Charles Lytton, the former Justin Snaith-trained son of teaser Thomas Crown, opened his Mauritius account on Saturday when winning the Hinterland Cup to give trainer Gilbert Rousset a great hat-trick at the Champ de Mars.
Charles Lytton seen winning at Fairview
Jockey Rakesh Bhaugeerothee producing a bold ride and running in midfield, Charles Lytton showed a powerful burst of speed in the final metres, downing his opponents with a great finish.
The photo-finish
It was an all ex-SA finish with One Cool Dude (Jean Pierre Guillambert) doing enough to take second ahead of Mootahadee (Donavan Mansour) and Reim (Girish Goomany).
Read more about Charles Lytton
Following an inquiry by the Racing Stewards, Clifton Surf (Vinay Naiko) was declared a non-runner.
Stewards’ Report:
Following the running of this race, the Stewards sounded the inquiry sign and viewed the video replays of the start. It was established that prior to the start being effected Clifton Surf became fractious, throwing its head down and while the handler pulled its head back up, the start was effected resulting in Clifton Surf being unable to jump with the rest of the field. The Stewards, being of the opinion that Clifton Surf was denied a fair start, declared it a non starter under MTC Rule 144 (1). In view of this, all bets on Clifton Surf were ordered to be refunded and no deduction was effected on winning bets with bookmakers, the average price of Clifton Surf being 89/1.
Clifton Surf was slow to begin. Nordic Warrior threw its head and jumped sideways. Split The Breeze jumped awkwardly and shifted out, brushing Bulsara. Mootahadee and Nordic Warrior raced wide without cover in the early stages. Approaching the 800 metres Reim was taken out to avoid the heels of Nordic Warrior and, in doing so, carried Mootahadee wider on the track, Mootahadee was then eased to secure the position one off the rails behind Reim. Passing the 200 metres One Cool Dude was taken out from behind Mootahadee to continue going forward. Near the 150 metres Charles Lytton was taken to the inside of Reim to secure clear running and, in doing so, inconvenienced Lake Geneva on its inside with the latter having to be taken out to avoid its heels. At an inquiry into this incident, jockey Bhaugeerothee (Charles Lytton) pleaded guilty to a charge under MTC Rule 160 A (d) for failing to take all necessary steps to ensure that his mount did not cross Lake Geneva. He was fined Rs.20,000.
