Fantabulous King gave a big boost to first season sire
Burden of Proof by winning the prestigious Gr 1
Kingfisher Bangalore Derby. A series of problems
prevented the talented gelding from realizing his
potential but within the short span that his racing
career lasted, he had proved to be a tough individual.
Despite a wind problem, he won the Kingfisher Derby
and recovered significantly from a double tie-back
surgery to win in the highest class in tremendous
fashion. A tendon injury cut short his career and he
has since been retired to the Kunigal Stud Farm to
enjoy the rest of his life, savoring his glorious
achievements on the track. Sold as a yearling to enthusiastic owner Ramanuja
Reddy, Fantabulous King won his debut over six
furlongs in the manner of a top class juvenile. The
three-year old gelding was bought back by Dr Vijay
Mallya in partnership with Sunil Jhangiani and
immediately won the seven furlong terms in a manner
which at once marked him out as an extraordinary
specimen. The blinding speed which was his hall mark,
held everybody in awe.
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Sent to Mumbai to compete in the Gr 1 Poonawalla
Breeders’ Multi-Million, the Sardar Singh trained
Fantabulous King grabbed everyone’s attention by
blazing the track. Unfortunately, he did not justify
the favouritism by running poorly, going too fast from
the word `go’ and expending all his energies by
refusing to settle. However, Fantabulous King bounced
back and showed that not all was lost by winning the
Gr 2 Karnataka Cup in adverse conditions, rendered
heavy by the relentless rain during the Bangalore
Summer Season. He beat a qualify field that included a
subsequent Derby winner in Full Speed.
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The dominant trait of Fantabulous King was that he
always wanted to outdo himself and tear away from the
rest no matter what the distance was. Jockey Pesi
Shroff had problems in trying to settle him in the Gr
1 Colts Trial Stakes and in doing so; Fantabulous King
was a spent force when the race took a serious turn as
he had fought his battle more with the jockey than
with his opponents! Critics wrote him off for the
Derby though there was quite optimism in people
connected with him including his pilot jockey Pesi
Shroff who was destined to enjoy his last Derby
success in the saddle before taking up his new
avocation as a trainer. |
The connections had decided to let Fantabulous King
run the way he loved to by not restraining him.
Considering the fact that he had packed up over a trip
of a mile, not many took the trouble of chasing him
when Pesi Shroff had him racing ahead of the field so
much so that by the time the runners took the final
bend, he had a big lead. Despite veering out of a
straight course, Fantabulous King had enough reserves
to pull it off to provide first season sire Burden of
Proof a great start to his career at the stud farm. Dr.
Vijay Mallya could not have asked for a better show
from the produce of his stud farm as the three-year
old made his occasional presence at the race courses a
rewarding one.
Pesi Shroff had always maintained that Fantabulous
King was a ``choker’’ under pressure. Subsequent to
his victory in the Derby, Fantabulous King was taken
to Chennai for a treadmill test where a visiting Swiss
specialist along with Dr. Kartikeyan and Dr. Hasneyn
Mirza assessed the horse’s condition. It was decided
by the team that Fantabulous King did not need an
operation immediately and that it would be better to
keep him in racing till such time the problem became
more acute.
Fantabulous King, who missed quite a bit of work due to the treatment for an infection, was raced over nine furlongs at Mysore as a lead up race for the Poonawalla Mysore Derby but he flopped miserably. Thereafter, Fantabulous King was done a double tie-back operation by Dr. Mirza at the Kehelan Stud Farm. Fantabulous King thus was laid low and missed all the important action in winter. However, he bounced back to win a race for horses rated 40 and
above, with a spirited performance. Just as the race goers were expecting more from him, he had an injury to the tendon which hastened his retirement. |
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But in his short racing career, Fantabulous King had
done a great service to his sire Burden of Proof who
had the distinction of siring two Derby winners and a
host of classic performers from his first crop though
one could not help regretting what he could have
achieved without all his problems. His blinding speed,
class and his Derby win are something that one cannot
forget in a hurry.
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