Riding boy-turned apprentice jockey Chotu Singh Jodha has virtually become Nina's lucky talisman. The young lad decided to dictate the terms to her rivals by asking Sail Away to hit the front which the mare obviously relished. He then rode her in copybook style which was full of intent towards the end as he kept the late finishing Glorious Fantasy and Spectacular Queen at bay.

Bangalore-based jockey Harish is having a gala time at Pune. He was associated with the profitable brace of winners, Oyster Gem (Don't Forget Me-Rio Anna) and Cosmic Flower (Tecorno-Classic Tune) sent out by Shiraz Sunderji. In Oyster Gem's case Harish had to overcome the serious threat posed by runner-up Victor as also Twilight Charm and Magic Spell in the closing stages of the race. Some smart money was attracted by See The Truth but it all went down the drain after T. S. Jodha rode him six or seven horses wide throughout the journey. The anticipation of all those who visualised an improvement in the performance of The Truth, who had finished an unwanted second to Enchanting Girl earlier, ended disastrously.

Harish accomplished a relatively easy job atop Cosmic Flower, who loved racing in blinkers. Cosmic Flower made steady progress at every stage of the race and was in as striking position by the time the field reached the last turn. Harish spurred the bay filly to take charge and Cosmic Flower drew away from the pack. The Rising found weight a stopper but ran a commendable second ahead of Naval Academy, who pipped Rising Dream for the third spot. 

Trainer Faisal Abbas and jockey Amyn Merchant too were involved in a winning double. San Juan (Major Impact-Miss Potter) won at the cost of Return Of The King and was probably unfancied by the stable. Their other winner Time Warner was however a rage among all followers of form and inside information. 

Time Warner (Cruachan-Patriotic Light) was ridden well off the pace in the early stages of the race by Amyn and was given his head only in the last 200m of the seven-furlong journey. Time Warner literally flew towards the end for an emphatic win over Grey Storm and Pursuit of Power.

Consistency always pays as ex-jockey Amjad Khan was to know after Degas (King of Kings-Slide By) snatched victory on the post from the unfancied Hidden Dragon, who refused to drop back as was being expected by all and sundry. Degas had won in his first appearance this season and had never missed the judges` board in his subsequent four outings. The horse that disappointed the crowd in this race was C. S. Jodha ridden favourite Atmosphere, who was nowhere in the picture till the ten runners straightened for home and then burst on to the scene in the last 50m to finish a close third. The post-race reports do mention that Mansingh Jadhav's candidate suffered interference at the start, which might've affected her performance. The Stipes, incidentally, have decided to have a second look into the running of Atmosphere and it was interesting to know that Jadhav too has expressed his displeasure with the rookie's efforts. Don Gama ran a game fourth after running into some minor interference. Jubilation had finished last in the race won by Get Fresh last month and he stuck to that position and even managed to trail the field on this occasion.

Dynamical was another filly to have tasted defeat but her burst blood vessels were a contributing factor. Arabian Lady (Diffident-Grundy's Flame) was given an encouraging ride by Nirmal Jodha as the Altaf Hussain nurtured mare stunned Fire God on the post. Flames of Fire had earlier called a merry tune to the field and surprisingly stayed on to finish third and was closely followed by Dynamical. 

Pesi Shroff nursed filly Steel Butterfly (Burden of Proof-Kariba) graduated from the maiden ranks to consolidate the lead of her master's lead in the championship tally. C. Ruzaan chased no-hoper Gold Craze into the straight and then launched his assault. The grey filly stole a march over her rivals and held on gallantly from Pepe Junior, who made his bid a trifle late, Here Comes The Don and Red Dawn. Favourite Dancing Diva ran into traffic problems at a very crucial stage of the race and ended a close fifth. 

Nanjing, the well-bred daughter of Razeen out of London Cries, obliged a vast following but not before being stretched to the limit by Glory in the final furlong. The Sanjay Kolse trained filly ridden by C. Rajendra managed a head verdict over Glory and was followed by early leader Xian and Star Divine. The last named was promoted to this spot after Neeraj Rawal weighed a kilo less after coming fourth astride Understanding, who was later disqualified by the Stewards..