Dr MAM Ramaswamy owned Rekindle (Placerville – Mitzvah) gave off her best in the straight, to shock the favourite Deep Diver and win the prestigious Tattersalls Million, the main attraction of the day. Deep Diver was in for another shock as Remember Me swooped upon the front-runners to bag the runner-up slot relegating the favourite further to the third spot, coming from some way back and catch the eye at the finish.

Deep Diver decided to dictate the terms from the start and all seemed well as he was cantering smartly all the way into the straight. Yellowzone was the first casualty in the tightly packed field as she dropped out of contention soon in the straight. Deep Diver looked poised to stretch ahead and keep his date with victory. However, when jockey Sandesh asked for an effort, Deep Diver surged forward alright, but was floored when the two MAM reps Panthera and Rekindle challenged him midway down the straight. Rekindle was more powerful of the lot and easily sailed ahead with about 100 meters to go. Remember Me arrived with a late burst and finished full of steam to get all but the winner in a tight finish for the top four slots.

Dallas Todywalla trained Hurricane Wind (Steinbeck – Santorini Star) owned by Wadhawan snatched victory from the jaws of defeat literally on the last stride as a determined effort from Okavango nearly upset the favourite’s applecart. Okavango was freewheeling all the way from the gates and into the straight. While Monet and the others simply couldn’t match up, Hurricane Wind improved from the second-last position to that of one behind the leader at the turn.

Okavango kept his good work going and was showing no signs of tiring. Hurricane Wind had to do all the catching up as Sandesh used every trick in the book to get level with Okavango at the distance post. They matched strides from there on but to Okavango’s credit, he stretched the popular fancy all the way to the wire. Hurricane Wind eventually won by the shortest of margins.

Ghazal King (Sedgefield – Bright and Cheery) picked up his second victory on the trot with a fine show of speed and stamina. Going over an extended trip of mile and quarter for the Secret memory Trophy, Ghazal King from trainer Magan Singh Jodha’s yard won without much toil. He sat an unperturbed last as Mars made all the initial running. Razeenaa had lost a few lengths at the start and jockey CS Jodha brushed her up too fast to be second at the turn. Mars waned sooner than expected and Fortune Favours showed alacrity early in the straight.

Fortune Favours had barely accounted for Razeenaa when Ghazal king surfaced on the scene, galloping gamely to take charge in the final furlong. He finished on strongly scoring a comfortable victory in the hands of R Vaibhav, who is making his presence felt with his good riding.  

Hot favourite Senora Bella (Burden of Proof – Si Senora) owned by Dr Vijay Mallya, romped home to score a facile victory looking good all the way. The lone representative from Pesi Shroff’s yard settled in the third position behind leader Ice Zone and the top weighted Wings of Glory. All that did not matter as Senora Bella cruised past the pair early into the straight and shot ahead showing good speed without any assistance from jockey P Trevor. She looked the winner right from the outset and justified the cramped odds offered on her. Petite Fleur ran on to beat the rest and looked second best among the runners.

Neath (Major Impact – Machirhanish) kept her date with victory holding the fort strongly warding off Halle who tried to pose a challenge closer home. However, as it turned out, Halle could not catch up with Neath, as once the latter took charge from long time leader Sumo, which was soon on turning for home,  the race was all but over. Neath marched on authoritatively and kept Halle a safe distance away to notch up a convincing victory.

An unsavory incident marred the day’s proceedings midway through the card as irate punters reacted unsportingly and in a violent manner to the outcome of the fifth race. Rank outsider Rocking (Diffident – Starboard) from trainer HJ Antia’s stables had won at astronomical odds,.  The protest apparently was due to the fact that Antia’s fancied runner Midnight Wind was backed down heavily and also the favourite Scarlet of Hope after heading Rocking couldn’t pull it off. The crowd become violent and started tearing down the hoardings and flinging debris on the track. The horses were right across the stands for the 2400 meter Highland Rule Trophy and could have been easy targets for the mischief mongers. The horses were immediately called back to the saddling enclosure as a precautionary measure.

The Police had to be called to quell the mounting tensions and nearly an hour was lost in calming the agitated crowd. Finally an announcement that an in-depth inquiry into the running of the Division II of the Inglenook Plate coupled with Sr Police Officer Mr Mohite's direct address to the crowd to maintain calm helped restore normalcy and the rest of the card was completed without trouble.

Rocking led the field homeward and was challenged by Scarlet of Hope soon after. Past the distance post, Scarlet of Hope put her nose ahead and looked on course to victory. However, she became erratic under pressure and Rocking kicked on relentlessly to score an upset.Midnight Wind, it was later learnt had bled during the race.

Trainer Nina Lalwani finally picked up her first win of the season with Lorelei (Emerald Cat – Romantic Pleasure). This was a fighting finish as just when Lorelei took over from leader Tell Me More, Winning Destiny started to mount a serious challenge. The duo battled it out all through the final furlong and the Trevor ridden Lorelei just managed to nose out Winning Destiny at the wire. Walk of Life ran on to take the third spot.

Zlato (Arabian Gulf – Untold Story), the highest priced of the four runner in the betting ring won the first race of the day. Lying last of four, as Phelps made the early running, Zlato, powered by Dashrath Singh came alive early in the staright. Phelps was working hard to hold favourite Holy Bull. Demonic too was close with them. Just then Dashrath set Zlato alight and the Dalls Todywalla ward sped past the fighting trio for an easy victory.

Dancing Splendour (Glory of Dancer – Almaden) brought out his best to win the last race of the day, coming from behind to score an affluent victory. Ace of Heart, the on-money favourite was prominent in the straight but could not quicken as expected. Miracle of Mercy looked good at one stage, but when trainer SS Shah’s Dancing Splendour burst through the opening between horses, it was all over. Dancing Splendour showed tremendous speed in the last furlong for his run to victory. Miracle of Mercy may have squandered a good chance by not running consistently in the straight. He ended a close second. 

For the professionals, trainer Dallas todywalla and jockey P Trevor scored a double each.