17 December,2009 07:37 AM IST | | Prakash Gosavi
The Indian 1000 Guineas run on Sunday at Mahalaxmi overshadowed another great mare and her performance.
Just half an hour before Jacqueline put up her super show, Oasis Star, the highest rated horse (134) in Indian racing history, had clinically decimated yet another set of top class horses, as usual, without a fuss.
Deservingly, the Senure-Gumbaru Etsu mare is now being sent to Dubai.u00a0
"She has nothing left to conquer here in India, so we would like to take her abroad and pit her against the best," breeder-owner Shapoor Mistry told MiD DAY. "The trainer (Cooji) & jockey (Srinath) say she's the best they have ever trained and ridden, and I have no hesitation in saying she's the best I have owned."
"Her temperament is her greatest asset she's cool," said trainer Cooji Katrak, "She's the best I have trained. I should consider myself lucky if I get to train another horse like her."
Her consistency can be attributed to the painstaking effort of trainer Katrak; you can give credit for her superior breeding to Shapoor Mistry and his Manjri stud farm; and you can single out jockey Srinath for his magical tuning with her that accounts for 12 of her 14 victories.
Inexplicable
But how can you explain her other qualities like absolute control over galloping gears, incredible turn of foot and the shocking nonchalance with which she virtually ambles during a race before showing her serious side?u00a0 During all her 14 victories, Oasis Star has shown the same supercilious attitude. She annihilates her rivals not by big margins, but by heaping insult with her imperious manner of victory.
She races with gay abandon, unconcerned about the pace of the race or her positioning almost switching off and going to sleep; and then, when her poor rivals get into top gear and are galloping full throttle, she 'wakes up', throws a contemptuous glance at them, and sweeps past them like a bullet.
I think it is this imperious, queen-like attitude that will stand her in good stead when racing at Dubai, and enable her to raise the bar set by Astonish (Hong Kong), Saddle Up (Penang) and Mystical (Dubai) by going a step furtheru2014becoming the first ever Indian horse to win a Group race abroad.
