The sedate seven-race card slated for Thursday saw minor flutter in the first half, then settled as prime fancies obliged in the last three races to stabilize the pockets of the followers of favourites. Trainer Rehanullah Khan’s Pepe Senior (Gaswar – Sangam) set the trend as the second-in-demand improved on his last couple of runs to beat favourite Wind And Stars out of sight in the day’s opener.

Wind And Stars, who had run a decent fourth on debut in her last start tired the start to finish tactics and led the field well into the straight. However, once they turned for home, Wind And Stars had nothing to offer as she went down tamely.

Wind And Stars was challenged by Laurus Pride who showed a momentary zip but failed to quicken. Pepe Senior had to wait a while before he got through a narrow gap and shot into the lead approaching the distance post. Once he got past the front runners, Pepe Senior accelerated well to stretch his lead and was safely ahead in the final 100 meters.

To The Moon and Balinga were the ones who caught the eye. Both were languishing in the rear until the turn. They made their move at the same juncture and ran on powerfully on the wider outside. Although they covered considerable ground at a good clip, neither looked fast enough to catch up with Pepe Senior. Balinga managed to pip To The Moon for the runner up slot, just under two-lengths of Pepe Senior.

Rehanullah Khan then struck again in the fourth race, the Ancient Quest Plate with Mon Ami (Burden of Proof – Wild Rezonution) to stun the two top fancies Mint Approach and One Wish. Domingo set the tone and lead them comfortably with Mountain Force, Mon Ami and Halle following in a single file. One Wish and Mint Approach were racing together in the rear.

Domingo galloped on, once into the straight, desperately trying to hold on to the lead. Mon Ami warmed up nicely to collar Domingo past the 300 and sailed away to romp home in style. One Wish improved far too late and had to be content with the runner-up slot. Mint Approach was along the inner rails and failed to improve or show any zest. She did receive a check, but had enough clearance to make a race of it had she surged ahead when she had the chance. She didn’t justify the short odds at all and let down a large following.

Zandar (Phoenix Tower – Merwaha) on the other hand, compiled an impressive maiden victory with YS Srinath in the saddle. Chasing leader Artiste well into the straight, Zandar came into his own to force his way to the front with a little over a furlong to go. Once he went past Artiste, it was all smooth sailing for the Cooji Katrak ward as he finished on impressively, winning by a comfortable margin. Artiste managed to ward off a late effort from In Time who covered a lot of ground to end on the haunches of Artiste. In Time should relish a slightly longer distance and bears watching in his next outing, particularly if it’s over six furlong.

The Ministerian (Ace – Glorious Fantasy) galloped resolutely to halt the winning streak of Montreal while winning the Homi Mody Trophy over the Derby distance. Roswald dictated the early pace right through until into the straight. Spirit of Mercy, Caesars Star, The Ministerian, and Montreal followed the leader in a single file.

Roswald weakened after leading the field most of the way and soon Caesars Star took charge with a lively run. The Ministerian started to bridge the gap and came alongside Caesars Star to fight for supremacy. Montreal who was last all the way, started to improve midway in the straight, but had too much to do in the final furlong. The Ministerian, strongly ridden by jockey B Sreekanth forced his way past Caesars Star in the final stride to etch out a narrow win. Caesars Star’s gallant effort was undone by some brilliant riding by Sreekanth who timed his finish to perfection. Montreal finished just a neck behind and was trifle unlucky not to stretch his winning run of five on the trot thus far.

El Wonder (Duja – Alice Wonder) displayed fiery pace to hit the front readily at the start and consolidated upon the good start to stay ahead all the way to the wire. He entered the straight with a handy lead with Pezzonovante in chase and Mr Morrison in third. El Wonder, with NS Parmar in the saddle, kept the momentum going and never looked in any sort of danger at any stage. El Wonder maintained a safe distance all through and the late finish from Mountain Queen was not enough to stop El Wonder’s march to victory. Mountain Queen ran on to finish second ahead of Pezzonovante, who had to work hard to deny Mr Morrison to snatch away the place money.

Sound of River (Glory Of Dancer – Contrarian) was flowing in his victory as he put in a determined effort with Akshay on board to romp home a clear, comfortable winner. Sound of River took charge soon on settling down and quickened well as they turned for home.

Akshay set off once they straightened up and with some forceful riding build a handy lead coming into the final furlong. Good Memory and Dark William, who were closest to the leader, simply could not keep up with the pace. Soon favourite Siddhi improved positions to get past them, but that’s all the progress she could make. Sound of River was elusive by them and Siddhi could do no better than to take the second best spot. Staffan ran on to take the third spot ahead of Annabeth.

Durer (Ontario – Eolica) scraped through to score his maiden win in a thriller as he had to ward off a dual challenge close home. Durer shot into the lead on the jump and maintained about two lengths all the way into the straight. Akshay then began to urge veteran trainer Janardhan’s ward to capitalize on the early advantage. He seemed comfortably ahead past the distance post and with Summer Eclipse, the closest to him, not making any impact Durer was shaping up as an easy winner. However, Splendid Light started to warm up in the final stages and Glorious Opinion also gathered momentum once he was switched to the outside. These two came at Durer at a brisk rate and Durer’s comfort zone seemed threatened. Both Splendid Light and Glorious Opinion got dangerously close to Durer. The winning post arrived just in time for the favourite and Durer escaped to victory by a head.

For the professionals, trainer Rehanullah Khan saddled a lucrative double, while jockeys A Sandesh and Akshay scored a double each.  It was a landmark day for jockey Akshay as he completed riding 40 winners and shed his allowance claiming status.