A brilliant piece of riding by apprentice jockey Mohammed Iftiqar Qureshi on Lilly (Duja-Mistica) enabled the filly to raise a winning gallop in the Lady Be Mine Plate at the Delhi races on Wednesday. Saddler Magan Singh succeeded in completing a treble, while Aleem Khan saddled two winners during the day.

The first Class 2 event attracted only six horses and barring Lilly none had the speed that mattered most over the sprinters distance - six furlongs. However, seeing the previous performances of the second favourite Ka Ching, many expected the 7-year-old gelding to give some anxious moments to the public fancied Lilly. Ka Ching did so, but the Magan Singh-trainee Lilly proved to be smarter.

In the initial part of the race, Qureshi allowed the filly to establish a huge margin. But then Jodha's Ka Ching was found to be breathing down on Lily’s neck at the top of the homestretch. However, as one expected Ka Ching to forge ahead, Qureshi forced the filly to regain her momentum to keep going ahead. The loser should make amends. Devputra found the trip too short to finish behind the duo.

Shah Nawab's Happygolucky (Eljoahr-Royal dream, Suresh Kumar atop), who ran to be fourth to her stable- and owner-mate Fearless Tiger in her last essay, made a mockery of the field pitted against her in the day's feature – The Asian Age Cup. She was quicker than in her previous outing and was able to dictate terms on a tight rein with still two furlong left. The maiden victory will help her achieve more successes over shorter distances. Fearless Tiger found the form the stopper and finished close third behind Private eye. The run of Best Of Luck (fourth) is best ignored.

The day's programme began on a strong note with Aleem's Conquerers Flame (Conquering Hero-Festival Flame) shedding her maiden status by making every post a winning one, in the lower division of The Great Expectation Plate. The four-year-old bay filly won despite drifting out alarmingly in the straight. Foroozan (it is learnt that his saddle slipped), finished second ahead of Mauhtarma, who can spring a surprise over longer distances. The higher division of the plate saw Pretty Good (Ontario-Festival Flame) meeting with success for the first time in her career and that too in a wire-to-wire mission. Take A Chance tamed Master Crown for the next best slot.

The latter part of the meeting was dominated by Magan Singh's horses. Rose (Epicentre-Bollinger, Pawan Sharma astride) was no match for the rest in The Moonlight Drive Plate over seven furlongs. She should repeat the performance. Kiana (Epicentre-Tiana) made an impression of coming out of the shadow of ill-luck that haunted her during the previous season. She was even stripped of the Derby title and was unable to justify the top billing on many occasions. She should definitely make her mark this season.