JOIN USThe battle between Jacqueline and Becket for the 2400-metre Invitation Cup promises to be one for the history books. On paper, Jacqueline looks unbeatable.
Having won four classics already this season, including the Indian Derby, the Richard Hughes-ridden filly will be going for the icing on the cake with an Invitation Cup victory.
Becket, the Poonawalla Bangalore Derby winner, will try to better his second-place finish to Jacqueline at the Indian Derby.
For a while in the Indian Derby, it looked as if Padmanabhan-trained Becket might actually pull off an upset by holding off Jacqueline. But the Pesi Shroff-schooled horse was just too good in the end.
The race did show that Becket was capable of beating the ‘unbeatable’ Jacqueline. Becket had just come out of winning the Bangalore Derby two weeks before the gruelling Indian Derby, whereas Jacqueline had a nice rest before her Derby exploits.
With both having had equal rest, a reversal could be on the cards this time. Another factor is how well Suraj Narredu, riding Becket for the first time, steers the colt. Given Hughes’ evident riding skills on Jacqueline, Narredu will have to be at his absolute best.
The other contenders include Kolkata Derby winner Bruckner, to be ridden by Keiron Fallon, Native Knight (S De Sousa up), the surprise package of the Indian Derby by finishing third, and Arabian Prince, the Hyderabad Derby winner.
Bruckner failed to impress in the Indian Derby and will need to pull off something extremely special to hold off Jacqueline and Becket. Arabian Prince won the Hyderabad Derby in record time, but without Suraj Narredu, the horse will find the going tough even in the able hands of CD Hayes.
Mumbai race card
Jacqueline, to be ridden by Richard Hughes and trained by Pesi Shroff is fancied to run away with the Vandrevala Foundation Indian Turf Invitation Cup (Grade I), a terms race over 2400 metres, the main event of the races to be held here on Sunday.
1. Vandrevala Foundation Centre For Mental Health Trophy (Cl V, rated 1-26) -- 2000M, 1.40 pm: 1. Aristocratical 61 PS Chouhan 10; 2. Numismatist 61 Srinath 1; 3. River Minstrel 60.5 DK Ashish 8; 4. Blau Himmel 60 CD Hayes 4; 5. Kalinga Star 60 CS Jodha 5; 6. Sacred Relic 59.5 Suraj Narredu 3; 7. Monk’s Ferrari 58.5 M Narredu 9; 8. Dreamride 58 AM Tograllu 2; 9. Lothario 50 I Shaikh 11; 10. Nara 50 Ruzzan 7; 11. Roses All The Way 49 Dashrath S 6.
Sacred Relic 1; Blau Himmel 2.
2. Hirco Japan Cup (Cl II, rated 60-86) -- 1000M, 2.10 pm: 1. Lago Medio 59 S Sunil 6; 2. Highland Flame 58 P Trevor 7; 3. Forever Young 57.5 C Rajendra 5; 4. Our Fortune 57.5 B Prakash 2; 5. The Gain 56 Harish 9; 6. Scholar 54 Srinath 3; 7. Estevez 53.5 C Alford 4; 8. Violetta 52.5 CD Hayes 8; 9. Kiss Away 51 NS Parmar 1.
Violetta 1; Estevez 2.
3. Vandrevala Foundation Center For Multiple Sclerosis Trophy (Cl V, rated 1-26) -- 1000M, 2.40 pm: 1. Daffodils 59 P Trevor 3; 2. Opportunity 59 Belose 20; 3. Pomme De Terre 59 DS Rathore 6; 4. Azul 58 Harish 5; 5. Prince Of Troy 57.5 S Kamble 18; 6.
Rajdoot 57.5 Kavraj S 2; 7. Paris Hilton 57 V Jodha 12; 8. Fantastic 56.5 Neeraj Rawal 4; 9. Sea Beauty 56.5 D Naik 8; Sea Diamond 56.5 NS Parmar 9; 11. The First Lady 56.5 Daniel Bast 14; 12. Ballad Of Glory 55.5 SP Ranjane 10; 13. Chingari 55 S Chinoy 7; 14. Rising Asset 54.5 T Atul 15; 15. Mia Stella 54 Dashrath S 16; 16. Rio Del Ray 54 I Shaikh 13; 17. Houdini 53 S Sunil 19; 18. War Major 52.5 AM Tograllu 17; 19. Ijlal 51.5 Merchant 1; 20. Secret Affair 49 J Chinoy 11.
Pomme De Terre 1; Prince Of Troy 2.
4. Ardeshir Vandrevala Multi-Million (terms) -- 1200M, 3.20 pm: 1. Nobel Glory 57 McCullagh 9; 2. Superior Quest 57 B Prakash 8; 3. Beyond Stars 55.5 Suraj Narredu 3; 4. Ocean Wish 55.5 R Hughes 4; 5. Bullet 53 Srinath 2; 6. Dear Henry 53 S De Sousa 7; 7. Star Vision 53 I Chisty 1; 8. Native Lady 51.5 C Rajendra 6; 9. Ocean Princess 51.5 DK Ashish 5.
Beyond Stars 1; Dear Henry 2.
5. MAJ PK Mehra Memorial Super Mile Cup (Grade I) (terms) -- 1600M, 4.00 pm: 1. Aristos 59 McCullagh 5; Chios 59 P Mulrennan 10; 3. Dancing Dynamite 59 M Dwyer 12; 4. Diego Rivera 59 Fallon 9; 5. Iapetus 59 McLaughlin 3; 6. Juventus 59 S De Sousa 7; 7. Mr Greedy 59 B Prakash 6; 8. Splendid Surprise 59 Srinath 1; 9. Aboline 56 C Alford 2; 10. Sea Ruler 56 I Chisty 11; 11. Sprint Star 56 M Narredu 4; 12. Celestial Way 54.5 CD Hayes 8.
Juventus 1; Diego Rivera 2.
6. Hirco India Multi-Million (terms) -- 1400M, 4.30 pm: 1. Forest Flair 59 B Prakash 2; 2. Beyond Belief 56 C Rajendra 3; 3. Red Romeo 56 McCullagh 6; 4. Agha 53.5 I Chisty 7; 5. Aurelian 53.5 S De Sousa 4; 6. Cielo Rey 53.5 CD Hayes 9; 7. Pepe Junior 53.5 Neeraj Rawal 8; 8. Running Bull 53.5 P Mulrennan 5; 9. Weizhou 53.5 S Sunil 10; 10. Slickkit 52 Suraj Narredu 1.
Cielo Rey 1; Forest Flair 2.
7. Vandrevala Foundation Indian Turf Invitation Cup (Grade I) (terms) -- 2400M, 5.00 pm: 1. Arabian Prince 57 CD Hayes 5; 2. Becket 57 Suraj Narredu 1; 3. Bruckner 57 Fallon 2; 4. Fleet Indian 57 M Narredu 3; 5. Native Knight 57 S De Sousa 9; 6. Sparks 57 PS Chouhan 7; 7. Change Of Luck 55.5 David Allan 6; 8. Jacqueline 55.5 R Hughes 8; 9. Systematic 55.5 Srinath 4.
Jacqueline 1; Becket 2.
8. Hirco United Kingdom-India Partnership Trophy (Cl IV, rated 20-46) -- 1400M, 5.45 pm: 1. De Nada 61.5 R Hughes 2; 2. Shodaan 61.5 Suraj Narredu 21; 3. Visionaire 60.5 C Rajendra 7; 4. Top Action 60 P Trevor 14; 5. Heifitz 59 I Shaikh 17; 6. Illuminate 58.5 Srinath 8; 7. Super King 58.5 S Chinoy 20; 8. Kite Runner 58 CS Jodha 4; 9. Alize 57.5 B Prakash 5; 10. Breeze And I 57 S De Sousa 16; 11. Orada 56 S Zervan 22; 12. Full Throttle 55.5 H Rathod 15; 13. Eye Of The Storm 55 Dashrath S 16; 14. Bemisaal 54 S Kamble 1; 15. Tell Me More 54 J Chinoy 10; 16. Torcello 53 AM Tograllu 12; 17. Up North 53 V Jodha 9; 18. Sea Bucaneer 52 D Naik 19; 19. Seachange 51.5 PS Chouhan 11; 20. Calypso Dancer 50.5 DK Ashish 18; 21. Mystic Temple 50.5 T Atul 13; 22. Pharoah 50 SP Ranjane 3.
Breeze And I 1; De Nada 2.
9. Vandrevala Foundation Trophy (Cl III, rated 40-66) -- 1200M, 6.15 pm: 1. Lyrical Lass 59 B Prakash 2; 2. Catalyst 58.5 P Mulrennan 8; 3. Hunter Bay 58.5 R Hughes 10; 4. Kapathos 57.5 Khalander 15; 5. Saints N Sinners 57.5 McCullagh 12; 6. Aristocratic 57 Srinath 18; 7. Dear Liza 56 S De Sousa 11; 8. Absolute Reality 55.5 C Rajendra 4; 9. Exuberance 55 Suraj Narredu 13; 10. Midsummer Knight 54 DK Ashish 7; 11. Golden Memory 52.5 M Roushan 19; 12. Golden Spurs 52.5 J Pradeep 16; 13. Arabian Champ 52 Merchant 3; 14. Flames Of Fire 52 T Atul 1; 15. Blumarine 51.5 Neeraj Rawal 14; 16. Feona 50 CS Jodha 17; 17. Highland Music 50 SP Ranjane 6; 18. Il Tabarro 49.5 NS Parmar 5; 19. Paper King 49.5 SK Jadhav 9.
Hunter Bay 1; Dear Liza 2.
Day’s best: Jacqueline. Double: Violetta and Juventus.
I jackpot: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. II jackpot: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Mini-jackpot: 6, 7, 8, 9. I treble: 2, 3, 4. II treble: 6, 7, 8. III treble: 7, 8, 9. Exacta pool: 6, 7, 9.