Nefyn (Senure – Machrihanish), owned by Mr Dilip Thomas and Mr Shapoor Mistry, returned to his impressive ways on his favourite Pune track. Nefyn quoted at cramped odds in the betting ring, shot to the front alongside Smokin Aces and then accelerated tremendously in the straight to post an effortless victory. His rivals looked hapless when the race got to the serious end as Nefyn bounded forward making the rest look ordinary.

Nefyn displayed very good speed and has the potential to mature into a top-class sprinter. Silver Sands came in late to grab the runner-up berth ahead of Aston Martin who too ran well towards the end. Clarion Call (Alnasr Alwasheek – Star Fortune) won the Chakori Trophy for Class I horses but not without causing anxiety. All was going well until the small field of three turned for home. Romantic Impact shifted out slightly and in the process took Clarion Call wider.

This facilitated a welcome clear passage along the rails for the top-weighted Weizhou who made the most of it and poked through to be well in touch at the front. Clarion Call made a dash for the lead and under pressure moved in towards the rails, thereby coming in the way of Weizhou. Clarion Call was just moving ahead at that stage as was Weizhou.

Jockey Zervan did precious little to control the drift and simple rode out the gelding towards the winning post. To make matters worse for Weizhou, he stumbled badly and suddenly lost pace to fall back – out of contention. Clarion Call sped away to win comfortably. Romantic Impact was gifted the second place. Weizhou clearly was unfortunate and unable to give his best. Clarion Call survived an objection lodged by Sunil the rider of Weizhou.

The Stewards, however, found Zervan guilty of dangerous riding and suspended his license for four race days. Jockey Ladjadj Stephane has taken to the Pune track like duck to water. He has been in sublime form right from the start and his consistency has been supreme. He drew a blank on Thursday though, but made ample amends and booted home a lucrative treble. He started off on a winning note piloting Blush in the very first race of the day.

Blush (Fasliyev – Eastem Sky) provided an encore to the thrill of her large supporters posting a facile victory without encountering any severe resistance. Racing up in front right from the start, Blush made steady progress coming into the straight. Benedictus who tracked alongside weakened when it mattered most. Blush darted ahead and went clear much before the final furlong.

Nurai galloped on to claim the runner-up berth while Ibis finished third which was a decent effort, considering that she was racing too far back down the field. Living The Dream (Soviet Star – Hatheethah) lifted the Blue Haven Trophy in a breathtaking style producing a tremendous gallop in the straight. At the start, Solar Angel and Sing Along were slow in the stride and lost some ground.

Prince Cyrus led the field all the way into the straight with Tell Me More, Their Lil Sister and Caustic Finale in close vicinity. Living The Dream, who was closer to the rear bunch, made steady progress from the 800m marker and came up with a terrific burst to easily overhaul all and sundry to bound forward and win in a most convincing manner. Royal Companion came up late but by then Ladjadj was well clear leaving nothing to chance.

Royal Companion had to be content with the runner-up berth, pushing Caustic Finale to the third. Ladjadj rounded off the day with another facile victory astride favourite Appalina (Placerville – Appetina) who literally won unchallenged from the word go. Entering the straight with a handy lead Appalina accelerated further when Flying Tackle attempted to match strides.

In a trice Appalina sped away from her challenger and looked majestic in her gait to the winning post. Flying Tackle ended second while Game of Power ran on to end in the place money. Dictator (China Visit – All Heart) lived up to his name and dominated his rivals in the Ek Nazar Plate Div I. Settling close behind the front-running pair of Ocean Power and Crowned Princess, Dictator chose to bide his time by the rails and once into the straight, pounced upon Ocean Power and snatched the lead.

Crowned Princess wilted under pressure and vanished from the scene. Ocean Power held on to the runner-up berth scoring a late dash from Krug who covered a lot of ground towards the end. Favourite Tara let down a large following and jockey P Belose made costly error in judgement in the straight after a lethargic start. As the field was dispatched, Tara came out late losing nearly five lengths.

Lusty made the running with Green Signal and Winning Treat coming next, then there was Black Phantom and Tara in the rear. Entering the straight, Lusty shifted out under pressure and took Green Signal who was just mounting his challenge. Had Belose taken the rail route he would have gone through with Tara but the ploy for safety proved costly for the Magan Camp.

After this golden opportunity, Belose was out of luck as Lusty came back in and closed the passage for Tara, by which time Green Signal had sewn up the race. Tara made one last ditch effort with a final dash but could only reduce the margin. Beside Ladjadj’s fine treble, trainer Dallas Todywalla saddled a treble as well and Narendra Lagad scored a brace.