Pune season opens with a nine-race card

Representational image. Pic/iStock

An excellent, nine-race Sunday card is slated for the opening day of the Pune monsoon racing season. The feature event is the Winfair247 Gaming Trophy for class I horses (1400m) which has attracted 13 top class runners.

Jendayi and Royal Mysore (both 4y olds) may be fancied more than the rest, but Mojito and Count Of Savoy (despite elephantine imposts of 66 kg & 62.5 kg respectively) can make the finish interesting.

However, I feel jockey Neeraj Rawal astride the Imtiaz Sait-trained Géographique, who tested her under pressure in last start at Mumbai in an extremely tough set, should now be able to plan the trip better, and with little luck, can win the feature event.

Also Read: Not too late for Maha govt to reward Chirag Shetty's role in Thomas Cup win

First race at 1 pm.
Selections:

Elegance Plate - Div II (For 4y&o, class V; 1200m)
Moment Of Madness 1, Sorrento Secret 2, Zip Along 3.

Vibrant Plate - Div I (Class IV; 1000m)
Mi Arion 1, Queens Pride 2, Malet Spring 3.

Season Opener Plate (Class IV; 1400m)
Spanish Eyes 1, Running Star 2, Treat 3.

D K Ashish Trophy - Div I (For 3y, maidens; 1200m)
Aperol 1. Regima Memorabilis 2, Applause 3.

Vibrant Plate - Div II (Class IV; 1000m)
Turn And Burn 1, Raise The Stakes 2, House Of Lords 3.

D K Ashish Trophy - Div II (For 3y, maidens; 1200m)
Divine Hope 1, Wild Child 2, Mother's Grace 3.

Winfair247 Gaming Trophy (Class I; 1400m)
Geographique 1, Jendayi 2, Royal Mysore 3.

Elegance Plate - Div I (For 4y&o, class V; 1200m)
Khaleesi 1, Champagne Smile 2, High Spirit 3.

Columbia Plate (Class III; 1200m)
Dash 1, Fighton 2, Portofino Bay 3.

Recommendations
Best bet: None
Upsets: Lightning Blaze (1-11), Serrano (2-4) & Trillionaire (4-4)

Today's pools
Super jackpot pool: 4,5,6,7,8,9
Jackpot pool: I - 2,3,4,5,6; II - 5,6,7,8,9
Treble pool: I - 3,4,5; II - 6,7,8; III - 7,8,9
Tanala pool: All races.