It was another good day from the punters point of view, four firm favourites and an equal number of well supported second choices coming through in the nine-event card on Sunday.

The consistent Azzurro,  who all through the season was chasing the multiple classic winner Desert God got his first big chance in the Governor’s Cup and he readily made most of the opportunity thrashing his five rivals without breaking a sweat . The leading pro Suraj Narredu produced an exemplary effort, playing the waiting game to near-perfection on the even money favourite. Let The Lion Roar did well to finish second, while Heaven Is Here after promising much at the top of the straight disappointed most .

The leading Stud Cup run over a distance of 2000 metres produced a pulse – pounding finish, the favourite Spirit And Truth and the long short Triumphus locked in a pulsating battle in the final furlong belong the Neil Darashah ward gained the day to the delight of the followers of form. This was Spirit and Truth’s second straight success over the trip and Neil needs to thank the Mumbai pro Zervan who had earlier advised Neil to exploit Spirit And Truth over longer trips and Neil did just that to the delight of his owners.

The top weighted Royal Defence strongly piloted by Imran Khan won the Leading Owner Cup in a thriller from the lesser fancied Golden Diamond. The winner in his start to finish mission did well to establish a winning lead at the distance post and that helped him peg back the challenge of Golden Diamond . Secret Dimension finished third without really making an attempt to score . The blow- hot, blow- cold approach of Kiran Rai on the Narayan Gowda ward raised a few eyebrows but taking into account that the stipes at this centre are in no mood to pick up the stick on the convenient offenders , the Kirans will continue to play the cat and mouse games without fear .

The solitary long shot of the day came in the upper division of the Champion Jockey Cup. The Inayathulla – trained Indian Brahmos powerfully piloted by leading pro Pradeep Chauhan edged out the Prithviraj schooled Fotogenic . The favourite Pull The Plug raced in patches and Imran astride this Dominic ward was never in the hunt finishing an unextended fourth behind Opening Act.

Chouhan who exelled on Indian Brahmos earlier scored on Watchmyscript in the Leading Bookmaker Cup. The five to one shot easily cruised past Serina Ballerina who in her effort to shed her maiden status failed to produce the desired acceleration when the race came on a boil and at the end could only finish third behind Serendine .

Champion pro S.John who once again stole the limelight recording a treble combined successfully with Sharath Kumar to win the first two races through Reczai and Irish Prince before packing punch on the Sulaiman - trained Industrialist in the upper division of the Champion Trainer Cup . The Mohammad Khan trained Bengaluru Princess in fact went ahead in the final furlong but John’s riding skills against the effort of apprentice Ryan Ahmed gained the day for the favourite.

A good small gamble was landed in the concluding event, the lower division of the Champion Jockey Cup. The four to one shot Internal Affair from Nithyanand’s yard making his connections proud in the hands of top Mumbai pro Sandesh who produced a stellar effort after failing to make a mark from his five earlier mounts .

First Step, a smart last start winner finished against game second and this is one day trainer Prithviraj would like to forget in a hurry, three fancied horses from his yard failing to earn their corn bill.