The first day of the Evening Racing saw a lukewarm response compared to the heavily crowded Day 1 of Mumbai racing. Being a weekday coupled with an ordinary racing program kept the attendance lower than one might have liked, however, those there were treated to an array of off-track entertainment and indulgence.  

Temerity (Intense Focus – Narmina, Nanoli Stud) the Classic aspirant from Pesi Shroff’s yard, kept her date with victory toying with her two rivals. She galloped leisurely behind Sky Mine until the straight and then sailed away in cruise mode to demolish her hapless rivals. Jockey Neeraj Rawal enjoyed the proverbial armchair ride to victory as he eased the filly well ahead of the winning post. Old timer Set To Fly shocked Sky Mine on the post to wrest the runner-up spot from Sky Mine.

Frivolous, the shortest priced runner of the day, marred his reputation first by losing a couple of lengths at the start and then failing to finish off the way he did when beating the impressive Mrs Patmore in Pune.

Lord Arazan set the tone for the race with Flying Dragon, Pugnacious (Arabian Gulf – Magic Touch, Manjri Stud) in close attendance, Angel Girl and Mekong Delta followed a length or two behind and Frivolous at the tail end. There ran in similar order right into the straight until Flying Dragon surged ahead of Lord Arazan with under two furlongs to go. Pugnacious, ridden by A Sandesh gathered momentum and move ahead aggressively to grab the lead and galloped on powerfully towards the winning post. Mekong Delta and Frivolous came charging after the leader, both visibly gaining on Pugnacious. Frivolous lacked the finishing touch and despite an all out effort, failed to make an impact. Mekong Delta was more assertive and ran the winner close, falling sort by a head.

Jockey Sandesh had won his first mount of the day and went on to add two more astride Wind Craft and Artistic, both firm favourites unlike Pugnacious who went out at a nourishing 10/1.  

Wind Craft (Aragorn – Tight Circle, Manjri Stud) shot into the lead soon on jumping out and galloped at a nippy pace right through. Royal Sapphire and Bullion Express were stalking the leader all the way from the start.

On straightening up for home, Sandesh eased Wind Craft into the acceleration mode gradually getting the B Prakash trainee step up for the finish. Wind Craft responded well and kicked on gamely to tighten his grip on the race and win by a comfortable margin. Bullion Express got the better of Royal Sapphire to bag the runner-up berth.

Artistic (Mull Of Kintyre – Shanley, Sohna Stud) picked up from where she had left off in Pune and secured her third straight win between the two racing centers. She justified the strong support she enjoyed in the betting ring as she looked the winner the moment she shifted gears.

Dancing Prince led them into the straight with Artistic lurking just behind, Sparkling Eyes in third and Turf Dancer improving positions along the rails. Artistic literally pounced on the leader past the 400m mark and then raised the throttle to pull away from the rest. In this kind of devastating form, Artistic may well win her next assignment as well. Turf Dancer ran on to take the second slot. Alien, who was detached from the field even as they turned for home, covered ground impressively to finish an eye-catching third. This run should see him run a good race next time out. Sparkling Eyes disappointed and ended a tame fourth.

Jockey YS Srinath made his presence felt in his first appearance on the Mumbai track this season. The Bangalore based top-notch jockey won both his rides in style and started off in a brilliant fashion. He piloted Ms Nazak Chinoy trained Lucas (Phoenix Tower – Trinity Joy, Manjri Stud) to a facile victory with an aggressive approach early in the straight. Lucas fell back to third after a quick start as Grey Flannel and favourite Zinfandelle took the top two spots on settling down. Reds Revenge came next with the rest not too far away.

Grey Flannel seemed to have a handy lead coming into the straight until Srinath pushed his way to the front. There was a jostle as Grey Flannel shifted slightly, but Lucas was bounding forward at a fast clip. Lucas skipped away out of reach within strides and romped home by a big margin. Reds Revenge ended a far away second. Drogo covered good ground to end in the money, beating Grey Flannel for the third. Zinfandelle ran below par and will need to improve quickly.

Srinath then partnered Nirad Karanjalawalla trained Jeena (Chevalier – Saytarra, Pratap Stud). Jeena was the well-backed favourite, her recent mock race win being her road to form. The field of thirteen runners was bunched up together with Star Scholar leading them into the straight with Blavatsky and Jeena close behind. Aeolus Maximus was improving constantly and was within striking distance as they turned for home.

Jeena surged ahead to grab the lead at the 400 and started to accelerate further. Aeolus Maximus went all out in chase, but the rest were a beaten lot. In the final furlong, Jeena started to drift out under pressure, but Srinath managed to keep her going under some strong handling managed to ward off Aeolus Maximus to score a well-fought victory, beating Aeolus Maximus by a little over a length. Secret Flame did well to improve position and take the third spot ahead of White Sox.

Ivor Fernandes ward Wonder Story (Sharp Attack – Ankle Bracelet, Gee Stud) won the first race of the day, without encountering any challenge. Rachel led them all the way into the homestretch with Wonder Story in chase. Once into the straight, Wonder Story made her presence felt and soon shot ahead to take charge. Apprentice jockey G Santosh then piloted Wonder Story ahead and drew away to win comfortably. Generous Lady and Rachel fought hard and the former just managed to pip the second favourite for the second.

For the professionals, trainer CD Katrak saddled a double, while jockey Sandesh scored a treble and YS Srinath returned with a double.