Mumbai: African Gold, from Darius R. Byramji’s yard and ridden by Akshay Kumar, landed The Maharaja Jiwajirao Scindia Trophy, the feature event on the special day of the Mumbai meeting, at the Mahalaxmi racecourse here on Sunday.
The six-furlong contest produced yet another upset, with tote favourite Psychic Star finishing second, over a length adrift of the winner. Priced at 9/1 by the bookmakers, African Gold became the fifth outsider to score among the eight races on the card.
Second favourite Odysseus endured a disappointing run and finished a poor fourth in the nine-horse field.
As the gates opened, African Gold quickly made his intentions clear, surging to the front with Odysseus tracking him closely in the early stages. Turning for home, African Gold kicked clear and opened up a commanding lead of more than three lengths, with Psychic Star emerging as the nearest challenger.
Despite a late effort from the favourite, the gelding from the Byramji stable maintained his advantage and went on to score comfortably, winning by over a length from Psychic Star.
