The Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and Prem Tharani owned Ocean And Beyond (Kingsalsa/Sayuri (Saddler`s Wells) won the Gr 1 Nanoli Stud Pune Derby in a close finish from owner mate Sun Light on Sunday. The victory of Equus Stud Farm bred Ocean And Beyond was on expected lines though the horses which chased him to the finish were not the ones who were expected on figure in the thrilling finish. Trainer Shriaz Sunderji had got Ocean And Beyond in the right frame of mind which also helped the hard working professional to win the third Pune Derby of his career, the previous winners being Desert Warrior and Desert Carnival. Rajendra completed a hat-trick of wins in this event.. Eloise who had beaten Ocean And Beyond in her last outing albeit in receipt of weight was a final fray. After staying in touch and striking distance till the final bend, she faded out of contention to finish off the frame.

	Ocean And Beyond (C Rajendra up), winner of the Nanoli Stud Pune Derby (Gr.1), being led in by Mr Prem Tharani

The Derby 1-2 was a repeat show for Rakesh Kumar and Prem Tharani. Moonlight Romance and Sun Kingdom had provided a similar finish in the Kingfisher Derby in July to provide the leading owners of the country with their first Derby success.

It was difficult to look beyond Ocean And Beyond on the sheer weight of his performance. Ocean And Beyond had finished second in the Poonawalla Breeders Multi-Million where he was beaten for speed by Beautiful Stranger close home. Ocean And Beyond who appears a stout galloper without the ability to change gears as it were, is cut out for long distance races where he can out gallop the others on the sheer strength of his stamina as well as class. Eloise, who showed out in the paddock parade, was widely expected to be a dominant performer especially since she was on the upgrade. There was some question however about her ability to get the mile and quarter trip as effectively as she had done over shorter trip. The fact that she did not do as well as expected enforces this belief.

Ocean And Beyond had shown considerable improvement since his last run as evidenced by his work. The big question that remained to be answered was whether jockey Rajendra would be able to steer the big made horse without being checked in a big field of 14 runners and whether he would be able to ride an aggresse race in front? To the credit of Rajendra, he executed the plan well though many fault him for coming wide and hitting the front much before entering the straight. The fact of the matter is that Pune is not a course which suits a solid galloper because of the sharper bend and short straight when racing is held on the main track. With the horses which went at a fast clip initially fast falling back, Rajendra had to race wide and was forced to hit the front as the others in front packed up too fast for comfort. In the event, Ocean And Beyond who cruised into the lead, broke clear of the rest and this helped him to surge past the winning post ahead of a fast finishing Sun Light, a progeny of China Visit who seems to be firing having sired two Derby winners in little more than three months. Berlusconi, who traveled wide right through, was gaining ground at the finish to be a noteworthy third ahead of Star Warrior who was inconvenienced at a crucial stage by Zafayona.

Sun Elegance set a fast pace followed by owner mate Ocean Emperor, with Scionic from the inside draw also going along with the pace setters. Ocean And Beyond was in about the sixth position, behind Eloise. Sun Light raced in the rear group. The fast pace took its toll on the front runners as they were rapidly running out of reserves and this included Scionic who was under pressure to keep pace approaching the final bend. She eventually fell behind and ran way below expectations given by her after the fluent win in the Gr 3 Hyderabad Fillies Trial Stakes.

Rajendra who had improved his position Ocean And Beyond swiftly, traveled wide into the straight and asked for an effort. The horse picked up speed and broke into useful lead even as Eloise was falling back rapidly. Ocean And Beyond came under pressure from Sun Light who made a big rally and with Rajendra not able to get the hose to find an extra gear, it was bound to be a close finish. Ocean And Beyond managed to neck out Sun Light to land the spoils. Jockey Neeraj Rawal failed to pack punch in his finish. A stronger and a more desperate rider than Rawal could have well altered the script. Berlusconi who had won twice earlier in the season, continued to be on the upgrade and this Nanoli Stud Farm produce who is a half-brother to Cabriolet, can show more progress during the winter season.