The Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million day had its charm in full swing and the crowd was as enthusiastic as the day has seen for the last 26 years. A large section of people in the Members’ enclosure were at their best in attire, hoping to catch the eye of the judges who were subtle in mixing around spotting the likely winner, with as eager eyes as one watches the equine good lookers in the paddock. The crowded marquee hosting a Sundowner until late evening had celebs like Daisy Shah of ‘Jai Ho’ fame were strutting around hogging the limelight in their own way.

However, the equine star of the day was Costa Del Sol (Phoenix Tower – Shining Glory, Manjri Stud) owned by Mr Rakesh Jhunjhunwala & Mr Pallon Mistry. Costa Del Sol had peaked perfectly for the big occasion and was bullish in his finish.

Ante post favourite Phoenix Tiger was found to have hurt his fore leg and consequently withdrawn on the morning of the race day. At the gates, Marine One became the second casualty. Marine One reared up in the gate and got injured and bled through the nostrils and was withdrawn.

That niggle notwithstanding, the rest of the runners rushed out of the gates seeking vantage positions and it was Golden Belle who hit the front closely followed by Colombiana, Multitude, Daytona and oxford Opinion. Costa Del Sol raced in the mid-bunch as the heads turned for home.

Colombiana surged to the front soon on galloping past the 400. No sooner had Suraj got ahead to take the lead, Trevor set Costa Del Sol alight. The Pesi Shroff trainee gathered momentum and was soon all over the front runners. Costa Del Sol sailed past Colombiana in a trice and bounded away to score an authoritative victory. He had shown marked improvement over his previous performance and earned the juvenile champion crown stylishly. Multitude, who came to Mumbai with a good reputation found the local juveniles too hot to handle as did the Bangalore challenger Oxford Opinion. Besides, they were only getting the feel of the course first time. Both ran well within themselves and may put in a better show next time out.

“He gave me a good feel right from the start and she settled nicely and early” said jockey P Trevor. “When we turned for home, I knew she had a lot to offer and sure enough when I got her going, he generated a lot of speed and quickened exactly the way I had imagined. He has a lot of potential and I am sure he will improve further as he matures,” said Trevor.

The Poonawalla Family members were present to hand the trophy to the connections. While Pallon Mistri proudly held the trophy, the Manjri Stud Farm was represented by Mr Sarosh Modi

Trevor continued his good form picking up two other races in the course of the day. He had earlier partnered hot favourite Adam (Multidimensional – Adesina, Usha Stud) to a fifth consecutive victory and kept his 100% record intact.

Adam surfaced to the front from the third spot as Victorious March and One Kept Secret were involved in a brief tussle. Once he hit the front, Adam picked up speed to draw away. He looked the winner coming into the final furlong and even a late spirited dash from Papakura was not enough to cause even a dent to Adam’s commanding lead. Adam came clean as whistle and stretched his unbeaten run.

In the very next race, Trevor struck again this time astride Mansoor Shah trained Midnight Dancer (Hurricane Run – Change Tack, Bhaktawar Stud). His Highness did throw in a scare as he charged down to make it a close finish.

Presence and Legend of the Seas and piled a huge lead and they were at least eight lengths ahead at the half way stage of the mile race. Presence weakened soon on turning home and Legend of the Seas led the charge with two furlongs to go. Shining Path and Midnight Dancer were stuck together when they made their forward surge. Shining Path hung with Midnight Dancer for a brief while but soon Trevor had Midnight Dancer going at a good clip to surge into the lead in the final furlong. Just when it looked that Midnight Dancer, who was seeing a drop in trip after his 2400 meter win, would score an easy one, His Highness arrived with a sustained bid. The latter covered considerable ground and just filed to pip Midnight Dancer. The challenge fell short by just one stride.

Zazou (Royal Kingdom – Zariyba, Equus Stud) picked up from where she had left off and scorched to another sizzling win with a widening margin, defying the penalty with disdain. Neeraj Rawal held her well behind as Double or Quits stormed ahead to pile a runaway lead.

Double or Quits faded out once into the straight. Soon Zazou took charge and then accelerated impressively eating up ground at a brisk rate. She looked the winner far too early in the straight as she completely outclassed and out-stayed her rivals to win by a whopping ten lengths.     

Merchantofvenice (Glory of Dancer – Maquillege, Nanoli Stud) scored a first in the top class with a sustained effort which began early in the straight and lasted it out with a creditable performance.

Ravello showing early speed had taken over the running on start. Weary of his start to finish tactics, Merchantofvenice stuck to the leader right through. Once in the straight, Merchantofvenice easily shot past Ravello who was giving the latter weight. Jockey Sandesh then rode him out to sail well ahead of the rest. Jimbo, who was lagging a couple of lengths behind them all, emerged with a good gallop and was real fast at the finish. Fortunately for Merchantofvenice, Jimbo’s surge was a tad too late and had no impact besides narrowing down the margin of victory Merchantofvenice had compiled.

Imperial Princess (Mull of Kintyre – Wishful Thinking, Amanali Stud) snatched the Draw One advantage and darted into the lead quickly to lead them all the way into the straight. The drama began midway into the straight. Imperial Princess came under pressure as those behind started to snap at her tail. She shifted out considerably yet managed to stay ahead galloping at a good clip. Aliboxer, Vitesse and Aeolus Maximus hounded her all the way through. Though Imperial Princess drifted out constantly, one must give it to her for maintaining the tempo and not let any of them from crashing her party. Imperial Princess carried on relentlessly to carve out her maiden victory although it could have been much easier and in a much more organized fashion. Aliboxer failed to capitalize on the advantage, as did the other two. Carma, the favourite, had a disappointing initiation. He however, looked good in patches. Giving him the allowance for a first outing, Carma ought to be given another chance.

Dancing Lord (Phoenix Tower – Ovation, Star Stud) made a solid impact on debut with a good victory, coming from a long way back to shock Confiance close home. Confiance looked good enough to last it out as he enjoyed a healthy lead coming into the last furlong. Dancing Lord was not in the vicinity and had to shift lanes constantly until he got a clear run. Once he did, he marched on ahead and flew in the last 100 meters to down Confiance a stride away from the winning post. Silvano caught the eye while finishing on well to take the place money.

Soul Speak (Art Connoisseur – Perilous Pursuit, Manjri Stud) scored an encore to the delight of his connections and the victory was carved out with some astute handling by jockey Colm Donnaghue. Soul Speak surged ahead past leader invincible soon on entering the straight and galloped at a good pace to work up a handy lead. Nirbhaya started to mount a serious challenge inside the final furlong and Colm had to work hard to stay ahead. Soul Speak lasted out the final 100 meters through some real hard urging and although Nirbhaya too was hard at work, Soul Speak managed to ward off the challenge. Pepito made a desperate attempt to haul the two in front, but did not get the necessary hard drive forward and had to be content with a place slot. Beach Game shut Satellite out of the frame, the latter’s effort was a lot weaker to make the cut.

Rock The Turf (Arabian Gulf – Shahandeh, Manjri Stud) lived up to her name and boy did she rock the turf in the day’s opener. She was in fifth spot at the turn with Fajr well in command being pursued by Miracle of Mercy past the 400. Secret Oath had to move from the rails for a clear run, but by then Rock The Turf arrived in full steam. Once she made her charge, the others looked pale. Rock The turf thundered on to score her maiden victory on the chosen day with an exceptional finishing run. Secret Oath was overwhelmed and had to be content with the runner-up berth. Fajr didn’t do too badly either for his third place effort.

Con Man (Carnival Dancer – Typhoon Girl, Hargobind Stud) was another one to earn his maiden win with a good effort. Magic Vision had looked right on course to bring about his victory when he surged ahead in the final furlong. He zipped past Without Fear and looked good even as Lovable Locks and Speed up were trying hard to wear him down. However, it was the final surge of Con Man that denied him what looked a winning possibility until Con Man arrived. Con Man timed his run to perfection and got magic Vision on the post.

For the professionals, trainer Pesi Shroff saddled a double while jockey P Trevor rode home three winners.