Hot favorite Jack Frost (Kingda Ka – Breeze And I, Nanoli Stud) owned by Mr Peter Duebet in partnership with Mr Xerxes Shaihiwalla & Mrs Farzin Gaekwad justified the faith of his large number of followers to outclass his opponents and score a facile victory to clinch the A Campbell Trophy in style.

Jockey A Sandesh settled the Vinesh trained gelding in third initially, pacing behind Wentworth and Sailor until the final turn. He moved to one behind the leader soon on turning for home and then accelerated smoothly to take charge early in the straight.

Jack Frost responded with a fluent gallop and was in complete control right through. Fortune Favours tried to raise a challenge as he closed in on Jack Frost approaching the distance post, however, Jack Frost further quickened and sped away effortlessly to carve out a clinical win with a comfortable margin. This was Jack Frost’s second success this season and his third victory overall. Fortune Favours ran on to end second, while Sailor showed a bit of spark implying that he is getting into some kind of form and may be worth a watch next time out.

Trainer Imtiaz Sait sent out a double with well-backed Glorious Reward and Spontaneous Eddie.

Glorious Reward (Mull of Kintyre – Glorious Breaker, Greenfield Stud) won readily as he was quick to settle down just behind As Good As Gold and Summer Express until into the straight. On straightening up, jockey Neeraj Rawal got him going and within strides Glorious Reward pounced on the front runners and assumed charge. He stormed past them and galloped away and out of reach of his rivals. Savannah Sound was all out but failed to make any gains. Glorious Opinion warmed up far too late, but when he did, he covered good ground to finish one behind the winner. Flash Drive was too far back, yet managed to grab a slot in the judges’ frame.

Spontaneous Eddie (Alnasr Alwasheek – Because of You, Villoo’s Greenfield Farm) was indeed spontaneous while scoring a runaway victory in the 2000m race. Favorite Word of Honour did all the initial running, charging ahead soon on start to amass a huge lead over the rest. Spontaneous Eddie followed in third spot and improved steadily to cut down the lead by the time they turned for home. Once in the straight, Word of Honour struggled to maintain his tempo and soon Spontaneous Eddie arrived to whiz past the favourite and draw away to score a facile win, leaving the favorite far behind. Theory ran on to end a decent third.

Neeraj Rawal after his impressive show aboard Glorious Reward added another win partnering Confiance (Varenar – Si Gentille, Equus Stud). Confiance had drifted out in the markets and surrendered the favoritism to B Fifty Two at race time. However, that didn’t discourage her and this time she played the waiting game to pull off her maiden win.

B Fifty Two jumped out smartly but settled behind Vitesse and Grand Vitesse with Confiance, unlike on her debut, staying behind in fourth. Vitesse led them into the straight with B Fifty Two readying for the final assault. Confiance moved up smartly and was well in hand when she accelerated to the front past Grand Vitesse and B Fifty Two to collar Vitesse and then march on ahead. Confiance looked the winner even before she got past them and showed a clean pair of heels while quickening for home. In the final furlong, Confiance simply streaked ahead to post a comprehensive victory. B Fifty Two had a lot of backing but failed to live up to the top billing and had to work hard to pip Vitesse for the second spot.

La Traviata (Chatham Straight – Star Liner, Ruia Stud) built on her forward form to score her third victory this season with another impressive show. She overcame a sloppy start which rendered her to the last spot until the turn. Her main rival – Hail The King had gained an upper hand in the homestretch and was in the lead approaching the distance post. La Traviata moved up with a steady gallop and started to cut the lead of Hail the King briskly. La Traviata moved for the kill in the final furlong and easily sped past Hail The King, the latter offering little resistance. La Traviata with CS Jodha astride and trained by Nirad Karanjawalla shot ahead to a convincing win, without a spot of bother. Hail The King ended a tame second with Superlicious earning the place money.

Trainer Dallas Todywalla had nursed Arizona Sun (Phoenix Tower – Romantic Heights, Manjri Stud) commendably as Arizona Sun was backed with confidence despite appearing on the race track after a considerable gap of time. He had had the gelding in good shape and that showed on the track.

Lucky Pineapple hit the front with Locarno in second. Arizona Sun moved to third from draw 10 and stalked the duo in front. Lucky Pineapple shifted out badly in the straight giving Locarno a chance opening. Locarno went into the lead but soon had Arizona Sun coming at her. Arizona Sun with Dashrath in the saddle, surged ahead and maintained the tempo all the way. Desert Rage, who was lurking around in the front group, could not match up to the winner, but did well to end second. Daishonin produced a good run to end in the money.

Rehanullah Khan trained Zambian (Glory of Dancer – Fedora, Nanoli Stud) with Yash Narredu atop, put in an awe-inspiring finish to shock favourite Schiehaillon in the dying moments of the race. What made his victory even more dramatic is that Zambian was way down the field in the primary stages of the race. The front bunch comprised Ukulele, Millenium Falcon, followed by Schiehaillon, Act of Valour, Here I Am and Soul Centric. This bunch was at least six lengths ahead of the rest that included Zambian with only about three furlongs to go. Even in the straight, Zambian was not sighted in the first half. By then Schiehaillon had taken charge with Act of Valour trying to chase him down. Zambian was still stuck on the rails and a few lengths in deficit. Yash pulled out Zambian and came at the front runners with a flourish. He got them meters from the winning post to snatch victory in a sensational manner. Schiehaillon was clearly taken aback with this charge while ending a good second. Act of Valour did well too to earn place money.

Zarar (Mull of Kintyre – Fantasy Lake, Amanali Stud) sprung a surprise in the opening race of the day accounting for the more fancied runners including firm favorite Speed Baby. Zafira led them into the straight and fought hard before letting Miracle of Mercy take charge. The latter shaped well for the final furlong, but Sangramsingh’s Zarar, ridden by SG Prasad, produced a spirited run from the outside to cover considerable ground in the last 100 meters to peg back Miracle of Mercy close home.      

For the professionals, trainer Imtiaz Sait and jockey Neeraj Rawal scored a double each.