The Mahalaxmi racecourse was adorned with extensive Maroon and Gold hoardings with McDowell Signature branding all across the racecourse. The Derby atmosphere is something totally different and one feels a unique sense of excitement of something special to savor over the weekend. The horses too were all keyed up and dished out electrifying performances. Eight of the then races slated for the day were won by narrow margins. Three of the first four races saw shot-head verdicts. Then we had three neck verdicts and two half-length verdicts. Only Dancing Phoenix (3 3/4 L) and Silver Arrow (1 1/2 L) won with wider margins. Such was the competition on the first day of the weekend.

Jockey S Zervan once again displayed supreme form to win three races including the feature – The Kunigal Stud Farm Breeders’ Produce Stakes. The lad is heading for a well deserved championship title and his hard work is showing in his consistency. Matching him on the day was P Trevor, who also returned with a fine treble on the day.    

Zervan was in superb sync with Déjà vu (Black Cash – Bon Sang) in the Black Dog Trophy for Class I horses. Neona was sent out as the prime fancy at 14/10 while Imtiaz Sait trained Déjà vu was next in demand at 7/2. Turf Lightning had her shares of supporters, but was quoted a lot higher, in the sevens.

Turf Lightning got the heads up on Déjà vu with Neona settling right with them. Eastern Summit, Mighty Crusader and Dancing Glances rubbed shoulders about two lengths behind with Blue Sky tailing the field. Turf Lightning was the first to come under pressure as Neona got past. Déjà vu was up to the task as well and Zervan gradually got him to join the two in front. Neona began to accelerate but Déjà vu was right up to challenge. The pair fought it out stride for stride. Déjà Vu wrested the slight advantage coming into the final furlong but Neona stuck along attempting an even more fierce finish. Both dashed past the winning post Déjà vu getting the bob of the head right and picking up the race in a scintillating finish.

Jockey turned trainer B Prakash was making his debut saddling Catharsis as his first ward and rightly had Zervan in charge. It was a nippy start as Incentio set a good pace and led them homewards. Mable soon covered ground to head Incentio with Masterofthesky and Catharsis in hot pursuit. Catharsis joined Mable inside the final furlong and a swaying battle followed. Catharsis seized a thin advantage past the stands and a determined Zervan held on by half a length to provide B Prakash another memorable moment of his life.

“I am extremely happy and thankful to Zervan to provide me with this huge victory on debut. It feels great to start on a winning note. I thank my owners and Pesi Shroff for all the encouragement that I have received. I hope I continue to win races for them, it’s indeed an auspicious start,” said B Prakash.

It was an auspicious start too for jockey P Trevor on the day. He won the first two races and then added to that later in the day. His first mount for the day was Celsius (Emerald Cat – Savoy). He rode an effective race going for it starts to finish. Star Zone put up a brave challenge, and towards the end it was Princess Khatoum who produced a blinding finish, which nearly caught Celsius on the post. However, Princess Khatoum had just enough to wriggle out with a short head verdict.

In the very next race, Trevor was in action again partnering San Rafael (Major Impact – New Europe). Festive Night led them into the straight with a marginal lead and soon Capitano and So True attacked him from either side. Crowned Princess was right with them but could not give anything extra. San Rafael started to move powerfully from the outside. Hill Ranger started to warm up too. San Rafael gathered momentum sooner and got past Capitano. Hill Ranger meanwhile picked up speed and was finishing on strongly. Trevor just about managed to hold the fort Hill Ranger passing him a stride too late. Capitano did well to earn place money.

Hidden Goodness (Placerville - Riza) provided Trevor with his third win on the day. This time Trevor had to make ground from the rear from a tightly packed field. Sheer Romance was the first into the straight and had a pack chasing him. Binzz was up next with Nush trying to discover room along the rails. Reinstate appeared on the scene with a good gallop and sailed ahead. Hidden Goodness made his move at just the right juncture and came alongside the new leader. Amitayus, who had travelled wide all along started to cut down the deficit. However, Trevor kept riding out Hidden Goodness in an all out effort and managed to ward off a stiff challenge holding on narrowly to keep Amitayus at bay. Jewel of the Hills advanced in the closing stages to snatch the place money from Reinstate.

Dancing Phoenix (Phoenix Tower – All Dancing) showed a powerful turn of foot to sail away from his rivals and coast to an impressive maiden victory. Settling to chase leader Remember Me, Dancing Phoenix shifted to top gear soon on turning for home. He accounted for Remember Me without much effort and then darted ahead and away from the rest. He won unchallenged. Head of State shifted out at the turn and then didn’t really put in the required effort. Penny Lane too was far back and failed to make an impact. Campeon ran on to finish second ahead of the long time leader Remember Me.

Fire Falcon (Ontario – Le Genereuse) galloped to his second victory on the trot with a scintillating gallop to thwart a serious bid from Smooth Operator.  Magic Star and Smooth Operator entered the straight and were fighting for the lead. Magic Star was reluctant to surrender the slender lead and kept on fighting until the distance post. Fire Falcon with DK Ashish atop put in a spirited run to join these two. Smooth Operator carried on the fight with Fire Falcon, while Magic Star gave up. Distant Promise gathered quick momentum and came speeding at them. In the final heave, Ashish managed to get that extra bit out of Fire Falcon to stay ahead at the wire, pushing Smooth Operator to second and Distant Promise to not too distant third.

O’Princess (Senure – Dolce Vita) chose the Derby weekend to open her account among the winners circle. Emerging from the mid bunch O’Princess partnered by Rajendra swung into action midway in the straight to challenge leader Mountain Warrior. The duo battled on until inside the final furlong. Hot Pepper was hard ridden and he responded late to the jockey’s call. He did cover a lot of ground but drifted out alarmingly which did him in. O’Princess held on powered by Rajendra to score a narrow half length victory. Mountain Warrior ended nearly four lengths away with Song of Praise just a length behind.

Gloria (Diffident – La Unique) confidently ridden by Shrikant Kamble rose from the rear to surprise Monsieur Strauss who had shaped like a winner. Aliyana was the early leader with Dreamland and Stormy Princess right up with the leader. Monsieur Strauss was up next closely in touch with the action. Gloria was tailed of last passing the 800m. Once into the straight, Aliyana faded out and Monsieur Strauss slipped through the rails to get ahead. The challenge came from Intequam who looked forceful in finish. Gloria started to make considerable ground from the wide outside. In the final furlong, it looked as though Gloria might just be too late, but the acceleration she showed was tremendous. She came swooping down to shock Monsieur Strauss and pull off a sensational victory. Intequam ended a close third.