LA RONDINE LIVES UP TO A ‘DAM’S’ GOOD REPUTATION

La Rondine on her way to winning the Spartan Poker Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1

The first Indian Classic for the year 2018/19 season, the Spartan Poker Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1, produced a stunning victory by an unexpected winner, the Vishal Gaikwad-trained La Rondine (Kingda Ka-Rahy’s Serenade) who was making just her second appearance on the track after a great maiden victory. She wasted no time in showing her class and in doing so proving the incredible talent that her dam, Rahy’s Serenade has infused into her progeny. Rahy’s Serenade has produced six black type winners, Allies Serenade (Allied Forces-Rahy’s Serenade), Frida Khalo (Alnasr Alwasheek-Rahy’s Serenade); Diego Rivera (Diffident-Rahy’s Serenade), Highland Crown (Royal Kingdom-Rahy’s Serenade), Onassis (Glory Of Dancer-Rahy’s Serenade) and Serjeant At Arms (Ikhtyar-Rahy’s Serenade), each of them as you can see, by a different stallion. One was not expecting her to emerge on the big stage so soon, but she did, and in style. She shared her position as the second lowest rated horse in the field when she went into the gates and as she past the post a winner, she has emerged with a dynamic new reputation.

The Bangalore challenger and winner of the Mysore 1000 Guineas, Isn’t She Lovely had a good track preparation going into this race and being the highest rated horse in the field, made it hard to look beyond her. There were others in the fray, stable mate Oomph who had won the Bangalore 1000 Guineas and Merlot, that truly scared the winner of the Hyderabad 1000 Guineas as they went past the post, that were set to offer a stern challenge. But it was the lowly rated but well-bred La Rondine that shocked them all.

The winner was comfortably out under jockey Leigh Roche and within a few strides was settled well on the rails while Oomph and Anatevka had lost ground at the start and the rest were groping for position. It was Tic Tac Ipsy Tipsy who went into the lead with Merlot and Strong Storm on her outside. Arabia followed with Anatevka being brushed to come up alongside. They were followed by Princess Eliza and La Rondine, the favourite Isn’t She Special with Eyes For You alongside her and Oomph in the rear. Around 600m Anatevka was in the lead flanked by Merlot, 2 lengths behind was Arabia in cruise mode, La Rondine was alerted to push her way through with Strong Storm on her outside allowing for Oomph to find space on the rails, Isn’t She Lovely was put into top gear to get her challenge going, coming four wide round the bend. Merlot took over only briefly from Anatevka, with Arabia getting close and La Rondine in full force. Stride for stride, La Rondine got the better of Arabia, while Oomph, Eyes For You and Isn’t She Special were in futile chase to get the winner. La Rondine won by 2¼ lengths in 1: 36.64s from Arabia, with stable mate Oomph a further 1¼ lengths away, and the late surge from Eyes For You getting her into fourth a short neck away. The favourite finished in fifth, and will live to fight another day.

For now, a filly called La Rondine has blazed onto the track with a dazzling performance, winning an Indian Classic on her second outing. In living up to the reputation of her dam, she is now ready to extend and create her own. Owned by the Dhunjibhoy family, who were unfortunately not at the course to witness this victory, La Rondine will surely give them much more racing thrills and glory in time to come.