While the Gitanjali Indian 1000 Guineas (Gr.1) stole the show with a belligerent finish and Vijays Pride hogging the limelight with a stupendous performance that culminated in an enthralling finish, there were some scintillating performances that added to the flavor of the day. One such performance was that of Star Trainer (Storm Trooper – Tiddly Widdly).

The Gracias Saldanha Memorial Million, instituted in memory of the late horse-owner early this year, had a dozen top contenders eager to prove their superiority. There was no clear favourite although Nefyn was the most widely supported contender along with Amadeus.

The races started on a boil with the entire field huddled closely together. Mountain Regiment led the field into the straight and boy was this turning into a rough game! The front-runners who moved up in a bunch were Mountain Regiment, Turf Lightning, Nefyn and Scarlet Pimpernel. The scuffle was for all to see and the Stipes called for a steward’s enquiry soon after the race, resulting in jockey Liam Jones being found guilty of dangerous riding atop Turf Lightning, following which the filly was disqualified.

The worst effected party was Scarlet Pimpernel on the rails who bore the brunt of a chain reaction that was sparked off my Turf Lightning. Nefyn too was inconvenienced as was Mountain Regiment. With the winning post fast approaching, Ranthambhore rediscovered his fiery form to launch an all out offensive on his opponents. He had barely taken over when Amadeus made a daring bid from the outside. The action was thick and fast and just when one of these two seemed the likely crown puller, Star Trainer produced a blinder with Suraj Narredu riding as one possessed to collar them all on right on the winning post in a dramatic finish.

The winning post was a crowded place as split seconds separated the entire field. Another interesting fact was that all the runners finished within about six lengths in a cluster.

Jockey S Zervan was on fire right from the start of the day, driving home three winners. Clinton (Razeen – Veena’s Pet) showed no signs of any lay-off worries as he galloped smoothly to romp home without sweat. Mon Ami had taken over the running from Star Mountain long before the turn and led the field into the straight. With 400 to go, Clinton started to flex his muscles and soon worked up a fine rhythm to stretch out on a tight rein. If ever there was an armchair ride to victory, this was it. The only effort Zervan made was to turn back more than once to see who would take the runner up berth. Clinton won with ease and fluency to promise an encore before long.

Caruso (Juniper – Bongusto) made a memorable debut earning a well fought victory over the more fancied Rio. Forest Vision the prime favourite ended a close third. Holy Bull made the early running with Rio close behind. The pair led the field home and Rio soon took the lead away from Holy Bull and galloped further away. Forest Vision and Caruso were in hot pursuit. In the final furlong, Forest Vision fell back as Rio and Caruso were finishing on strongly. Zervan ridden Caruso got the measure of Rio closer home to post a comfortable victory. Both Rio and forest Vision have had a educative run and should improve to score this season.

Zervan’s third conquest was immediately after atop hot favorite Hamlet (Motivator – Rubyanne). The confidence that Zervan is growing with showed on his ride as he improved positions from third to shoot into the lead soon on turning for home. He waited with Hamlet even as he felt Razeenaa gaining on his briefly, and only alerted Hamlet at just the right juncture, not a second earlier.  Hamlet when let loose, plundered away and was out of reach of the all out Razeenaa. Hamlet too was impressive in his victory and will surely go on to add to his win tally.

Black Magic Woman (Placerville – One Magic Moment) going with the blinkers on this time, took off well and led right from the start. NO one really troubled the classy filly thereafter and she won on her own terms. Coccinella and then Vittoria tried hard to catch up with Black Magic Woman, but she was simply out of bounds.  Vittoria did cover ground in the final stages and even cut down the margin, but she never looked like toppling the winner.

Ishpingo (Major Impact – Speed of Light) was in a devastating mood and had he stepped on it a little earlier he could have taken a crack at the course record of 57.84 seconds that Ares had set in 2010. Ishpingo came in fourth in the straight behind Rising Power, Borderline and Emerging Star, with Daffodils making his bid through the rails. He covered ground briskly and caught up with Rising Power without trouble. Rising Power did resist a wee bit but Ishpingo was all power and speed. He surged ahead in the final 100 meters and posted an impressive victory sparing over a length at the wire.

Edge of Glory (Glory of Dancer – Contrarian) landed his connections a perfect coup as he rattled up a massive lead and won without encountering any hindrance. Sitting on the tail of leader Laurus Pride, Edge of Glory took charge and commanded the field ably to land the spoils long way from home. O’Princess did try to throw a scare when she started to get past other runners midway in the straight and seemed to gain on Edge of Glory. Malcolm however, an old hand in the game, simply pressed on the gelding and he spurted further away to register a bloodless win.

For the professionals, trainer Shyam Habbu was the lone trainer to saddle a double, while jockey S Zervan scored a fine treble.