The Irish rider did not lose his composure after this mishap though he failed to hit the board astride Communicator who had little or no chance in the next race. McCullagh came back with a bang to carve a thrilling victory astride Iceberg in the Gool S. Poonawalla Million (Grade 3).

Debutant Aprilia attempted to go wire to wire for the Million, but McCullagh shrugged off the intentions of the filly sporting the Mallya colours and surged ahead with Iceberg only to find owner-mate Raziya breathing down his neck. Aslam Kader astride the Cooji Katrak-nursed filly faced some traffic problems before he could eke a free run for Raziya. The daughter of Placerville out of Star of the Stage was literally flying after she found her rhythm and both Iceberg and Raziya were locked together as they passed the winning post. The verdict went in favour of McCullagh-ridden Iceberg who was separated from Raziya by a whisker. Scarlet Lake who was also fancied to win made no impression after showing out briefly. Aprilia had a grand rehearsal on debut as she held on gamely to the third place from Scarlet Lake.

McCullagh also clinched the Western India Race Horse Owners’ Trophy, the other big event in the day, with a fine win aboard Strengthtostrength. The six-year-old chestnut saddled by Rehanullah Khan essayed a brilliant run on the wide outside as the field straightened for home. The 14 to 10 favourite grabbed leader Green Paradise close home and strode away for an impressive victory. Yewall ran a fair third ahead of Starry Flag.

Though jockey P. S. Chouhan was successful in booting home a grand treble, it largely went unnoticed as all these three winners made a dent in the profits on the punters. Chouhan drew first blood when he replaced S. N. Chavan atop Momentous Mover in the curtain-raiser. It was no smooth sailing for either Chouhan or Momentous Mover. The well-built son of Broto veered out under pressure after challenging the front runners and Chouhan did well to bring him on an even keel. Momentous Mover won well from Courtesan, Northern Frontier and Mille Fiori all of whom were going hammer and tong before Momentous Mover staged his appearance on the screen.

His next winner was aboard the friendless Sangtrash in the Jeanne D’Arc Trophy. Sanaga may have had the best credentials to win over this derby trip but the climbing odds told a different story. Mountain Wind once again tried to duplicate his winning run of last week. He only succeeded in spiking the hopes of second favourite Cozumel who was a spent force before she could really throw a challenge. Sangtrash did face some traffic problems with Chouhan having to switch him on the outside. The aged gelding trained by M. K. Jadhav unleashed a stupendous run leaving his rivals stranded. Saytarra finished second while Sanaga took the other minor place ahead of Mountain Wind. Chelsea was simply outclassed and the supporters of Cozumel need not feel let down for the filly will surely bounce back.

Earlier in the day, Code Red gave a speedy display to leave her eight rivals flat-footed in the Goldilocks Plate. Favourite Multi Millionaire lacked the initial speed and was outpaced all throughout the six-furlong journey. Maltese Falcon sprang a big surprise after unleashing a brilliant run in the straight and cantered away for the most facile victory of the day. Daring Don tried to catch the winner close home but in vain. The favourite returned home with burst blood vessels.

With the odds moving upwards faster than her ability, it was no surprise that the Cooji Katrak-saddled "dry-coated’ filly Au Revoir ran like a dud. To say the truth, the Shyam Ruia-owned daughter of Broto out of Sportin’ Love was beaten even before she trekked towards the starting gates. Diplomat Rose was driven with some purpose by P. S. Chouhan as he gathered momentum to tackle Supreme Authority and then stave off the late challenge of Wagga Wagga close home.