The Villoo Poonawalla Indian Oaks day was an all-trophy day and with the Mid-Day Trophy also featuring on the card, along with the event supporting the Indian Classic - the Gool S Poonawalla Trophy, the racing action was as thrilling as it can get. Cine star Kareena Kapoor made a maiden appearance at the racecourse and the crowd gave her a rousing welcome. Kareena, along with Tushaar Kapoor and Gulshan Grover were cheered and hailed by the racing patrons. Presence of such stars always adds to the atmosphere which heightens the energy at the venue.

Maisha was the hot favourite for the Gool S Poonawalla Trophy and Shivalik Storm (Dancing Forever – Badraan) was next in demand. Their fight went beyond the turf and on to the Stewards’ room.  All was well until they entered the homestretch.

Melinda led them all the way into the straight and was well ahead of the rest. Miss Miracle and The Myth were in chase when Shivalik Storm tried to poke through this duo. Maisha had improved from the initial second-last spot to be a prominent fifth at the top of the straight, taking the shortest route along the inner rails. Trevor switched Maisha for clear massage and was covering ground.

Shivalik Storm forced his way between the horses and bumped into The Myth. The latter shifted out and went onto Maisha, who in turn banged into the horses on her outside. Shivalik Storm broke free and started to devour ground at a good rate. He strode past Melinda and was galloping to the winning post. Maisha rallied well to set about in chase. Eventually Shivalik Storm held Maisha by a length.

Trevor lodged an objection against Sandesh for the sparking the chain reaction. He argued that his forcing his way ahead between horses led to Maisha losing ground, which he covered and was gaining on the winner. He also added that even approaching the final finish Shivalik Storm had veered out and crossed him costing Maisha the race. The stewards after due deliberations viewing the race several times decided to overrule the objection.

Both Shivalik Storm and Misha out classed the opposition, while Shivalik Storm went on to win, maisha had reasons to believe that she didn’t have the luck of the race. However, Maisha’s recovery and finishing implies that she won’t have to wait long to earn her winning bracket.

First And Only One (Ace – First One Home) owned by Dr Cyrus Poonawalla and son Adar representing Villoo Poonawalla Racing & Breeding Pvt Ltd, along with Mr Mumchi Shroff and K Dadachanji produced a fiery gallop in the final stages of the race to clinch the Mid-Day Trophy in an exciting finish.

The lead kept changing rapidly as they turned for the final run. Ancient Treasure lost his lead to Minister, who had Sydney alongside at the turn. Soon Brown Dynamite forged ahead of these two. Song Saa was gaining on him and Aeacus wove his way between horses to be in contention. Song Saa was moving the fastest of the trio when First And Only One arrived with a powerful gallop. David Allan had moved to the wide outside and after being in the rear for most of the journey, First And Only One flew towards the end to collar Song Saa close home to win convincingly. Song Saa was clearly overwhelmed and had to be content with the runner up berth. Aeacus ran a good third and is one to note.

The Mid-Day delegation was headed by their guest of honour Kareena Kapoor. She presented the trophy which was received by Dr Cyrus Poonawalla and Adar Poonawalla.

Tatiana (Phoenix Tower – Memories of You) made a memorable debut with J Fortune setting her alight early and leaving the rest cold behind. He settled into the fourth spot while Ladybird led the field. Illidana lost ground at the start but improved towards the end doing well to finish one off the frame in the final standing. Al Shamsher was up in front initially but petered out when it mattered.

Ladybird seemed well on course as she galloped on well and leading comfortably in the first half of the straight. Tatiana got into a fine rhythm and started to eat up ground approaching the distance post. He was simply too fast in the final furlong and sailed away from Ladybird in a trice, notching up an impressive debut victory. Zurich kicked on to finish third ahead of Discourse.

Commander (Noverre – Momentarily) was one of the two prime fancies to prove a money spinner to followers of favourites, on a day when favourites failed to oblige. Commander gathered tremendous acceleration in the final 100 meters to score an emphatic victory.

Sumo had led them all the way into the straight but was soon challenged by Spirit of Mercy. Spirit of Mercy had barely joined Sumo when Zoraavar began to mount pressure on the two. Dashrath Singh then pulled Commander from the rails and the Nazak Chenoy trainee responded with a power-packed gallop to appear on the scene and speed past them to post a comfortable victory. Zoraavar edged out spirit of Mercy for the second slot, while Sumo ended fourth.

Caruso (Juniper – Bongusto) was the only other favourite besides Commander who provided good returns to his backers. The Janardhan trained gelding looked capable right from the start as he quickly settled behind the leader Desert Wings and alongside Quest For Love and Moon Shadow.

On turning for home, Quest for Love surged ahead to grab the lead and Caruso began to progress soon after. He grappled with Quest for Love a few strides and then bounded forward shaping well to take the top spot. Oriental Rocky came up with a late challenge but Caruso had it all under control as jockey Imran Chisty guided him to a smooth-sailing win.  

Deep Diver (Glory of Dancer – Inventive) from trainer Altamash Ahemd’s yard had to dig deep to ward off a stiff challenge from favourite One Kept Secret. After following leader You’re The Boss into the straight, Deep Diver got into the groove to step up the pace and get past the resisting leader. One Kept Secret started to cover ground and put in a strong challenge. Shrikath Kamble who is evolving into a jockey of caliber, rode all out to keep the challenger at bay. At one point it appeared that One kept Scret may get Deep Diver, however, Shrikanth Kamble was persistent and Deep Diver too, up to the task. They pushed hard and successfully thwarted the serious attempt of One Kept Secret to pocket the PD Avasia Trophy.

 St Barts (Hurricane State – Gisele) darted to the lead past the 1000 meters and in the straight quickened readily to establish a winning lead. His only flaw was that he drifted out alarmingly in the final stages of the race. Nevertheless, he had enough cushion and that held him in good stead. He finished almost on the outer railing, but Su O Moto and company had too much to cover and none could get close enough to even post a worthy challenge. St Barts, with Dashrath in the saddle, were comfortably home sparing over three lengths at the wire.

Wind And Rain (Strategic Prince – Land Ahead) scored his second victory of the season partered by Hanumant Singh who has gained in confidence this season. He was a long way behind leader Zafira and Neon Light all through the backstretch with the rest of the pack close behind. Neon Light packed up approaching the final turn as Zafira stretched to a handy lead.

Into the straight, Wind And Rain started to gain on Zafira and Hanumant Singh got past the long time leader at the distance post. Once ahead, Hanumant Singh kept the pressure on and looked well on course to post a facile win. Just when it looked all too easy for Wind and Rain, Arzaan started to inch closer. Hanumant Singh was well up to the threat and egged the Antia ward on to ward off the challenger and pick up the Harrish Mehra Trophy ending a job well done.

Stormy Princess (Stormello – Superlative) won the concluding race of the day in a close finish involving Dark Knight. Dark Knight showed a lot of pace in the straight as he zipped past leader Strategy with a furlong and half to go. Stormy Princess improved from fifth or sixth at turn and was still about three lengths adrift when Dark Knight took charge. Whip-less jockey G Prasad showed a lot of character as he set about narrowing the gap with some strong pushing as he inched closer to the leader. In a final heave, young Prasad got Stormy Princess to quicken to snatch victory in last couple of strides. Establish Predetor ran on to end a good third.

For the professionals, jockeys Dashrath Singh and David Allan scored a double each.