Although there were no shockers through the day, prime favourites ruled the early half whilst, horses were nourishing odds, but within the form guides, came to the fore from the fourth race onwards. For the smart punters, it could have been even-Stevens vis-a-vis the bookmakers.

Pesi Shroff trained The Unicorn (Verglas – Fourpenny Lane, Bhaktawar Stud) won his first assignment in the top class with ease. He was off in a flash and then allowed Al Shamsheer to take the lead. The Unicorn with NS Parmar in the saddle then wrested back the initiative at the turn and galloped away from the rest. Caesars Star tried to set up a chase, but The Unicorn got stronger in the final furlong and didn’t offer any chance whatsoever. The Unicorn romped home in style to secure an authoritative victory to take his tally to five wins from eight starts.

Shroff then sent out Heather (Champs Elysees – Mooring, Highgrove Stud) who warmed up in the nick of time to get the measure of favourite Starry Brook close home. Starry Brook was on a start to finish mission and did a good job most of the way. Once they turned for home, Starry Brook only had to sustain the long Mumbai straight, as he had already amassed a good lead of about 4-5 lengths coming into the straight.

Even with a furlong to go, Starry Brook seemed well on course as Heather, the only challenger in sight was being ridden hard by jockey PS Chouhan. Yet one felt that Starry Brook had enough in the tank to hold on, however, Heather picked up speed in a flash and caught Starry Brook on the last stride to snatch victory in a commendable fashion. Starry Brook would rue his fall as he had everything right until the final stride where he failed to show the resolve needed and squandered a real scoring opportunity.

The Vallabhdas Adwalia Trophy provided another thrilling finish involving three horses at the wire. Simona led the field all the way into the homestretch, with the favourite Majestic prominently poised in second. Top Bracket was close behind, with Miracle of Love rallying from the outside.

Majestic got past Simona approaching the distance post but had Top Bracket asking questions and Miracle of Love also moving into contention. The final furlong saw a grueling battle and Top Bracket with jockey Sandesh in the saddle just managing to stick his neck out in front at just the right moment. Majestic ended a good second with Miracle of Love ending a close third. Miracle of Love bears watching when she runs next.

Veteran trainer Vijay Kasbekar enjoyed one of his best days at office with a high-paying double. He had gotten Cut Diamond (Warrshan – Leit Motif, Ruia Stud) to her optimum fitness and level of her game when she won her last outing convincingly a fortnight earlier. Cut Diamond had promised an encore during that performance and she duly complied.

It was a scramble for home no sooner they entered the straight. Mountain Treasure was hanging in for dear life as both Desert Lily and Polar Zone were wearing him down. ON the further wider out, Royal Sapphire was coming into contention with Good Memory and Cut Diamond in hot pursuit of the quartet in front. Inside the final furlong, they were huddled together and Cut Diamond, with Srikanth Kamble up, tore between horses to surface. IN doing so there was a tussle with Good Memory. However, once he got a clear passage, Cut Diamond simply drew away and was clearly the fastest at the finish. An objection by the rider of Good Memory against Cut Diamond was duly disallowed.

Vijay Kasbekar’s El Wonder pulled off a neater job of a clean start to finish win over the five-furlong Venus De Milo Plate to provide the trainer a grand double. Taking complete advantage of the innermost draw, jockey SJ Sunil set off at a good clip to grab the early advantage. El Wonder galloped on his own until well into the straight and it was only at the 300 m marker that Sunil started to move his elbows.

Ainra was coming at him at full throttle, but El Wonder was not relenting to the pressure applied. He held Ainra comfortably at length and kicked on gamely towards the winning post. Ice Gate came steaming in with a fast finish, but by then it was all over. El Wonder (Duja – Alice Wonder, Pratap Stud) had pulled it off and Ice Gate was only second. In fact the finish was the handicapper’s delight as eleven of the twelve runners finished in a cluster inside three lengths!

Altaf Hussain’s True Heir (Ace – Messalina, Exhilaration Stud) finally earned her maiden success on her 14th start. He started as the on-money favourite and this time obliged her supporters with a winning performance. Ace jockey P Trevor proved an able ally as he got True Heir to settled behind Emerald Fortune after a quick start.

Trevor made his move once in the straight and galloped away into lead past the 400. True Heir responded well and accelerated to build a useful lead in the early half of the straight. Masterstride was never in a prominent position at any point in the first half of the race. He improved positions poking between horses and winding his way between horses to finally break free and ended a good second. Amazon Cat ended a tame third.

Niobrara (Arabian Gulf – Ekhabinskya, Manjri Stud) was gutsy in scoring his second career win and he had to work hard all the way after he jumped into the lead at the start. He first had to shake off Don Corleone soon on straightening up which he did comfortably. He had a strong bunch of horses snapping at his tail and in the last 100 m Final Encounter arrived with a powerful burst, but Niobrara with the assistance of reliable jockey CS Jodha in the saddle managed to ward off the challenger and carve out a well-deserved victory. Palace Girl ran a gritty race and did well to finish in the money.

For the professionals, trainers Vijay Kasbekar and Pesi Shroff saddled a double each.