PAST THE POST - A Review of the Villoo Poonawalla Indian Oaks (Gr.1) - By Cyrus Naterwalla
Posted on - 23 Jan 2017
PAST THE POST – A Review of the Villoo Poonawalla Indian Oaks (Gr.1)
By Cyrus Naterwalla
A select field of 9 fillies lined up to face the Starter for the 74th running of the Indian Oaks of which 7 of them were Got Abroad and only Aster Rose and Et Voila flying the flag for the local contingent. In the pre parade ring, both Mrs. Patmore and Temerity caught the eye on their paddock looks with Winter Renaissance, the other one who looked well. The 1000 Guineas winner Mrs. Patmore started the firm 7/4 favourite in spite of slight doubts about her stamina for the gruelling mile and a half trip with good support also for owner mate Mekong Delta who had finished just three parts of a length behind her and appeared to be more certain to stay. The Kolkota 1000 Guineas and Oaks heroine – the well travelled Silver Beauty and the other Shroff contender Temerity also had their supporters but were freely available at 6s and 7s. The field broke to a lovely even dispatch from the gates and Book Thief, who had been assigned the role of pacemaker to Mrs. Patmore, shot ahead to lead them at a reasonable clip from Mrs. Patmore being ridden positively like she were sure to get the trip in 2nd and being tracked a length or so away by her stable companion Temerity, who was as good as gold in the gates and jumped evenly. The Golconda Oaks runner up Frosty was making rapid headway up on the outside along with Et Voila on whom Srinath was also making a forward move. Winter Renaissance, the lowest rated in the field was 2 lengths further away with Silver Beauty passing her on the outside to shadow Temerity. Mekong Delta was switched off towards the rear of the field keeping company with the out station challenger Aster Rose.
Book Thief kept the pace moderate through the backstretch with Frosty moving up to race in 2nd followed by Mrs. Patmore racing in 3rd with Et Voila improving slightly two off the fence to race in 4th. Very close behind came Temerity followed by Silver Beauty with Winter Renaissance 2 lengths away, Aster Rose now 2nd last and Mekong Delta last of all. The pace began to quicken as they free wheeled down towards the bend with Book Thief leading them into the straight and Frosty shifting off the rail giving a beautiful opening to Mrs. Patmore who was still travelling strongly. The white face of Temerity was also now pulled out to get a clear run followed on the stands side by Aster Rose with Silver Beauty trying to slip through along the inside. Mrs. Patmore cruised into the lead but was immediately joined by Temerity who came with powerful strides to join her with Aster Rose also making a forward move on the outside and Silver Beauty beginning to stay on in the middle. Temerity and Mrs. Patmore battled neck and neck for a few strides but Temerity began to gradually open up a lead as her stamina kicked in and she was drawing away at the finish to redeem her reputation and prove the better filly on the day. Mrs. Patmore battled on valiantly to take 2nd just ahead of Silver Beauty who was closing all the way to the line with Winter Renaissance running the race of her life to earn some valuable Black Type and fill the frame in 4th.
Temerity who started out as favourite for the 1000 Guineas vindicated herself in no uncertain Terms and proved to stay the distance really well as the time was a solid 2.31.16. She too looks to be peaking at just the right time and if she comes out of the race well, she is likely to take a crack at the Indian Derby which now seems to be in all likelihood dominated by Fillies with only the Serjeant standing tall by himself amidst the Colts.
Mrs. Patmore was travelling best of all turning for home but could not find her explosive turn of foot when challenged by Temerity although her speed may have been blunted by the fact that she was ridden close to the pace today as opposed to her other 2 wins where she came with a rattle from off the pace. The fact that Temerity was drawing away in the final furlong and that Silver Beauty was gaining ground on her with every stride are both suggestive that perhaps she did not stay the trip but Shroff is a master tactician and perhaps a change in tactics, reverting to a more waiting race and utilizing her speed at the end may see her too take her chance in the Indian Derby and it would be no surprise to see her bounce back. The battle hardened Silver Beauty who is small but has a great heart again gave off her best and justified her Final Entry to end up a gallant 3rd. Again the fact that Winter Renaissance, who ended up just 2 ½ lengths away was 4th may prove to be a bit of a dampener on the form as she is rated just 38 and on the face of things, Hall of Famer and Serjeant at Arms still appear to be head and shoulders above this lot, maybe barring the winner who could improve further. The fact that Silver Beauty was 8 lengths behind Hall of Famer in the Kolkota Derby and only 2 ½ lengths behind Temerity here would suggest that Hall of Famer is still over 5 lengths superior on paper over a mile and a half.
Of the others, Mekong Delta seemed to lack the class and never got into the contest at any stage and her 1000 Guineas run was possibly a fluke while Aster Rose too seems to have gone off the boil and may need a break and some freshening up. Frosty and Et Voila were simply not in this class while Book Thief was used as a pacemaker.
(Disclaimer: Views are entirely that of the correspondent only and RWITC takes no responsibility for the same)
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