Despite fairly small fields and not too many quality runners in the fray, racing was entertaining, eventful and rewarding for workers of form. Though it ceased to rain from the morning, the increased humidity made both punters and horses uncomfortable. The worst sufferers were Adamaris and Sabbath, both of whom returned bleeding after their respective races.

The main event, The Pentagon Trophy, turned out to be a cakewalk for Bharath Singh-trained Clear Mandate who made every post a winning one. The speedster had been troubled by two front-runners in his last two outings. On his first outing on the Calcutta track, Mumtaz was in peak form and quicker, while in his next start, he met a tartar in Palazzio’s Sun. With none to bother him on this occasion, he led a merry chase in the hands of Shailesh Shinde. This property of Dr Vijay Mallya is a full brother to Cayenne (Burden Of Proof-Clear Cut). The race was only for the runner-up berth. The favourite Caribbean Queen failed to show any sparkle in any part of the race after her saddle slipping and ended up behind Born To Fly.

A 5kg penalty was not sufficient to stop Royal Dance (Royal Kingdom-Dancin With Bertie) winning his third race of the season. The Javed Khan-trained sprinter has shown vastly improved gate-manners and is a different kettle of fish altogether from his earlier unruly days. The five-year-old collared the favourite Royal Saga early in the race and never looked back. All three wins have come in the hands of apprentice Tamang.

The afternoon commenced sweetly for the Jasbir Singh stable as their well-prepared Chinatown (China Visit-Nairn) was the medium of a large gamble and he won in commanding manner. His task was made a trifle easier by the withdrawal of Magical Star and even further facilitated by the dismal run of the favourite April Edition.

The three-year-old filly Mad About You (China Visit-Ithica) won the Defence Forces Cup in great style despite shouldering a massive 62.5kg. Christopher Alford set her alight in the straight and she stylishly bisected the pair of front-runners – River Pride and Flamingo Fantasy.

The day’s biggest upset came in the form of Bharath Singh-trained Star Wager who won the Armed Forces Handicap start-to-finish. The four-year-old chestnut gelding by Ikhtyar out of House On The Hill was given two preparatory sprints where he raced nowhere. After excelling on the track, he was given gate-practice and placed over seven furlongs and hey presto – it worked wonders. Stablemate and on-money public choice Oakdale ran last. Much fancied by certain quarters, Local Warrior finished a faraway second.

The Ex-Servicemen’s Handicap was bagged by the classy filly Sarabhi (Hook And Ladder-Anna Mae) from Pesi Shroff’s yard. Jockey Parmar was having a miserable afternoon till that time but came out of the gates like a scalded cat and made a beeline for the winning post. Victory Vibes was being touted as a ‘good thing’ by many in the know but his run left much to be desired.

The curtain came down with Arti Doctor-trained Songstress winning the Amar Jawan Handicap from heavy-weight Sumangala. This win completed a brace for Shailesh Shinde who is now very much in the race for the Jockeys Championship with seven meetings still to go.