It had all the makings of a fairytale end to our season. The glamorous presence of the Royal, Princess Anne, and other high-profile personalities like English trainer Henri Cecil and the ‘Président de la Fédération International des Autorités Hippiques’, Louis Romanet, as well as Frankie Dettori and some of the world’s leading riders. Nobody could have anticipated the dark cloud looming on the horizon in the form of the doping scandal that broke on the eve of the weekend as well as the dramatic arrest of an assistant trainer and grooms.
Life is full of ups and downs at the strangest times, but the MTC officials and marketing brains must have been shaking their heads in disbelief as the scandal hit the Champ de Mars just hours before the commencement of their showcase weekend with members of the British Royal Family , amongst others in attendance. But let’s concentrate on the positive aspects first and full marks must go to brilliant riding displays by the Frenchmen Stéphane Pasquier and Pierre Charles Boudot, who were crowned champions in their respective divisions. Catherine Engebretsen won the race reserved for the Fegentri lady riders on the game Tito Manolo.
FRENCH CELEBRATE
Stéphane Pasquier jumped into the driving seat early on the first day when he won the fourth race on Pattaya Beach. The race produced a thrilling three way finish between Frankie Dettori on Steell Of Approval, William Buick on Pablo and the hard-riding French jockey. The photo- finish camera was needed to show that Pattaya Beach won by a whisker from Pablo and the free striding Steel Approval. Earlier Pasquier had finished second on Wincourt in the second race but said afterwards that the lack of running room had cost him the race.
Robbie Burke scored a win on the rank outsider, Betrayed, in the eighth race. He benefitted from a fast pace set by Torero and King’s Bench to win easily. City Of Choice, who had been very unlucky in running, finished second. Frenchman Davy Bonilla won the main race, as anticipated, on I’ll Be Back. The latter travelled closed to the pacemaker throughout and in the final straight; he hung in when put under pressure. Bonilla had to stop riding a couple of times to straighten his mount and I’ll Be Back showed great courage to pass the line with half a length to spare. Silent Screen held on for second place. Irishman Tom Queally won the second race on the hot favourite, the former Dean Kannmeyer-trained, Running On. He showed tremendous pace at the start to hit the front. Queally was then able to relax his mount and from the 300 metres mark, it was obvious that he would win easily. He beat Pasquier on Wincourt.
WILD ABOUT FRANKIE
Pasquier won on the outsider, Princely Reason on Sunday to secure his second championship on the island. In the same fashion as his ride on Pattaya Beach, he produced a thrilling finish on Princely Reason to pass the line in the same stride as the outsider Wild Dan. Many thought that Wild Dan had in fact won, but the photo- finish showed that Stéphane Pasquier had pipped him on the line and he also finished fourth on Best Offer in the second event, fifth on The Cardinal in the main race and fourth on Coastal Rock in the last leg to win the title for the second consecutive year with 28 points. Robbie Burke tried very hard but had to be content with second place on 26 points. Burke came back strongly on Baraloche in the final leg on Sunday and was unlucky on the longshot Wild Dan.
As usual there were big expectations from World number 1 rider, Lanfranco Dettori, but he proved once again that Mauritius is not his favourite hunting ground – as much as he enjoys our wonderful beaches. He won the main race on the Xaar gelding Seattle Ice on Sunday. From the start, he secured a good position on the rail to travel in third position from Modern Monet and Senor Versace. The pace was a fast one but Dettori gave Seattle Ice a classically patient ride. He did not panic when Senor Versace hit the front at the 400 metres mark and scooted four lengths clear. He waited for the final straight and quickened nicely from the inside rail. Halfway down the home-run to the winning post, Seattle Ice, Modern Monet and Senor Versace were abreast but Frankie produced the magic when it counted most. Dettori finished third in the championship standings.
STARS
Another Frenchman, Pierre Charles Boudot, won the Rising Stars category.. He won three races on Dubai, Burnt Sun and Fabragas, respectively. His countryman, Morgan Delalande, finished second with two winners while South African Juan Paul Van Der Merwe, who did not have good rides, finished third with two winners in Umhlanga and St Austell . The young Gauteng based rider impressed all present with his performances in the saddle and he looks to have the world at his feet.
Princess Anne handed the winning trophy to the lady rider, Catherine Engebretsen , who rode the Serge Henry – trained Titio Manolo to victory. This was the final leg of the Fegentri World Cup Series and Tina Henriksson (Sweden) won the title. Ruth Jefferson (England) finished second and Pauline Boisgontier (France) finished.
DETAINED
In an end of season shock, five horses were withdrawn from this past weekend’s meetings on Friday morning following a urine analysis by the MTC Laboratory. Four of the horses are from the Patrick Merven stable – Soviet Sun, Galaxy Way, Polar Falcon and Pantaneira. The fifth horse is Time To Dance from the Ramdour stable. The Police have already arrested four lads and Patrick Merven’s assistant trainer, Joseph Wenselas Mootoosamy. The latter told the police that the substances are generally given to their horses and claimed that they are merely vitamins.
The Fok stable team have confirmed that they will not renew their license for next season. Trainer Budheswar Gujadhur who had three winners during the International Weekend with Betrayed, Fabragas and Happy Al said that the decision was taken after much thought: “I have got priorities like my family and my job, but I will still follow races as I stay at the Champ de Mars. The public just need to read the editorials of magazines during the last three months of the year to know why we are closing down, “ he said ruefully. Gujadhur will provide give more details in the days to come but one can only deduct that his references are to scandalous rides of jockeys, rigged races and particularly about one of the big owners of his stable who has taken the decision to join another yard next season. This particular owner has at least 25 horses and will prove a fatal loss to the yard. In a further ironic twist, the owner is joining a trainer with whom he had a fight on a training track in 2009 and for which incident the MTC sanctioned him. To add to the Fok woes, their charge, Kenny Tee, was euthenased after fracturing a near fore pastern joint.
The International Test Results:
Champion Top Jockey: Stéphane Pasquier (France)
Champion Rising Star: Pierre Charles Boudot (France)
Best Trainer: 1st. Shailesh Ramdin – 49 points,
2nd Serge Henry – 48 points
3rd Budheswar Gujadhur – 45 points.
Fengentri World Cup: Catherine Engebretsen ( Norway)
