Caprisca wins Indian St. Leger

Pune: The seventh special race day was disastrous for punters with only one favourite obliging out of a card of eight races.

The penultimate day for the Pune Season 2018 saw a rather large ground fill the stands. The disastrous card of seven events generated interesting results. The racegoers were treated to an astounding display of power, speed, stamina, and utmost dominance by one adorable thoroughbred-Caprisca.

The talented daughter of (Steinbeck and Xisca), Caprisca produced an awe-inspiring display that made her worthy rivals look ordinary.

Caprisca stamped her authority in no uncertain terms, while annexing the Indian St Leger (Grade 1) in commanding style to the thrill of her connections and backers alike.

Hers was a heroic performance, hailed by both, her supporters and adversaries alike. This indeed was a sterling display and a superlative achievement on the turf that deserved adulation from every horse lover, irrespective of which camp he or she lent support to.

Caprisca has had a history of fitness issues all through her career. Hard luck stories and near misses in the classics have been a part of her racing career. However, the brave-heart put all this behind and showed that her best was nothing short of incredible.

As the gates flung open, little did one realize that an extraordinary success story had begun to unfold. Kambaku was sent on a giant killing expedition and he shot into the lead attempting to repeat his start success on this Pune track.

He set a true pace for the testing 2800 meter trip. The others lined up and got into preferred positions in the small field of eight. Caprisca chose to run with the pace, although she did allow Kambaku a sizable leeway in the first half of the race. Sana had to recover from a tardy start and jockey YS Srinath spurred him on not only to catch up with the bunch, but make rapid headway to stay one behind the leader through the backstretch. They raced in single file with Sana in third, followed by Reunion and Sagittarius at the rear end.

Kambaku galloped well within himself carrying on his good work right until the final turn. The action plans began to unfurl past the 800m mark. Kambaku was the one to blink first as YS Srinath started to plod him on.

Caprisca was alerted to the task at the same juncture and she too started to look to accelerate. Caprisca was given the go by jockey A Sandesh    as they were taking the curve entering into the straight.

The moment Sandesh began to go Caprisca, the longer odds started to devour ground at an alarming pace. The moment they entered the straight, Caprisca started to stretch away from her rivals. She amassed an unassailable lead soon after and sealed the contest long way from home.

A Sandesh and Caprisca powered on to inflict a near 3.1/4,length victory over the closest rivals, Reunion and Sana. Caprisca is owned by KH Vachha and was trained by Imtiaz Sait.

Results:
Race 1: 1. Excellent Ella, 2 Gandalf, 3. Honourable Eyes, 4. Fanfare. Won by: Short Neck 3 1/4, 1/2, 2 1/4, 1. Time: 1:39:72.
Race 2: 1. Mount Olympus, 2. Charles Bridge, 3. Oriana, 4. My Precious. Won by: 2 3/4, 1/2, 3, 3 3/4. Time: 1:25:89. 
Race 3: 1. Governor General, 2. Holy Smoke, 3. Congressional, 4. Clymene. Won by: 2 1/4, 3/4, 1, 3/4.Time:. 1:9:16.  
Race 4: 1. La Magnifique, 2. Queen Credible, 3. Miss Moneypenny, 4. Slam Dunk. Won by: 4, 2 3/4, 1,  Time: 1: 9:54.  
Race 5: 1. Caprisca, 2. Reunion, 3. Sana, 4. Dancing Dragon. Won by 3 1/4, Nose, 2 1/4, Nose. Time: 2 54:88.
Race 6: 1. Bushtops, 2. Jetfire, 3. El Comandante, 4. Eternal Memories. Won by: 4, 2 1/4, 3/4, 1 1/4. Time: 1:24:66.   
Race 7: 1. Shivalik Skies, 2. Grand Chieftain, 3. Gold Magic, 4. Red Indian. Won by: Short Head, Nose, 4, 1. Time: 1:40:74.