Lesser-fancied Negotiator (Steinbeck - Romantic Liaison) stumped his opponents as well as the racing pundits to boot home the bottom-weight advantage and win the HR Shantidas Trophy. Negotiator held on to smother the late bid from his owner mate Falcon who emerged from the rear and splashed on the scene in the last 100 meters. Negotiator prevailed by a narrow half length and jockey DK Ashish rode his heart out to outwit champion jockey A Sandesh in the end game.

Invictus tried a repeat of his last start essay. Going for it right from the start. He cut a steady pace with Negotiator in chase. New World and One Wish ran alongside one another, while Falcon, Celtic King and Antonius Maximus trailed the field.

Invictus flattered to deceive as he Kavraj Singh had him on a tight leash well into the straight. However, when Negotiator challenged him, Invictus cowed out tamely. New World started to apply pressure on Negotiator no sooner the latter went into the lead. Meanwhile, Falcon had a lot of ground to cover as he had dropped to the tail end of the field past the 1000 m mark and he certainly had some catching up to do. Sandesh obviously had left it until too late and he had to do too much with too little ground to do it in. Falcon accelerated well alright, but Negotiator had to jam the brakes if Falcon were to win. That was not to happen and Negotiator held on to his lead to pull off a gritty win. For owner Jaidev Mody there was no change in the plan to walk the aisle leading in his winner. Both Negotiator and Falcon belonged to him, only Negotiator was in partnership with Miss Amita Mehra and trained by Dallas Todywalla.

If Falcon's loss disappointed him, victories in both the divisions of the Diego Rivera Trophy's brought cheer to the Narredu stables. High Expectation was the hot favorite after the late withdrawal of ante post favorite Koalaa. Koalaa had a freak accident while she arrived for the pre-race weight check. She reared up and injured herself forcing the vets to ask her to be withdrawn.

High Expectation (Kitalpha - Brides Folly) who has been showing improvement in each of his three runs so far, obliged his large number of followers, but not without some pulsating moments approaching the distance post. High Expectation had taken charge entering the straight and jockey Sandesh soon pressed on the button. High Expectation responded well and started to draw away. Act of Valour soon made a lively bid and got closer with each stride to join High Expectation and engage him in a serious battle. At one point Act of Valour looked menacing as they went stride for stride. However, Sandesh provided a strong finish and rode out vigorously to stretch away in the final 100 meters to beat Act of Valour by a comfortable margin. Adams Wing ran on the finish in the money.

In the lower division of the Diego Rivera Trophy, Malesh Narredu trained Double O Seven (Mathematician - Danzare) helped pull off a coup for the connections. In the paddock, Cezanne and Jewel looked the part, the latter looking a touch light though. Jewel shot to the front from her outside draw and led the field into the straight. In contrast, Cezanne lost a couple of lengths at least as she jumped and took a stride to her left before Sandesh promptly steadied her. Sandesh had to brush her up actively to ensure she was well in touch with the leaders.

Jewel galloped on in the straight and soon Double O Seven caught up with the leader. Cezanne too put in a serious challenge and in the final furlong fought all the way to the winning post. Jockey DK Ashish rode out determinedly and succeeded in quelling Cezanne's hot pursuit. Cezanne might have been unsettled due to the not-so-smooth start and the consequential brushing up she invited. She is sure to benefit from this run and if she is out again before the season ends, it would pay to give her another chance. Paurus did well for himself in edging out Jewel for the third spot.

Dr Cyrus & Mr Adar Poonawalla owned Forgotten Voice (Ace - Lady One) improved on her last start second to earn the sweet taste of a first victory in her third start. The betting trends pointed to a two-horse race with Fatal Attraction (Evens) garnering more support than Forgotten Voice (16/10). Lucky Charm and Mystical Sunrise were at 20/1 each. True to the trend, the two top fancies clearly outpaced the lesser fancied pair. 

Forgotten Voice got past leader Lucky Charm at the turn and once she snatched the lead, she never let her guard down, stretching her reign all through the long Mumbai homestretch. Fatal Attraction came at her midway in the straight, but Forgotten Voice looked comfortable all the way although Fatal Attraction finished on the winner's haunches.

Pamushana (Ikhtyar - Fedora) finally obliged after having faltered on two previous occasions as a favourite. Although the verdict of just half-length may suggest a close call, Pamushana looked the winner well before she actually surged ahead.

Muntasir veered out as the gates opened and lost all his chances there itself. Midnight Run and Sleuth disputed the early lead followed by Double Diamond, with Pamushana, Jen's Glory and Concorde close on their heels. Into the straight, Sleuth dropped out while Midnight Run was fighting hard to stay in contention. Past the 300, Double Diamond  forged ahead and got past Midnight Run comfortably past the distance post. Pamushana started to devour ground briskly and was gaining on Double Diamond appreciably fast. It looked a matter of time before Pamushana seized control and that happened in the final fifty as jockey S Zervan sent Pamushana flying past Double Diamond to clinch the issue meters from the winning post.

Knight of Ke squandered a good chance to add to his win tally and five-kilo claiming jockey Shammi Khan would be ruing a rare winning opportunity for him personally. The tall lanky lad was never able to make a race of it as jockey Satish Nayak did a good job guiding Desert Wings to a start to finish victory.

Desert Wings darted into the lead at start and Satish Nayak held the 9/1 shot in check until the turn. The rest were huddled close together all the way into the straight. Once in, Desert Wings quickened well and left it to the others to try and snatch his lead. Glorious Opinion slipped in through the rails, while Knight of Ke made his move from the outside. With a little over 200 m to go, Knight of Ke seemed to be getting closer to Desert Wings. However, jockey Satish Nayak egged Desert Wings relentlessly on and the Sunderji trained filly kicked on gamely warding off the favourite Knight of Ke by a length. All credit to jockey Satish Nayak as he rode out vigorously with a never-say-die attitude backed with a firm believe that he could win. The same unfortunately, cannot be said about young Shammi Khan who was found wanting both in vigour, rhythm or mind application.

Another interesting race in the day was the MT Pandole Plate, which had at least half a dozen speedsters that laid a strong claim to the race. The betting ring too had bids flowing on various personal fancies and the least odds on board was at 4/1.

Few takers were there though for the eventual winner Albuurz (Diffident - Knowle Park). The start was a quick one as Albuurz, Celsius and Song of Sparrow matched strides with Magic Star close behind. Dreams R Mine was a wee bit tardy at the jump.

On entering the straight, Albuurz showed admirable zest and speed for an eight year old and was not letting the seemingly overbearing Celsius gain an inch. Young B Nikhil urged the old-timer on and got a lot of juice out of Albuurz. Even the late but dazzling strike from Dreams R Mine was not enough to topple Albuurz and the Adhirajsingh ward held his nerve and Zervan ridden Dreams R Mine to prevail by a neck. Dreams R Mine made an impressive dash late in the race and needs to be watched in his next outing.

Polar Zone (Sharp Attack -Oceanic Zone) picked up her second race this season with a fine gate to post victory. Getting off the blokes quickly, Polar Zone maintained a slight upper hand all the way into the straight. Once they straightened up, jockey Dashrath Singh stepped on the gas and Polar Zone accelerated well to kick on from Thunder Star and Magic Vision, his nearest two rivals. The pair behind started to turn the heat on in the final furlong, but Polar Zone had enough in the tank to return triumphant in a close finish.

The last race of the day was touted as a clearly Divine Solitaire Vs Winged King race with their rest receiving little attention in the betting. Divine Solitaire (Mull of Kintyre - Fall of the Hammer) proved his superiority in no uncertain terms as he won readily without encountering any serious threat.

Saturday Affair did try to through a scare, but Divine Solitaire called his bluff when the heat was turned on. Saturday Affair had challenged Divine Solitaire after the later had shot into the lead at the 400. However, jockey P Trevor had it well covered as he unleashed his charge calculative and had enough in store at the business end to carve out his second career victory in style.

For the professionals, trainers Dallas Todywalla and M Narredu saddled a double each, while jockeys P Trevor and DK Ashish scored a double each.