The fleet-footed filly Pampered Princess assumed her customary front-running role when the gates opened and had a commanding lead when the field of eleven straightened for home. Pampered Princess started to lose pace as the winning post came into sight as did Diego Rivera. The two horses that were beginning to make an impact at this stage were Lago Medio and Oyster Pearl. The D. K. Ashish piloted Oyster Pearl first got hold of Pampered Princess but K. P. G. Appu ridden Lago Medio was also getting stronger and in a trice was travelling the best of the lot. Curiously, Hotstepper with T. S. Jodha in the saddle graced the wrong of the field for no apparent reason and raised false hopes actually when Lago Medio was home and dry. Jodha then cut a sorry figure by objecting against the runner-up, which probably was an attempt to justify his tail end ride. Three of Arts finished strongly but ended a notable fifth after failing to get a clear run. Pampered Princess should win over a scurry.

C. D. Katrak schooled filly Oasis Star, a Senure half-sister to Lago Medio and Oyster Cove, ran like a scalded cat and gave jockey C. Rajendra an armchair ride in the Smirnoff Black Russian Trophy. It is rather difficult to believe that a mere pair of blinkers brought a sea change in the ability of Oasis Star, an expensive failure on the opening day, but it is undeniable that she was the fittest of the lot. The intensity of the speed packed in Oasis Star’s frame can be gauged from the fact she not only clocked a better timing than the Class II event won by Lago Medio, but also beat her rivals by a street. Regal Reform needed this run and was content playing second fiddle to the winner. Runaway Star, the winner’s stable-mate, caught the eye when finishing third ahead of Prince Lochinva.

In between these two events Appu succeeded in completing a back-to-back double. He rode the market fancy Quo Iboe (Don’t Forget Me – Starafar) to give Faisal Abbas the same distinction. Quo Iboe’s task was a made a tad easy by the withdrawal of Here Comes The Don at the gates. Mazan tried runaway tactics but Quo Iboe, who was reportedly laid off due to a knee-chip problem, foiled them to score his maiden victory.

Red Mesa (Tirol – Riza) achieved what Mazan couldn’t for his master S. S. Shah. T. S. Jodha powered the favourite Red Mesa and won warding off the determined bid of Amaranza, who was clearly done in for want of a whip. Shah had earlier sent out Desert Dust (Glory of Dancer – Warning Shadows) with apprentice Shailesh Shinde in saddle and the bay colt made most of his earlier exposure to dish out a humiliating defeat on the piping-hot favourite Bright Side. It was the rustiness of Bright Side came into play more than anything else. Alamshaara ran on to peg back the favourite for the second berth while Cosmic Flower completed the frame with a carefree run.

Veteran Bezan Chenoy’s decision to claim the 5kg allowance of Shailesh Shinde paid rich dividends as the grey mare Bionic Angel (Metal Precieux – Crepe De Paille) registered an encore this season. Bionic Angel came through the shortest way home to divest Game of Power of the advantage he held from the word go. Narendra Lagad’s candidate Cornelia Supra found support waning for her after going out as the ante post favourite and the writing was clearly on the wall as far her chances went. She didn’t surprise anyone when S. N. Chavan seemed to be in trouble on the entire six-furlong stretch when racing three horses wide and not putting her best foot forward. Game of Power should earn bracket over a shorter trip while Te Quiero is getting into shape for a strike.

Lagad dropped a bombshell when Snow Blossom (Steinbeck – Access All Areas) emerged triumphant in the last race after showing marked improvement over his last run. There was a lot of money flowing the way of Harresh Mehta owned and Pesi Shroff saddled Rockefeller which eventually went down the drain. The supporters of The Hurricane should consider his withdrawal as a blessing in disguise. Strathendrick and Englehart both ran disappointingly but need to be taken with a pinch of salt. If the performances of Snow Blossom and Englehart are compared vis-à-vis their last meeting in Race No. 19, the former has shown an improvement of over fifteen lengths. Either Lagad has to have a plausible reason for Snow Blossom’s dramatic improvement or Vinayak needs to explain Englehart’s poor showing.