Horses slip into Derby gear
Mumbai, Feb. 4: The contenders for the McDowell Signature Indian Derby got down to serious business on Thursday as they hit the Mahalaxmi Race Course in preparation for Sunday’s big race.
In the final warm-up, Jacqueline and Native Knight were impressive and looked fit for the final showdown. The latter appears to be a serious contender, going by his trainer Narendra Lagad’s confidence.
That the horse will be ridden by England-based Brazilian jockey Silvestre de Sousa, who piloted Antonios to win last year’s Indian Derby, is an added advantage.
The main challenger though is Becket, owned by Haresh Mehta, who won the Bangalore Derby last month impressively.
However, Onassis co-owner Farok Rattonsey would want to make it three-in-a-row — after winning the previous two Indian derbies with Hot Stepper and Antonios — and match Ranjit Bhat’s feat.
Jacqueline rode with Floods of Fortune in the inner sand and covered a distance of 1800 metres in 2 minutes and 3 seconds, 12 seconds lesser than the expected time of 2.15. Native Knight covered 1000 metres in 1.07 secs, seven seconds lesser than time. Becket, on the outer sand, covered the 1000 metres in 1.04 seconds, 11 lesser than expected.
After the warm-up the horses relaxed in the RWITC Equine pool after which they headed for beautification of their shoes before making their way back to the stables.
Age Correspondent
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