Haresh Mehta's Becket, who was humbled by Jacqueline in the shadow of the winning post when both met last time in the Indian Derby, gets another chance to renew his rivalry with the queen filly over identical distance of mile-and-a-half. Both of them, with seven other horses, will line up for the Vandrevala Foundation Indian Turf Invitation Cup (gr 1) today at 5 pm on the Mahalaxmi racetrack
Haresh Mehta's Becket, who was humbled by Jacqueline in the shadow of the winning post when both met last time in the Indian Derby, gets another chance to renew his rivalry with the queen filly over identical distance of mile-and-a-half. Both of them, with seven other horses, will line up for the Vandrevala Foundation Indian Turf Invitation Cup (gr 1) today at 5 pm on the Mahalaxmi racetrack
ADVERTISEMENT
Trainer Padmanabhan who trains Becket has already gone on record saying Becket is the best horse he has ever trained, and coming from a man who has won over 100 graded races in an illustrious career, these words mean a lot. On the other side is Pesi Shroff, trainer of Jacqueline, who has buried more records in this one season as trainer than he did in entire career as jockey in his earlier avatar. The highlight of his purple patch has obviously been the feat of his star horse Jacqueline's clean sweep of all the four Indian Classics of Mahalaxmi.
Can Becket turn the tables on Jacqueline this time? This is the question that is being hotly debated in racing circles for the last one month. While it is difficult to say if change of pilot can do the trick for Becket, he is surely expected to run a better race after getting the feel of the Mahalaxmi track last time. However, Richard Hughes (Jacqueline's rider) has already learnt his lesson after facing anxious moments last time, and is bound to ride a very cautious race this time. Also the fact that despite a dangerously late bid, Jacqueline had decisively beat Becket in the Derby, and in fact, looked like pulling away in the last couple of strides makes me feel that Becket will find it an uphill task to dent Jacqui's reputation.
The contest will also be made more interesting this time as the pace scenario may radically change thanks to Hyderabad Derby favourite Systematic and winner Arabian Prince being in the fray. Whatever the final outcome, the Invitation Cup that has come to Mumbai after a gap of six years is surely going be an extremely memorable race for a long time to come.
First race at 1:40 pm.
Selections:
Vandrevala Foundation Center for Mental Health (Class V; 2000m)
Sacred Relic 1, Numismatist 2, River Minstrel 3.
Hirco Japan Cup (Class II; 1000m)
Our Fortune 1, Forever Young 2, Kiss Away 3.
Vandrevala Foundation Center for Multiple Sclerosis Trophy (Class V; 1000m)
Fantastic 1, The First Lady 2, Ijlal 3.
Ardeshir Vandrevala Multimillion (For 3y; 1200m)
Beyond Stars 1, Ocean Wish 2, Superior Quest 3.
Major PK Mehra Memorial Super Mile Cup - Gr 1 (For 4y&o; 1600m)
Sea Ruler 1, Juventus 2, Dancing Dynamite 3.
Hirco India Multimillion (For 4y&o; 1400m)
Forest Flair 1, Red Romeo 2, Slickkit 3.
Vandrevala Foundation Indian Turf Invitation Cup (For 4y; 2400m)
Time: 5 pm.
1. Arabian Prince 57 CD Hayes 5;
2. Becket 57 Suraj Narredu 1;
3. Bruckner 57 K Fallon 2;
4. Fleet Indian 57 M Narredu 3;
5. Native Knight 57 SA DeSousa 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 YS Srinath 4.
Selections: Jacqueline 1, Becket 2, Native Knight 3.
Hirco UK-India Partnership Trophy (Class IV; 1400m)
De Nada 1, Visionaire 2, Breeze And I 3.
Vandrevala Foundation Trophy (Class III; 1200m)
Catalyst 1, Saints And Sinners 2, Hunter Bay 3.
Recommendations
Best bet: None
Good bet: Our Fortune (2-4)
Chance bet: De Nada (8-1)
Upset: Dear Henry (4-6)
Today's pools
Super jackpot pool: 4,5,6,7,8,9
Jackpot pool: I - 3,4,5,6,7; II - 5,6,7,8,9
Treble pool: I - 2,3,4; II - 6,7,8; III - 7,8,9.
Tanala pool: All races.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
