The penultimate race day of the ongoing Mumbai season saw just two favourites oblige, however the others winners were not exactly bolts from the blue either. Hence, form held on the day alright and with most of the races being highly competitive, odds on winners were lucrative in most cases.

Take Maleficent for example. The record holder for the six-furlong scurry was the least fancied in the four horse field. Majority of the betting trends were hogged by Airco, Staristocrat and Mountbatten. Even at 10/1 there were few takers. Her class was neglected owing to her below par showing after that record breaking run. Maleficent bounced back with a steady start to finish performance.

Maleficent was up and ahead early at the start and jockey Dashrath Singh settled the Dallas Todywalla ward going at a good clip. Staristocrat and Airco followed the leader, while Mountbatten was at the tail end. On turning for home, Maleficent (Iffraj – Mufradat, Exhilaration Stud) kicked on gamely. Staristocrat looked beat much earlier than expected. Mountbatten posed no danger never really making any impact. Airco drew closer to challenge Maleficent and many felt he would surge ahead any moment. However, Maleficent galloped on resolutely and towards the finish quickened further to pull away from favourite Airco to clinch a convincing win, her first over seven furlongs.

Mekong Delta (Art Connoisseur – Nesaah’s Princess, Nanoli Stud) was the pick of the juveniles on the day for her sheer delightful finish. While Pure Sin darted to the front, Mekong Delta was languishing in the rear trying to come to grips on focusing on the job at hand. Even as they turned for home, jockey Sandesh had to deal with a wall of horses in front and had to maneuver the MK Jadhav trained filly. Finding no room to poke through, Sandesh got her to the widest and then made a single-minded dash for the winning post. Mekong Delta responded in an instant and arrived with an impressive show of turn of foot slipping past them all to win with something to spare. Volantis had played his hand well, coming through to tackle Pure Sin and even looked like pulling it off with less than a furlong to go. Mekong Delta’s final run proved too good for Volantis. Zanzibar ended an eye-catching run to pip Kookaburra for the third.   

Alpine Express (Rebuttal – Pinkchuchi, Hazara Stud) was the other rookie to earn a maiden win. She won in a contrasting style, making every post a winning one. Partnered by Neeraj Rawal, Alpine Express led them into the straight and then started to accelerate ahead. Philadelphia came to challenge approaching the distance post but Alpine Express never gave in and spurred on by her jockey, she kicked on to steer clear of her challenger and notched up her maiden win in a good manner. Philadelphia caught one better and had to be content with the runner up berth. Frosted made little progress but stayed put to claim the third place. 

Shadowfax (Multidimensional – River Memories, Usha Stud) kept his date with victory with a sound performance winning by a decent margin. His task was made easier by Midnight Dancer who never looked settled even when in the paddock. Midnight Dancer was mulish on the day and firstly refused to leave the paddock and had to be led to the gates. He was fractious at the stalling time as well. Finally when it came down to the final stretch run, he ran wide just when he was shaping to give Shadowfax a run for his money.   

Merchantofvenice (Glory of Dancer – Maquillage, Nanoli Stud) lived up to the promise he showed last time out and delivered this time keeping challenger Rider on the Storm at bay. Merchantofvenice was perky at the start and was the quickest out and settled to lead going at a good pace. Golden Belle and Rider on the Storm were following close behind with Nature Boy n tow. 

Once they turned for home, Merchantofvenice galloped ahead. Rider on the Storm improved slightly but Golden Belle who had won so stylishly last time out and in her previous run as well, simply ran out of gas. The weights did favour Merchantofvenice and the B Prakash ward cashed in on that advantage. Rider on the Strom ended a gallant runner up, making the winner work hard for the victory.

Shadowfax and taken charge coming into the straight and soon had sped away to build up a handy lead. Midnight Dancer was right alongside and even looked like gathering momentum when he started to drift wider and wider. Shadowfax looked in no danger then on and duly compiled a comfortable victory. Majestic made up for a tardy start and covered nearly 10 lengths that he was lagging by and ended a decent third behind Diashonin.

Jockey Joy Chinoy scored a lucrative double at odds of 8/1 apiece. He urged Jester (Ace – Champagne Polka, Poona Stud) to produce his best just at the right juncture and snatched victory close home. Bottom weighted Secret Flame tired the runaway tactics and held sway all the way until close home. Jester, always in second, started to inch closer in the homestretch. There was danger lurking just behind too with favourite Royal Éclair and Porto Banus too close for comfort. Secret Flame meanwhile was galloping freely and the chasing trio had a task on hand. Inside the final furlong and dashing for the finish, Chinoy put the whip away and focused on hands and heels pushing the Dallas Todywalla charge vigorously to get that extra bit out of Jester and managed to surge ahead just in time to score in a well fought race. Porto Banus did well to pip Secret Flame for the third.

 Zambian (Glory of Dancer – Fedora, Nanoli Stud) was off to a stat but never really got into box seat despite a good inside draw. He was crowded at the start alright and J Chinoy found himself in the 9^th or 10^th position until the turn. Up in front, Stellenbosch led them into the straight but he weakened midway in the straight. Chinoy improved positions at the turn and keeping behind Star One was a wise move. The moment Star One moved ahead, Zambian got a clear passage and started to gallop freely. Within strides he was all over them and in the final furlong simply blew the opposition away to march on ahead and win with a widening margin. Star One was floored and had to be content with the second spot ahead of the late finishing Achieve.

Squash (Noverre – Impassion, Sohna Stud) compiled an impressive hat-trick with another superlative effort. The Mansoor Shah trainee had only one behind turning for home and young apprentice SA Amit had a lot to do in the straight. Wind Craft led them in with Hidden Soul and Don Corleone close behind. Neither posed a threat, but it was Undisputed who made a powerful surge ahead to get past the front runner. Just when it looked like the favourite Undisputed was heading to bag it, Squash arrived with a burst of speed to zip past Undisputed and score his third successive victory this season. Undisputed finished a good second, while Wind Craft did well to edge out Hidden Soul for place money.

The concluding race of the day was a thriller with the top five finishing within 1 ½ lengths. Be Cautious led from the start and worked up a handy lead on entering the straight. The scramble for the finish began approaching the distance post with Be Cautious challenged by Final Encounter. Zana joined in to fight and then came Valentino and Celtic Prince. Cezanne got squeezed between horses. Valentino flew in the last part with jockey Jorawar Singh going all out. He just managed to time his run perfectly to surge past Final Encounter a stride away from the winning post. Celtic Prince made up ground rapidly to end in the money.

For the professionals, trainer Dallas Todywalla saddled a double, while jockeys A Sandesh and Joy Chinoy scored a double each.