Both, the Forbes Breeders’ Juvenile Fillies’ Championship and the Shapoorji Pallonji Juvenile Colts’ Championship panned out on expected lines as Tiger Tops and Quasar, both prime fancies, scored without too much fuss. Zervan, after facing the brunt of the public fury, came back strongly and turned the darling of the crowd on the day. The same crowd that was hurling unpleasentaries at Zervan was seen screaming congratulatory sentiments and some even walked up close enough to hand him a bunch of flowers. That was wonderful to watch.

Tiger Tops (Tiger Hill – Cockayne) posted a clinical victory with a quick start. She found herself in front and didn’t mind making the initial running. Zervan was a lot more calculative and he decided to surge ahead early in the straight and he stole a march soon in the homestretch. Tiger Tops galloped on gamely to stay clear of the rest and Zenofic ended chasing her all the way home. Tatiana and Connemara was the only pair to show notable improvement in positions at the finish, taking the third and fourth to fill the frame.

“It was satisfying that everything went of well. It wasn’t the plan to go start to finish, but when none of them went to the front, Zervan did the right thing to dictate his own pace. The filly settled comfortably and when they entered the straight, she was up to the task and won well,” said trainer Pesi Shroff.

Quasar (Seeking The Dia – Belle Jour) had a little more hard work to do than Tiger Tops as he chose to let the eager guys go ahead after an alert start. He was second behind Discourse sand wished between Zurich and Merchantofvenice, and then settled back alongside Last Chance as Top Commander improved to be closer to the front bunch. Vision of Romance and Veni Vidi Vici were in the rear.

Discourse gave up soon on turning for home as Top Commander seized the initiative. Merchantofvenice tried to match strides, but he was giving too much weight to his rivals and that spelled doom for him. Last Chance and Quasar came to the fore together and both made sustained bids. They fought hard for a few strides, but towards the finish, Quasar was clearly superior. Suraj Narredu had read the race perfectly and piloted Quasar, sending him in top gear in the final furlong to win in a convincing manner. Vision of Romance came with a late bid and did well to snatch the second spot from Last Chance close home.

“His last performance in the PBMM was what made me confident of Quasar’s chances. He had ended less than a length behind my top juvenile Be Safe and that was a good effort. I had always felt that Quasar would prefer slightly longer distance, despite her fourth after being in the front last time out and Quasar justified that faith I had in him. Both Last Chance and later Vision of Romance fared well I must say, but we had the measure of both well ahead of the winning post. I was not nervous at all once Suraj got him going,” said trainer Malesh Narredu.  

When I saw the card, I told my uncle (Malesh) that Last Chance was more a threat than Vision of Romance. When we hit the straight, I had Last Chance in sight, but Vision of Romance was well away in the rear. Once we got into top gear, I knew I was travelling better. I didn’t have to fire on all cylinders really to win it. Quasar travelled well and finished on strongly. She will stay the longer trips as well in my opinion,” said jockey Suraj Narredu.

Zervan had a fruitful day immediately after he had suffered a ‘fateful’ day just a couple of days back astride Apache, that saw him incur a suspension for 8 meetings. Wiser from that incident, Zervan was at his best and his resolve and determination surfaced when he fought out vigorously to down the serious threat of Spirit of Mercy to guide Roswald home in a thrilling finish concerning the lesser fancied horses.  Favourite Commander was beaten to the last position.

Roswald (Placerville – Avec Plaisir) showed purpose while darting into the lead past Spirit of Mercy to set his own pace. Blue Ace, Commander and Manyatta followed in a single file. On entering the straight, Roswald held a handy lead and Spirit of Mercy in second was beginning to warm up. Commander, Blue Ace and Manyatta were too far behind.

Spirit of Mercy started to mount a serious challenge and got alongside Roswald approaching the distance post. From there on the duo put up a engaging battle both going all out matching stride for stride. Zervan’s grit and never-say-die attitude ensured that Roswald got the race on the nod. It was a brilliant piece of riding from both Zervan and Trevor who was equally up to the task. Roswald won by a whisker.

In the very next race, Zervan rode Aeacus (Glory of Dancer – Brief Adventure) to a fashionable victory, again taking no chances once he led them into the straight. He charged forward and stretched clear of the rest. Zanthos tried hard to cover some ground but found the winner too good. Aeacus did well enough to be noted while he runs next time as well. Infallible evidently has gone backward and didn’t look the part in the paddock at all. She would need considerable time to get back into the groove. Vixen showed a bit of spark, but failed to sustain. Should do better over the seven-furlong.

The Club’s handicapper Mr Niranjan Singh deserves a pat on the back as quite a few finishes were seen on the day. In fact the day’s very first race was a humdinger. Holy Bull made his own leisurely pace to lead the four runners over the 2400m trip, with Yodha Shakti, Snowing and Mufasa following him all the into the straight. Snowing moved to second at the turn and the fight began midway down the straight.

Snowing caught up with Holy Bull after covering ground briskly, but once she got alongside, Holy Bull looked determined not to allow her further progress. Holy Bull stuck by Snowing and it was great to watch jockeys Dashrath Singh and A Sandesh, two top riders firing away for that split second verdict. Eventually Snowing and Sandesh managed to pip Holy Bull practically on the last stride.

Suntan Beauty (Mr Mellon – Free To Fly) was another example of competitive handicapping as the top five finished less than two lengths at the finish. Mountain Treasure and Polar Zone were in the fight once the race came to a boil. As they were approaching the final furlong, Bella Figura came into the picture. Tanusha, the favourite was fighting hard not to fall back, but she was not succeeding. Just when it looked that Bella Figura was the pick of the fighting lot, Suntan Beauty arrived with a scorching gallop. In a sensational finish, apprentice B Nikhil, timed his run to perfection as he shocked Bella Figura on the post. What made it more dramatic was the fact that Suntan Beauty was detached last just before the turn!

Grand Duke yet again jumped out tardily and that cost him dear again. Antartica Zone led them into the straight but had The Magician asking question all the time. The Magician got overbearing in the final furlong and jockey NS Parmar swayed the balance with a strong final effort. The Magician sailed ahead to register victory by sparing a length to Antartica Zone. Tap Dance ran on to finish a good third.

Debutante Honeymoon (Medicean – Choir Gallery) started her career on the right note and showed character in wresting the advantage from another debutante Sweet As Honey close home. Honeymoon’s victory was far more impressive than what the margin of just one length might suggest. She was way off the pace when Absolute Jewel brought the field home, with Sweet As Honey charging behind to take over the running. When Sweet As Honey snatched the lead, she was going well and Honeymoon still had a lot of ground to cover. Honeymoon, with Malcolm Kharadi in the saddle, produced a scintillating burst of speed to collar Sweet As Honey with authority and romp home in style. Blend of Elegance should benefit from an educative first run and she did pretty well ending in the money.

For the professionals, trainer Pesi Shroff saddled a treble and Narendra Lagad a double. Jockey S Zervan scored a treble as well.