With the conclusion of races on 31st March, the 2018-19 Winter Session of the Mumbai racing season is finally over. We now have a brief respite of a couple of months before the action shifts to Pune for the summer racing season in July. Let’s see how our picks fared if you did some Mahalaxmi Race Course betting in the two highlighted races that took place on Sunday.
Mahalaxmi Race Course Betting: Review For March 31st
The V R Menon Plate
The VR Menon Plate is a longish 2000m race reserved for horses with a handicap rating between 4-30. The race subsequently had nine Indian thoroughbreds in the running. None of them had secured a win in any of the horse races this season in Mumbai. Our top pick was Romanesque, with His Master’s Vice as a close second choice. Power of Thor seemed to have the potential to create an upset, albeit as a long shot.
All three horses performed exceedingly well in the race held at the Mahalaxmi Race Course. The top two picks finished ahead of the pack in first and second place. Here is how the race ended:
1. His Master’s Vice
His Master’s Vice came out on top with a time of 2:05:575. Weighing in at 482 kgs, this 6-year-old gelding’s odds were 5/2. Trained by Adhirajsingh Jodha and ridden by A.Sandesh, His Master’s Vice finally came good after zero wins in the last 20 starts. And it was sweet revenge as well since he had come up short in the last race behind Romanesque, whom he managed to pip into second place on Sunday.
2. Romanesque
Romanesque was our top pick for good reason. Coming from the stables of Imtiaz Sait, this 4 year old gelding had shown steady progress in the last five races prior to Sunday. On top of that, he had bested His Master’s Vice to the second spot in their last race. But with a time of 2:05:881, Romanesque had to be content with second place, despite having the odds stacked in his favour at 12/10.
3. Wizard of Odds
Wizard of Odds narrowly beat our third pick Power of Thor to claim a spot in the top three. After a string of poor performances this season, this 7-year old has finally come good for its trainer S Waheed. Dashrath Singh was signed to be his jockey for Sunday’s race. Against the odds of 7/1, this horse ultimately managed to secure third place with a time of 2:06:096.
The JD & Peggy Banatwalla Trophy
With six horses competing for honours at the Mahalaxmi Race Course, this 1600m race held a lot of promise. It was open to three-year-olds, and at least half the competition had won races in the past. We picked Mishka’s Pride and Square The Circle as the two horses most likely to win this one, with Astounding Bay having an outside chance.
And this turned out to be good, if a rather predictable race in the end for us. All three horses finished on the podium in exactly the order we thought they would!
1. Mishka’s Pride
Mishka’s Pride was undeniably the favourite for this race with odds of 90/100. Ridden by Jockey A Sandesh, the three-year-old finished a comfortable winner despite fears of fatigue. Weighing 463 kgs, Mishka’s Pride clocked a time of 1:39:633 in her final race of what has been a stellar season.
2. Square The Circle
This horse lived up to the reputation that preceded it from Mysore, finishing a strong second for his best ever placing in Mumbai. PS Chouhan was the jockey for Sunday’s race. Trained by Sajid Qureshi, Square the Circle had Mahalaxmi Race Course betting odds of 9/2 going into Sunday. He finished with a time of 1:39:930.
3. Astounding Bay
Astounding Bay followed up a win on 17th February with an excellent show in this race. The colt was up against far sterner opposition than what he had faced in his winning race. But he managed to put up a good account of himself and trainer M Narredu, as well as vindicating the faith oddsmakers had him placed in him at 5/1 for Sunday’s race. Neeraj Rawal was the jockey and the duo came up third with a time of 1:40:035, just ahead of Justified in fourth.
The Mahalaxmi Race Course betting season in Mumbai may be over, but there are dozens of races happening at courses around the world! Check out Bet365 for all the inside scoop on those races, with odds and live telecast as well.
