Sunday was day of stunning performances with two records tumbling in successive races. Polished Chrome reset the fastest timing clocking 57:86 for the five furling scurry eclipsing previous best of 57:98 set by In The Limelight last year and Costa Del Sol made his Pune debut with a bang, stamping his authority with a record timing of 1:23:42 while winning the FD Wadia Trophy (Gr3) bettering the great Oasis Star’s 1:23:94 set in 2009.

Dallas Todywalla trained Polished Chrome (Arazan – Miss Danehill, Villoo’s Greenfield Stud) by Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, Mr Adar & Natasha Poonawalla & Mr Saleem Fazalbhoy showed tremendous improvement over her start this season and was at her peak form this time for the DR K Vasudevan Trophy. Ridden by jockey S Zervan, Polished Chrome zipped ahead from the gates and galloped at nippy pace. Once in the straight, Zervan kept the filly going steadily and was in complete command until the last 100 meters. Lucky charm followed his last start victory with another commendable performance as he inched closer to Polished Chrome and arrived with a sustained challenge. Apprentice jockey Ajinkya rode on courageously and put up an engaging fight; however, Zervan had the better of him to hold on right through to the wire to carve out a narrow win.  

One can’t keep jockey Trevor out of the limelight with the kind of success rate he has struck right through the season. His dream run continued and on Sunday, Trevor was at his brilliant best reaping a rich haul of four winners! Three of them bore testimony to his form and riding skill.  

Pesi Shroff trained Costa Del Sol (Phoenix Tower – Shining Glory, Manjri Stud) owned by M/s Rakesh Juhunjhunwalla, Pallon Mistry & Haresh Mehta) overcame a touch fight both on and off the track to claim the prestigious FD Wadia Trophy (Gr3), Trevor contributing immensely to the team’s success.

Bold Appeal led them all the way until the turn with Avant Garde in chase. The crucial point was at the turn where Trevor was quick on the draw and zipped ahead past Colombiana and that move at the precise juncture proved a master stroke. Yash was caught napping and got himself in a messy situation. He now had to skirt around and manoeuvre his way and in doing so lost precious time. By then Costa Del Sol was kicking away. Confiance tried to make his bid, but found the scorching run of Costa Del Sol too much to handle. Colombiana switched to the stand side started to bridge the gap, but had to yet again change course to move to the inside of Costa Del Sol as the latter had drifted out. All Colombiana could manage was to cut down the margin of victory and ended half a length short at the wire.

Yash later tried to convince the Stewards that Trevor had squeezed his for room and then again taken his ground in the second half of the straight, but that held no water and his objection was duly overruled.    

Trevor had amazed in the day’s opener too, as he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, when even with just about 100m to go, favourite Sansa looked the winner. Sansa had a commanding lead on entering the straight and was hailed the winner past the distance post.  Allegiance was struggling and so it seemed with Sir Song as well. Sansa appeared too far ahead and on course to victory. Trevor showed his never-say-die attitude and started to urge Sir Song on. The Adhirajsingh ward coaxed by his rider, lit up in the final fifty and gathered momentum to make a last ditch effort and managed to pull off a sensation last stride win to shock Sansa and her large number of followers. Sir Song (Hymn – Vicereen, Jai Govind Stud) finally notched up his maiden win and this was his 15^th start. Sansa did everything right and but for Trevor’s persistent riding, she would have picked up her first win. However, she is sure to crack it sometime soon.

Cannonball Run (Phoenix Tower – Roseate, Manjri Stud) and Stardom Calling were the two top market fancies and the rest were offered at double digits. Trevor set the ball running as he took a neat jump and sailed smoothly to take the lead. Alfredo settled close behind the leader with Stardom Calling alongside.

Into the straight, Trevor nursed Cannonball Run into a fine rhythm and the Narendra Lagad trainee never looked in any danger. Cannonball Run galloped fluently all the way, keeping them all at a safe distance, to win effortlessly without dropping sweat. This run clearly indicates that Cannonball Run is a promising candidate and should win again. The run to note was that of Rock The Turf, who covered a lot of ground to peg back Alfredo for the runner-up berth. Alfredo’s too was a good effort considering his return after a long layoff. Stardom Calling disappointed as she failed to make the frame after being a prominent third entering the straight. Bella Traviata managed to grab the fourth spot ahead of Stardom Calling.

Trevor’s magic touch was seen in the Antonios Double Stakes when he got the best out of La Tonnarella (Glory of Dancer – Accentuate, Nanoli Stud) and probably this was one race where Trevor DID NOT get the desired position early in the race!

At the jump, La Tonnarella was not electric sharp, hence found herself lagging that wee bit as the half the field raced ahead. Wings of Glory was in the lead with Toofan, Strategic Move and Samba Warrior up in the front bunch.  Trevor had to patiently goad La Tonnarella to improve positions and he did that deftly without taking much out of the mare. At the turn, he was where he wanted to be!

Strategic Move raced ahead past Toofan and Samba Warrior was coming at him with a spirited challenge. La Tonnarella, trained by Vishal Gaikwad was gathering momentum and joined the battle inside the final furlong. Samba Warrior had the measure of Strategic Move, but found La Tonnarella too hot to handle. Trevor drove the final nail in the last fifty meters to boot home his fourth winner of the day. Trainer Vishal Gaikwad bravely took on a tough bunch and his confidence in his sparingly raced mare was a commendable, resulting in this first win on her Pune debut, and second successive victory from just three career starts.

Final Encounter (Ace – Amazing Queen, Exhilaration Stud) made an instant impact in his first encounter, unleashing a superlative burst in the homestretch. Settling well in the third spot behind leader Elsa and Charging Empress, Final Encounter with Zervan up, accelerated extremely well, picked up speed approaching the distance post and drew away freely to win by a widening margin. She galloped like a seasoned campaigner and won in an impressive fashion. Trainer Sunderji surely had prepared her astutely and it showed in the manner of her facile victory. Elsa too ran a good race, showing a lot of early speed and remained in command until done in by the winner in the final furlong. Kaleidoscope improved positions to rake in the place money.

Mr KH Vaccha’s Royal Seal (Multidimensional – Supreme Princess, Usha Stud) showed out while winning the Mayor’s Trophy in an impressive fashion.  Trainer Altamash Ahmed, who had had a stint in Bangalore Summer with the gelding, profited from the higher altitude fitness his ward picked up and this clearly was on display while going over the nine-furlong race. Jockey Neeraj Rawal too did his bit and made all the right moves.

Settling in third along the rails, Neeraj switched to the outside of Natural Gift and Dancing Pretty as early as past the 800. He then started to urge the gelding forward and went for the lead soon on turning for home. Dancing Pretty stuck alongside until midway up the straight, however, Royal Seal, though a bit shifty in the straight, easily outlasted the rest to score his maiden win in his sixth attempt, but his first at Pune. Dancing Pretty raced up in front all the time, but failed to sustain and go for the kill. Vitesse ran of good third, improving considerably after racing at the rear end of the field all the way until the turn. Favourite Velvet Amari disappointed yet again and did not produce any worthwhile effort and ended a tame fourth.

Star (Arabian Gulf – Star Princess, Manjri Stud) secured a third win for the day for the Manjri Stud Farm and a double for trainer Narendra Lagad. The 10/1 shot ridden by J Chinoy shot into the lead past Born to Win on settling down and kept the momentum going all the way. He broke away from Born To Win once inside the homestretch and was clear past the distance post and looked poised for an easy win. Win he did, but Zabisco added that little punch in the final stages with a lively gallop to run Star close at the finish. While Star never looked vulnerable at any stage, Zabisco caught the eye with his spirited finishing run and with more ground to travel over, Zabisco promised to put in a better showing next time out.

For the professionals, Trevor yet again was a delight of the day scoring four wins. Zervan chipped with a double. Narendra Lagad was the lone trainer to saddle a double.