Orito (Major Impact – Radiant) owned by The Mistry family along with Vijay Kumar and karachiwalla and bred at Manjri Stud, had to extract every ounce of his energy and speed to stay ahead after he went into the lead in the straight and nose the wire to win the Rose Royal Trophy.  Dancing Glances veered out considerably after travelling the first furlong and never looked like threatening the leaders.

Star Goddess and Mountain Regiment led the field until the straight with Dear Henry and Orito in tow. Jockey Imran Chisty astride Orito was quick to make headway and easily went past Star Goddess but had Star Future asking questions. This pair were responding well and of the two, Faisal Abbas-trained Orito was clearly travelling better. Ancient Warrior warmed up midway in the straight and started to gain heavily. Even though Orito had built what looked a comfortable lead and still had the momentum going, Ancient Warrior put in a very fast gallop and all but snatched the verdict. He was half a stride too late and the supporters of Orito breathed a sigh of relief as the winning post came to his rescue. Ancient Warrior almost got it right, but fell a head short in the end!

Jockey Imran Chisty was on fire on the day ridding out three winners. He had earlier partnered the hot favourite Theology who is owned by Mr Darius Chenoy, Jaydev Mody and the Capricorn Syndicate, scored an emphatic victory without causing any anxious moments to her strong contingent of followers.

Theology jumped out smartly and was quickly out in front. Savage Garden then came over to take the lead and Carpe Diem joining these two. Once into the straight, Theology took charge early and stretched out well and Imran Chisty was well in command coming into the final furlong. Theology galloped majestically to score with authority and was never under any pressure. That’s My Master improved notches in the straight to beat Savage Garden for the runner up berth.

Imran then rode CD Katrak’s Rule Forever (Exceed And Excel – Greytown) owned by Mr KH Vaccha and bred at the Sohna Stud Farm to a facile victory in the concluding race of the day, thus compiling an impressive treble.

Rule Forever was out quickly and got into the desired position just behind Snow Blaze, Irresistible Hunk and Native Lady. Favourite Rebecca and Royal Honour were jostling with one another and Rebecca lost out on gaining early advantage. That possibly proved fatal for her winning chances.

Rule Forever made all the right moves and easily went past the leaders soon on turning for home. He never looked back and drew away from the rest to chalk out a solid victory. Salt who improved to second, was ridden out while Rebecca came with guns blazing, but fell short in wresting the runner up berth from Salt.

Cent Per Cent (Diffident – Credential) owned by Mr R Rashid and Mrs Rekha Advani put in an electrifying finishing run to spoil favourite Hills And Heights party and her clean record of two out of two. Cent Per Cent was bred at the Exhilaration Stud, pounced on Hill And Heights in the final furlong after stalking the favourite right through the race. Sorrento who led them until they entered the straight could not find any more and ended fourth just behind Royal Highness. Hills And Heights did raise hopes when she galloped past Sorrento early in the straight, but could not counter the challenge of Cent Per Cent.

Jockey C Rajendra conquered both the divisions of the Victoria Falls Plate. In the upper division, he partnered King Julien (Placerville – Star Spangled) to an impressive victory without much toil, well in the latter half of the race. King Julien did not have the smoothest of starts as he was jostled and tossed by rivals close by and found himself in the rear bunch. Rajendra seemed unperturbed and gradually improved position whenever the opportunity provided itself. He improved considerably approaching the turn and was prominently poised at the top of the straight. Once he saw a clear passage in front, King Julien ruled! He stretched out magnificently and left the rest to fight for the minor placing. His was a powerful victory and he outpaced his rivals in style.

The verdict may show narrow margins, but make no mistake, his victory was decisive and he looked the winner all the way through the homestretch. Titleist ended a strong second and Emerging Star too ran on to ward off a stiff threat for place money coming from Star Blessings.

King Julien is owned by young Jay Shirke, Miss Avanti and Miss Gayatri Shirke and bred at the Poona Stud Farm.

In the lower division, Rajendra set Winter Wind alive in the straight and was at his vintage best. The Wadhawan owned Winter Wind (Noverre – Almost Perfect)  and bred at the Sohna Farms After chasing early leader Charlie Cool all the way into the straight, Winter Wind gained on the leader the same time as Phosphor did. Winter Wind poked through between these two and went for the kill in the final hundred to win it decisively. Phosphor was a good second though and is regaining old form. Charlie Cool did well to stay in and earn some stake money.

Ishpingo once failed to go for the kill after appearing to head to victory. Shabdeez (Brave Hunter – Gold N Honey) owned by trainer Asad Siddiqui and bred at the Pratap Stud, emerged with a tremendous run in the final furlong to blow away the hopes that Ishpingo had raised on turning for home. The way Ishpingo surged past a tiring Aliyana he produced visions of victory as he build some quick lead. However, he failed to sustain the momentum and both Home Factor and Shabdeez cut down his lead at a good clip. Shabdeez, ably assisted by CS Jodha, raised a fantastic gallop to sizzle past Ishpingo in the final few strides to pull off a sensational upset.

Legends Order (Diffident – Lawn Order) trained by Adil Dajee and owned by Haresh & Manav Mehta proved too good for his rivals and galloped away to a facile victory. In the straight, Towering High, close to the rails, fumbled a bit and jockey CS Jodha nearly fell off. He had to stop riding as Towering High seemed to have lost footing at the crucial stage. Tomorrows Dream had barely got past when Legends Order devoured ground on his outside and trounced all and sundry with a terrific burst of speed.

Sweaty Betty was finally rewarded with a maiden success after umpteen tries and tasted the sweet taste of victory which was long overdue. The mare owned by Ms Tarita Shankar and Mr Chetan Wakalkar in partnership with trainer Narendra Lagad, called the early shots right from the start. There were moments of apprehension as Cuba and Warrior Prince started to gain on her in the final furlong, but Trevor ensured that he guided the maiden mare safely home and thwarts the late assault.

Mr Haresh & Manav Mehta’s well-backed Fireback (Oath – South Beach) – a Sohna Stud produce, won clean as a whistle, the way a well wagered coup should come about. Fireback led soon after passing the 800 m mark and tore away from the pack to register a very easy victory easing up. Lazor Razor fell slightly back after leading briefly but ran on to end second ahead of Ashwa Yodha.

Imran Chisty was the professional to shine on the day, C Rajendra and trainer Faisal Abbas scored a double each.