p). SHP: 61, FP; 349, Q: 45, Tanala: 752 and 526. Favourite: Challenge Accepted. Owners: M/s. D.R. Thacker rep. DT Racing & Breeders LLP, Mukul Sonawala, Nozer Panthaky, P.J. Vazifdar & M. Rishad. Trainer: Dallas Todywalla.
9. COLUMBIA PLATE (1,200m): Declared null and void.
Note: First favourite Fourth Wing had won the race by a short neck from Midnight Express, but an enquiry was held at the behest of the stipendiary stewards. The starter reported that multiple horses were restless at the gates, with Scaramouche (Aditya up) rearing and jumping out riderless, while Timeless Vision (Ramswarup) stumbled badly. A false start was signalled, but in the ensuing confusion, the jockeys continued the race. After interviewing riders and reviewing the incident, the stewards declared the race null and void.
Jackpot: (i) 70%: ₹9,512 (14 tkts.) & 30%: 460 (124 (tkts.); (ii) 100% : 1,12,020 (5 tkts.).
Treble: (i) 357 (41 tkts.), (ii) 3,363 ( 5 tkts.), (iii) 922 (25 tkts.).
Super Jackpot: 100%: 37, 049 (c/f).
