Xian (Tirol – Lorelei Lee) sent out by Narendra Lagad upset the applecart of Marmaris and Touch The Sky in the curtain raiser on Friday. Lagad, after having brought him down to the lowest class, entrusted Xian to Satish Nayak and had a nice touch on him for his new owners. Xian chased Red Mesa till opposite the stands where Nayak spurred him into the lead. Xian earned his maiden win comfortably from Touch The Sky, who hardly made any impact on the winner. The support for the runner-up, surprisingly, waned before race time as a sustained round of betting came in for Marmaris. The filly however ran a listlessly throughout.

A double whammy for Rajendra awaited in the following race as the on-money favourite Dominatrix ran in identical fashion as her barn-mate Marmaris. Faisal Abbas saddled unfancied grey Bonny Light (Placerville – I’m A Nine Plus) hit the jackpot after Ivanka tired out in the straight. C. S. Jodha committed hara-kiri by driving out Ivanka up the hill and ran out of fuel on entering the home stretch. Dominatrix was unable to raise a fluent gallop for most of the journey and got into her stride only in the shadow of the post. She edged out Gaea for the third place. The latter surely needed this run.

Appu completed a swift double when the Dallas Todywalla schooled filly Expensive Affair (Serious Spender – Cyclonic) showed a clean pair to her rivals and tasted her first career success in process. The piping hot favourite hit the front as soon as the starter’s flag came down and won untroubled all the way.

Private Eye (Warrshan – Frequency) was another one to log in his maiden success during the day. The four-year-old gelding nurtured by Arti Doctor was pitted against a very mediocre opposition and he treated them with all the contempt they deserved. C. S. Jodha made no mistake atop the winner and drove him deftly to go sailing past Crystal Gazing in the closing stages of the race.

Jodha achieved a back-to-back double when Silver Girl (Conquering Hero – Winter Dreams), also languishing as a maiden so far, produced an astounding gallop when alerted by her rider and took toll of favourite Supreme Sword in the process. Druid Glens showed the way to the field in the early part of the race and retired gracefully from the scene allowing Cornelia Supra to figure in the money.

Earlier Dream Destiny (Glory of Dancer – Cabrona) aided by the handicap lifted the Commoner’s Trophy by a slender margin over Flareon and Hugo Boss. Neeraj Rawal rode Pesi Shroff’s candidate in copybook style and let Flareon call the early shots. The leader was not subdued easily but he was clearly lacking in fitness and which helped the favourite to gain the upper hand at the finish. Hugo Boss, the ante post favourite, saw steady increase in his odds and didn’t surprise anyone by running a tame third. His run needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Two well-bred juveniles made their mark in the two divisions of the Majestic Eagle Trophy. Altaf Hussain trained filly Fair Tactics (Placerville – Native Tactics) was partnered by Australian professional Mark Zahra to a bloodless victory in the upper division. Mark waited till Sterne Royale had shot her bolt and went cruising past her effortlessly. Modesty and Destined Prince ran on to fill the frame. Second favourite Luck Factor wasn’t able to cope with the bad draw and her run deserves to be ignored.

Trainer Vinayak’s protégé Terre Blanche (Black Cash – Kilshannig) made an equally impressive debut when Malcolm Kharadi seized the initiative right from the word go was never in any danger of being caught by her opponents. Legendary ran above expectations to gain the runner-up berth ahead of Eagle Mountain and Little Princess.

Malcolm made up to the connections of Terre Blanche for his close defeat astride Englehart in the earlier event. Malcolm was unable to inject vigour into his mount which allowed the Lagad trained outsider Don Gama (Don Michelleto – Fascinating Lady) to wear down Englehart on the post.

Favourite Oyster Pearl (Don’t Forget Me – Quality Exchange) obliged master Shiraz Sunderji by responding gallantly to the call of his rider D. K. Ashish. Although a bit rusty, the bay gelding nailed leader Strathendrick close home after a keen tussle. Steel Butterfly and Red Amytheist were also breathing fire along side Oyster Pearl but the winner proved too good for them. Capriani and Cosmopolitan chose to keep a low profile on this occasion.

Appu completed his treble by driving Bezan Chenoy’s ward Bionic Angel (Metal Precieux – Crepe De Paille) in the concluding race. Favourite Victor with the celebrated Aussie Mark Zahra in saddle ran like a spectator throughout and ended a poor third behind Mantovani, who displayed more spirit in challenging the winner. It would sheer exaggeration to calling the rest of the field as contenders as they were interested in everthing else but making a serious attempt to win the race.