In The Spotlight with Martin Dwyer up wins The Indian Derby 2012

Описание: Capt Jamshed J Appoo surely would have been the happiest amongst the 30,000 odd people that thronged the Mahalaxmi Racecourse for the iconic race of the year - McDowell Signature Premier Indian Derby (Gr1). His 4-year-old filly, daughter of Alnasr Alwasheek and Radiate, aptly named In The Spotlight, blew off a classy bunch of rivals and clinched the McDowell Signature Premier Indian Derby (Gr1) with surprising ease. With it, she became the highest grosser in terms of stake money earned, to the tune of a whopping Rs 3.8 crore.

She started off her rampage of Classic conquests with Deccan Derby at Hyderabad, and picked up the Calcutta 1000 Guineas, Oaks and the Calcutta Derby with aplomb, increasing the margin of victory with each conquest. However, she provided the proverbial icing on the cake with another brilliant performance to literally walk away with the most sought-after race in Indian racing – the McDowell Signature Premier Indian Derby. In doing so, In The Spotlight presented her owner Jamshed Appoo, trainer S Padmanabhan and jockey Martin Dwyer their first ever Indian Derby conquest, a trophy to cherish for life!

The manner of victory was most astounding, as all the pre-race speculation that it would be an open race or a closely contested race proved grossly incorrect. In the Spotlight won on her own terms and dismissed an elite opposition with complete authority. The victory, to sum it up in one word – Awesome!

The famous Derby roar was deafening as 30,000 vocal chords expanded in sync at high decibels. The role players jostled through to make the pace, Field Marshal hit the front briefly as Pronto Star swooped on him to grab the initiative as they turned into the backstretch. Pronto Star led by a clear margin with Field Marshal in second, In The Spotlight was next in third followed by Smashing, the rest were huddled closely, only Hills And Stars galloping a staggering five-lengths behind the second-last horse Pronto Pronto. On hindsight, Richard’s ploy to keep Hills And Stars far back for the period he did, obviously trying to save her best for the last seemed exaggerated. Even at the half way stage, Hills And Stars was tailing the field detached from the bunch. Pronto Star, meanwhile was enjoying the ‘leader’s status’ approaching the final turn. Soon Field Marshal started to cover ground and got past Pronto Star, whose game was up. In The Spotlight showed up quickly and progressed inspiringly to get to the helm soon on turning for home.

That was the end of it. In The Spotlight started to stretch away from them all and piled up an impregnable lead. Smashing moved up paces to resign to the inevitable and settle for the runner up berth. Field Marshal did well to wrest the third spot from Pronto Pronto. The winner clearly was extraordinary and simply too good on the day.

In The Spotlight thundered her powerful hooves as she glided over the turf with inspiring grace, truly a legend in motion. She was a treat to watch, dismissing the other classy horses with complete authority. Martin Dwyer had accomplished yet another Classic conquest, the biggest of them all. In the Spotlight and Martin Dwyer now share a perfect bonding and have been partners in all their recent triumphs.