Ruben Star’s performance on returning to Bangalore was a cause for more heartburn for his followers. In his second appearance Ruben Star produced a dismal run in the race won by Hugo. But he made ample amends when steamrolling a Class I opposition later.

The son of Placerville out of Forest Fantasy reached Pune once again, this time under the charge of young Karthik Ganapathy. He was installed favourite to win the Gold Label Turf Club Trophy (Gr.3) and to the joy of all, neither Ruben Star played mischief nor was B. Prakash found wanting in the saddle.

Prakash kept Ruben Star a good four horses wide off the fence as Democraticus led briefly only to be overtaken by Hawke Bay. Beyond Belief, Rejuvenite, Ruben Star and Priapus raced in close order till opposite the stands. With a little over a furlong left for home, Ruben Star pounced on the leaders and went sailing clear of Rejuvenite and Torque. Priapus, Beyond Belief and Democraticus didn’t figure on the judge’s frame but were certainly not disgraced.

Dallas Todywalla saddled grey filly Elusive Trust (Elusive Pimpernel – Trustworthy) got straight down to business as the start was given for the curtain raiser and was a winner at every post along the mile trip and a comfortable one. Pebble Beach tried to intimidate her adversary along the bend but Elusive Trust brushed it aside.

Gobelin (Senure – Goblet of Fire) was the most impressive winner of the day. The Imtiaz Sait nursed and K. P. G. Appu ridden bay filly made easy meat of Ivanka and the rest in the Strengthtostrength Plate. Ivanka was propelled into the lead by Rajendra just before the 600m-marker but Gobelin consumed him in no time at all when Appu released the brakes on Gobelin. There is something terribly wrong with the filly Livorno, who was a fluent winner against Hotstepper in her maiden outing at Bangalore. Forget about moving up higher in class, the Pesi Shroff nurtured Livorno has not been able to grace the board even once in her following three outings.

River Dancer (Diffident – Wolf River) from Rehanullah Khan’s yard ran far above expectations to ruin the day which had just begun to look promising for punters. The Vikram Walkar steered bay came firing all cylinders to catch Firefoot and Sterne Royale napping. The latter seized the early initiative but failed to accelerate when it mattered most. Karthik’s candidate Legendary came in for enthusiastic support, which proved misplaced after watching his lethargic run over the sprint.

Soon afterwards, Dominatrix (Royal Kingdom – Courbette), the filly trained by C. D. Katrak and who failed to oblige earlier, produced a shocker. The horse to bear the brunt of her newly-found vigour was Chevron. The latter stole a march over his rivals when entering the home stretch and was being hailed as a winner when Amyn Merchant started plying his whip. Dominatrix flew in response to increase the agony of Chevron, who is languishing in the maiden ranks. Favourite Montalvo couldn’t make his presence felt at any stage of the race and ended fourth behind the late-finishing Eagle Mountain.

Narendra Lagad led in a popular duo of winners in Salandra and Wild Temper towards the end of the programme. Salandra (Major Impact – Cymbidium) was given a confident ride by Aadesh Kumar to win the Red Label Trophy via the bob-of-the-nose. The bay gelding quelled the spirited challenge thrown by Sparta, who rallied smartly when Rajendra asked him to dig into his reserves. Favourite Casual Look was outpaced all the way but the filly need not be written off in a hurry.

Wild Temper (Warrshan – Tempering) easily accounted for leader Tantrik in the concluding race. Ridden by S. N. Chavan, Wild Temper chased Tantrik into the straight and drew away for an emphatic
win. Memorable Day edged out Fantastic Fury for the runner-up berth.