Son Of A Gun wins Rajpipla Trophy

Mahalaxmi racecourse in Mumbai. Pic/Shadab Khan

Son Of A Gun, trained by Narendra Lagad, outpaced his three rivals to win the feature race of the Thursday afternoon, the Rajpipla Trophy. Jockey Mustakim Alam rode the winner. Interestingly, Son Of A Gun was the least fancied among the four runners--bookmakers making the other three almost joint favourites at 3-to-1, while offering a generous price of 6-to-1 on the Lagad ward. Son Of A Gun hit the front from the word go, and was neither headed nor challenged at any stage of the six-furlong sprint, despite shortening his strides as he approached the winning post.

Veteran jockey PS Chouhan turned out to be the star performer of the seven-race card. He converted all his three mounts into winners.

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Chouhan began the day with a quick, back-to-back double. In the opening race, the M H Ahmedbhoy Cup, he steered the Hosidar Daji-trained Chat to a decisive victory; and in the very next race, enjoyed an armchair ride astride the Pesi Shroff-trained Santissimo (Gusto - Beldon Hill) who mocked rivals when running away with the AFS Talyarkhan Trophy. Chouhan later rode one more winner for trainer Hosidar Daji (Misty in T M Goculdas Plate) to end the day with a treble.

Arbitrage put in yet another spirited performance in the hands of apprentice rider Haridas Gore to win the Edgar DeSylva Trophy for trainer Rehanullah Khan. This was his 3rd win from the last four starts, after going without a win for 17 straight races.

Trainer Hosidar Daji's double (Chat & Misty) was matched by trainer Narendra Lagad who, after leading in Son Of A Gun in the feature event, sent out a shock winner in Zacapa (S Saba up). Aged 6 years, Zacapa won the first ever race of his life after 25 unsuccessful attempts, going first past the post in the lower division of the Narayandas J Dave Plate. The other division of the same race was won by Ricochet (CS Jodha up) trained by Behram Cama.