The stage was set for one of the most competitive and open Monsoon Derbies in recent years. The weather was pleasant and the track conditions were excellent. One thing was sure, the elements would not feature in any hard-luck post-race stories. But frankly, there were none. It was a true-run Derby and the best horse came out and won, as simple as that.

The seven-horse field had an abundance of quality horse flesh – which is what made this year’s event very special. The five colts and two fillies lined up at 3.35pm, with the colt Slade Valley closing as the piping hot favourite at 13/10 by virtue of his Colts Trial Stakes victory. Malpensa, Angel Child and

Snowscape were available at 6/1 while the filly Silverina closed at 12/1. The other two (Impressive Move and Alderson) were available at 15/1 and above.

Rather surprisingly, it was the grey Malpensa who shot into the lead with Impressive Move at his tail and this leading pair were followed several lengths behind by Angel Child, Alderson, Slade Valley, Silverina, and Snowscpae. Malpensa was galloping impressively and setting a good pace and the order remained virtually the same till the 800 metres marker where the favourite Slade Valley moved up while Alderson was finding the company a little out of his league and gradually dropping out of it.

Meanwhile, the wily and experienced Christopher Alford was gradually improving his mount Snowscape to be ready for the final assault at the top of the straight. Chouhan atop Silverina must have listened to his sixth-sense and opted for the inside, but a little away from the rails.

As Malpensa brought the field into the straight, it seemed that Silverina was hopelessly pocketed as there was a wall of four runners directly in front of her – Impressive Move, Angel Child, Slade Valley and Snowscape. Tle last named was in full flow on the outside. But that is where Chouhan decided to say ‘Open Sesame’ and hey presto – the gates parted for him. Slade Valley and Impressive Move were finding the pace too hot to handle and starting to drop out of contention. In a trice Chouhan had seized the opportunity and guided the filly through a slot between Angel Child and Snowscape. The latter failed to stay after the distance post while the other three went hell for leather in the final 100 metres before Silverina – powered by her superior dam lineage - eventually pulled away. The rest was history.

An elated owner My Joydeep Datta Gupta led in his prized possession and pocketed a winner’s purse of nearly Rs 40 lakh. The champagne was to flow later to cap a champagne performance from a light-framed yet gritty filly who has been maintained in peak condition by the vastly experienced schooler Bharath Singh.

Saturday also turned out to be a red-letter day for trainer Manvendra Singh who led in his maiden winner Candle In The Wind in the Great Tribute Cup, and later followed it up with another – Arabica. Both runners were piloted by the reliable Trevor Patel and are owned by Dr Vijay Mallya.

Candle In The Wind - by Don Micheletto out of Flame Of Love - added another feather in the cap of Nakul Stud Farm where the sire is standing and breeding successfully. The winning filly displayed a quick turn of foot which Trevor exploited well to squeeze through along the rails past front-running Yamlapagladeewana.

Arabica (Burden Of Proof – Alhambrah) was equally adeptly ridden to get the better of Stand Apart and lift The Hokaido Cup. The disappointment in the race was the favourite Cider With Rosie who appeared disinterested and was never in it.

Derby day also turned out to be a great success for trainer Patrick Quinn who led in a brace for his patrons Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and Waryam Singh. His first Star Empire (Razeen-Anagram) closed at 10-to-6-on and bagged the Desert Shot Cup in the hands of Imran Chisty without much ado.

River Blitz (Ikhtyar-Eubee) completed the double when he won the Ascriptive Cup with able apprentice Zarar Aalam astride. The six-year-old was neglected by most but ran true to form after his good second to Dandified. It was to Quinn’s credit that he boldly and wisely declared an apprentice astride this top-weight which gave him a double advantage – a reduction of the impost and an increase of odds. Two In One ran the winner close while Batista shot his bolt near the distance post in company which was superior compared to the field he demolished in his previous outing.

Pesi Shroff-trained Tin Tin (Noverre-Tariyana), available at 10-to-5-on, gave visiting jockey Prakash an armchair ride to bag the Mandolin Cup.

Shafiq Khan-trained Stupid Cupid (Epicentre-On The Trail) was available at 3/1 and had to fight tooth and nail with top-weight on-money favourite Adawna to pocket The Credit Squeeze Cup for Mr. Rustom E Daroga. Jockey Parmar rode an intelligent race in that he gradually improved his mount’s position before issuing a serious challenge from the distance post.

The curtain came down on an exciting afternoon of racing with Arti Doctor-trained Divine Symphony (Major Impact-Sunshiner) raising a resounding gallop in the straight to sail past the front-runners in the hands of Shezad Khan.