That’s My Darling (Mr.Mellon-Highly Fashionably / Ruia Stud) from trainer S S Faisal Hassan’s stables reproduced her Bangalore form to annexe an encore in the Thungabhadra Plate. Faisal who had a good summer at Bangalore had done an exceptionally good job of keeping the daughter of Mr. Mellon in pink of condition. The filly held her position as an ‘on-money’ favourite in the betting although the price showed an upward trend nearing race time. Pitched over a mile for the first time, That’s My Darling handled the trip with complete confidence to down the start to finish tactics of Red Rambble. Settled in mid-field in about sixth till turning for home, That’s My Darling was guided towards the open passage along the inner path by Akshay Kumar and the filly responded with a scintillating gallop to emerge an easy winner by two lengths at the finish. The manner in which That’s My Darling won the race clearly shows out that she should be the one to follow when saddled next. Laurel Canyon was a faraway third.

Usha Stud bred Amethyst (China Visit-Fingers Crossed) schooled by L.D’Silva literally toyed with the opposition while shedding her maiden ranks in the Set Alight Plate. The trip to Bangalore during summer had done a world of good for the youngster and was sent off at cramped odds for the 1200 metres sprint. Jockey Suraj Narredu took her to the front at start and was travelling very easily as they entered the final furlong. Arabian Fountain chased the winner all the way but lost out the second place to Lethals King who came in late.

Trainer Ananta Vatsalya’s Silver Passion (Roi Maudit-Storm Command) who had shed her maiden status in her 22nd start on the opening day of the season was backed to the exclusion of the other runners in the Nawab Mehdi Jung Bahadur Memorial Cup. The filly did not give any anxious moments and wrapped up the race with ease. Settling in fourth while Dolce set the pace, followed by Big Mac and Golden Phoenix, Silver Passion gained ground from the outside inside the last 300 metres and forged ahead effortlessly under Aneel. Golden Flash beat Dolce for the second place. City Tex was a non-starter in the race.

The Golden Dagger Plate was divided into three races. While Laxman Singh’s Whats Up justified the favouritism in the second division, the first and the third divisions were won by K Satheesh’s Fair And Square and K R K Raju’s Kohinoor Thunder respectively, both at nourishing odds.

Jockey Kuldeep Singh was at his best while riding out Whats Up (Mathematecian-Lyricist / Sans Craintes Stud) to wrap up the division II in a pulsating finish. Catherine hit the front at start and was in command approaching the distance marker with Whats Up and Stolen Date in chase. Whats Up began to close up the gap even as Catherine was ridden hard by Imran Chisty to hold on to the lead. The two went stride for stride in the last 100 metres and Whats Up just managed to get the nod in its favour on the last stride. Glorious View finished third with Stolen Date ending up fourth.

Fair And Square (Opportunist-Conqueror) showed plenty of speed at start and the 5 year old rushed towards the fence from the outermost draw to lead the pack. Into the final furlong Fair And Square continued to keep the lead and made it to the winning post by a clear two lengths under N S Rathore. Military Belle rallied on to finish second ahead of Coral Springs.

Apprentice Kunal Bunde took the bottom weighted Kohinoor Thunder (Epicentre-Gracious Bay) to the front at start and made every post of the 1100 metres scurry a winning one. Field Commander tried hard to bridge the gap, being ridden out along the rails but Kohinoor Thunder kicked on gamely to pull it off. Pacific Star and Yksi Yksi Yksi finished third and fourth respectively while the race favourite Proud Image reared up as the gates opened and jumped out awkwardly, losing all its chances.

A keen tussle ensued throughout the last furlong in the higher division of the Maltese Prince Plate. Kintyre Princess (Mull of Kintyre-Madamoiselle) was in the lead from the start. Grenadier moved alongside on the straight and with Kintyre Princess being relentless jockey Imran Chisty began to ride out Grenadier. Chisty’s efforts seemed to be paying off when young P Ajeet Kumar got Anupam Sharma’s Kintyre Princess to step up pace and emerged the winner by a short-head. Vijay Vishw finished third ahead of Hunter’s Pride.

R.H.Sequeira trained Bouquet (Hurricane State-Dominatrix) pulled off a stunning upset in the lower division of the Maltese Prince Plate. Symbol of Pride set off on a start to finish bid and Bouquet started to close up from the outside. Pour Vous began to improve from the shortest way and got between the duo for a challenge with 100 metres left from the finish. The three were flat out towards the closing stages and jockey N S Rathore managed to get Bouquet ahead by quarter of a length ahead at the wire to be the only professional to score a double. Pour Vous nosed out Symbol of Pride for the second place.