Pune: James McKeown-trained Adjudicate with A Sandesh on top, bounced back to score a spectacular win in the Grade I Indian St Leger, the feature event of Sunday’s races at the Pune Race Course.
Adjudicate, who had twice tasted defeat when conceding chunks of weight to Bushtops finally asserted her supremacy over a grueling trip of 2800 metres producing a vintage performance.
Jockey A Sandesh who rode a brilliant race judged the pace to a nicety and had the race sewn up a long way from home.
Roberta set a slow pace followed by Adjudicate, Golden Fortune and Bushtops. Approaching the 1000m marker, Sandesh pushed Adjudicate to take over the running from Roberta and the champion daughter of Multidimensional enjoyed her foray in front as she cantered into the straight and went storming clear with her jockey hardly having to move a muscle.
Roberta tried hard to catch up with Adjudicate but it proved to be a herculean task. Golden Fortune was third while Bushtops, who was bidding for his fourth straight win, did not look the part and finished way down the field.
Adjudicate who had failed to win a race at Pune even during her formative years thus broke the jinx. This was also the first winner ridden by Sandesh for trainer McKeown who was also winning his first Indian classic.
Results
Race 1: 1. Majestic Warrior, 2. Articulate, 3. Lambretta, 4. Mount Olympus. Won by: 3 1/4, 2 1/4, 1 3/4, 6 1/2.Time: 1:26.409.
Race 2: 1. Flying Visit, 2. Zenon, 3. Magistero, 4. Questionable. Won by: 2 1/4, 3 1/4, 7 1/4. Time: 1:38.191.
Race 3: 1. Dreams, 2. C’est L’Amour, 3. Sunset, 4. Soldier Of Fortune. Won by: 3/4, 5 3/4, 2 1/2, 4 3/4. Time: 1:10.657.
Race 4: 1. Rainbow Trout, 2. Tristar, 3. Walk The Talk, 4.Tasman. Won by: 2 3/4, 6 1/4, 1 3/4, 3 3/4. Time:1:25.788.
Race 5: 1. Adele, 2. Gold Field, 3. Harmony Of The Sea, 4. Oracle. Won by: 1 1/4, 1/2, 1 1/4, 1 1/4. Time: 57.812s.
Race 6: 1. Adjudicate, 2. Roberta, 3. Golden Fortune, 4. Bushtops. Won by: 2, 7 1/4, 3 1/2. Time: 3:07.944.
Race 7: 1. Saddle The Wind, 2. Eternal Dancer, 3. Dazzle N Daze, 4. Mr. Honey. Won by: Neck,1, 1/2, 1 1/4.Time: 2:08.694.
