The longest racing season in the country finally came to an end on Sunday. As has been the wont through the season, the Sunday crowd was impressive in numbers and looking back, the attendance this season has set a new record.

Nine races were slated for the final day and two professionals stood out with some shining performances. Jockey CS Jodha rolled out a hatrick capturing the first three races of the day and then picked up another later in the day to make it four for the day. It could have easily been five had he managed to score on hot favourite Mountain Warrior in the season's last race!

Trainers MK Jadhav and Faisal Abbas ended their campaign with a double each and both the camps had strongly fancied their respective winners. The limelight however was hogged by ace jockey A Sandesh. He rode two winners on the day, but in the process created history taking his tally of winners from May 2013 to April 2014 to an astounding 151 solid victories. Sandesh is the only jockey in the history of Indian racing to have touched the 150 mark inside 12 months.

The action on the track began well with CS Jodha in an electrifying mood. He partnered Suresh Chavan's Highway Express (Diffident - Impazzata), a Ten-to-One shot, with a measure of comfort. Highway Express was quick at start and led briefly before settling behind Jaipur Gem. Once in the homestretch, Jaipur Gem stepped up momentum and was leading my over two lengths, while Highway Express had Katniss, Ceasarina, Cut Diamond, Fajr and Plan B crowding alongside. Inside the final furlong Jaipur Gem was tiring a little and Jodha seized his opportunity. He collected Highway Express and started to push zestfully. Highway Express responded with a powerful burst and sped away from the chasing bunch to score a facile victory, leading by a shade under three lengths at the wire. Ceasarina charged in late to peg back Jaipur Gem for the runner up slot.

Jodha next rode Myla Rose to a resounding victory and the large number of supporters for the Faisal Abbas ward were delighted to see Myla Rose win without encountering any serious challenge. Again Jodha was on the button at the gates and sailed into the lead soon on start. Demonstrator and Rio were in close chase while Monza and Victorious March lagged behind until the turn.

Into the straight, Myla Rose ambled away and kept increasing the margin, stretching out beautifully to carve her most convincing attempt of the season. She won drawing away leaving no chance to the others and piled a huge four-length lead dashing past the winning post. Rio did well to edge out Monza and Victorious March for the runner up berth. Demonstrator fell back rapidly at the business end and finished a poor last.

Jodha's hattrick was achieved astride Winds of Change (Noverre - Darla) from the Antia stables. This time however, he had to work hard to earn the victory. Here again he was quick at the gates and had Winds of Change settled up in front alongside Thunder Star and Seacaucus, the two more fancied runners. The trio led the field into the straight and were comfortably ahead of the rest of the bunch.

Winds of Change surged ahead past the 400 and Jodha urged the gelding right through, using the whip hand deftly. He amassed a handy lead and left the others to chase him down. Seacaucus bled. hence fell back. Thunder Star despite maximum efforts was making no impact on the leader. however, jodha could not afford to ease up or relax as Laurus Pride and later Suntan Beauty started to gain on him. However, Winds of Change galloped on to ward off both challengers, Suntan Beauty in particular was getting too close for comfort. Suntan Beauty was the fastest at the finsh but her bid came a tad too late. The winning post certainly couldn't have arrived at a more precise juncture for the winner.

Popular fancy Spiderman (Glory of Dancer - Miyamoto) compiled a fashionable maiden win and the Faisal Abbas ward is well worth following in Pune. Spiderman took a strilfe or two before darting into the lead, with Pepito improving steadily to settle in the second spot. Beyond Intensity chased them in the third spot and this order stayed the same as they turned for home.

Once into the straight, Spiderman did most of the things himself and needed no assistance from the saddle. He gathered brisk momentum and soon had sailed away from Pepito. Spiderman galloped majestically out in front and had a commanding lead approaching the final furlong. He duly cruised on to score an impressive first victory with a promise of lot more to come. Pepito went down to a better horse but surely will have his day in the sun.

Trainer MK Jadhav clicked a well backed double in Nature Boy and Mauna Kea, both prime fancies in their respective races. Both were stylish in the wins and those who backed this pair had a lot to cheer about.

Nature Boy (Mull of Kintyre - Atmosphere) had some chasing to do as they turned for home with Nirbhaya and Beau Royale disputing the lead. Dreamland and Rewarding Desire were lurking close behind and Earth Orbit was beginning to make his move. Nature Boy had to wait for an opening as he was stuck behind the front runners. This may have been the only moment of anxiety for his backers. Once he saw daylight, jockey P Trevor charged into the gap and Nature Boy had no difficulty in clearing the deficit and piling a decisive lead over the others. Earth Orbit made a sincere effort, but Nature Boy was simply too superior on the day. Trevor rode a brilliant race and nursed Nature Boy perfectly to guide Nature Boy to a second victory on the trot.     

Mauna Kea (Sakee - Deraasaat) too scored back-toback victories and this time her victory was even more aggressive. Saints N Sinners faded out after leading the field into the straight and soon Celsius, Brandaban, Fortune Hunter, Remember Me and Pepe Senior were grappling for the upper hand. With a furlong to go, Mauna Kea, with Sandesh in the saddle launched an all out assault on the bunch in front. She got into her best stride with about 100 to go and she zipped in impressively to stretch out speedily to floor them all. Brindaban did well to end second ahead of Remember Me and Pepe Senior.      

Godspeed (Multidimensional - Almandine) was another one who scored his second successive victory. The shortest priced runner on the day (4/10) left nothing to chance as he galloped gracefully into the lead with next-in-demand Rule Downunder staking him all the way into the straight. However, once they straightened up for home, Godspeed strode out in a scintillating fashion, gathering speed effortlessly to sail away clear of the rest. He won with a healthy margin and was surely not firing on all cylinders, simply because he did not need to do so. Godspeed showed plenty of class and like Spiderman, bears watching in Pune as well.

An Jolie (Excellent Art - Mutually Mine) scored an inspiring victory to earn her maiden victory in her second career start. She showed dramatic improvement on her sober debut five weeks back. She was seventh coming into the straight and with a lot of running to do. Fast Lady and Paurus the two top fancies were engaged in a duel for the lead and Paurus was winning that battle. he accounted for Fast Lady easily and was hoping to find his first success approaching the distance post. That was not to be, as An Jolie gathered superb acceleration and arrived with a scorching run to overwhelm Paurus in the final furlong. An Jolie shot ahead and won drawing away. Paurus found one better and will have to wait a while for his maiden success.

The concluding race was 15 to1 shot Diamond Zip (Graeme Hall - Irish Glitter) from the stables of Subhag Singh. Diamond Zip shot out the gates to lead the field and sustain his grip over the race right through to the winning post. In the straight, he had a handy lead and favourite Mountain Treasure came under pressure earlier than expected. Diamond Zip showed no let up after they turned for home and was never slack even for a moment. jockey Nirmal Jodha was pushing him constantly and vigorously right through, using his whip hand to good effect. CS Jodha went all out in chase with Mountain Treasure and had Diamond Zip slackened even a wee bit, he would have caught him napping. However, that was not to be as Nirmal Jodha gave his 100 percent and the effort was rewarded by an unexpected win. This was one fight that CS Jodha lost on the day that he seemed on fire.

Mr Vivek Jain, Chairman RWITC honored the champions of the season at the traditional award ceremony. "Another glorious season gets by and this was indeed an excellent season. He had a record attendance and sponsorships. Colourful days like the Zorastrian World Congress Day added a lot of flavour to the season. Several CSR activities were successfully conducted and the response too was encouraging. New initiatives like the Green Circle initiative too was well receiived and overall the season was competitive and enjoyable. I am sure we will be able to keep the good work up in Pune as well," said Mr Vivek Jain.

Leading Onwer - Dr MAM Ramaswamy

Leading Syndicate - Her Majesty Racing Sydicate

Champion Trainer - Pesi Shroff

Champion Jockey - A Sandesh

Champion Apprentice & Allowance Jockey - B Nikhil

Leading Stud Farm - Usha Stud Farm

Leading Bookmaker (Mumbai) - Banarasi Das

Leading Bookmaker (Pune) - Latif Associates