The first Indian Classic day turned out to be as exciting as it could be with a colourful crowd to fill up the Grand Stands and the Mahalaxmi racecourse looked the venue it has known to be for decades. The race card comprising nine events was well framed and the racing competition was tight in several races. The zenith of excitement was however unmatched in the three-way finish in the plum event of the day, the Spartan Poker Indian 1000 Guineas (Gr1).

Lady In Lace (Chinese Whisper – Sea Spray, Tohana Stud) galloped gracefully and jockey Suraj Narredu, who was confident of winning days before the race, guided the Prasad Raju trained filly to a dazzling win but not without a fight! The Mistrys of Manjri, who had evaluated the filly after her ridiculously easy win in the Pune Derby, were vindicated for having paid an enormous price, (whispers that went around to putting an eight figure sum) to own a share in the classy filly. The delight of being proven right has its own high, doesn’t it? Well done to the Mistrys.

The Ooohs and the Ahhhs began soon after the start when Ice Dancer shot into a sizable lead to set a good pace in the early stages, leading by more than 4 lengths to Manifold who change tactics to run with the pace. Ruffina settled in third while Lady In Lace stayed at the rear end of the field.

Manifold charged to the front soon on turning for home, but was easily tackled by Ruffina. Once Ruffina took charge, eye balls turned to the rear searching for Lady In Lace, and there she was, devouring ground at a brisk rate. The hearts were pounding as Ruffina is known for her blitzkrieg in the final finish. There was still some distance Lady in Lace had to cover and the eyeballs were swaying side to side from Ruffina to Lady In Lace who was catching up fast.  Decibels soared when Lady In Lace got to the haunches off Ruffina and it was clear that lady in Lace was finishing on better in the last 100. Lady in Lace breezed past Ruffina when Windsor Forest made a late dash. Windsor Forest arrived with a blinding run and was a tad unlucky not to have created a flutter, falling short by a narrow margin to collar Lady in lace. She also had a misfortune when she got caught up between Lady In Lace and Manifold inside the final furlong and received a slight check at a very crucial juncture. The story may have been different had Winsor Forest got a clear run! But there is no taking anything away from Lady In Lace who Suraj rode to perfection and the fitness and class of the filly brought her and her camp the glory in such a magnificent race.

Goldie’s Pet (Arazan – Ramjet, Poonawalla Astonish Stud) galloped to her fourth consecutive win between Mumbai and Pune, scoring her second win this season. Nascar got past them all to lead the field into the straight and led through until midway down the straight. Goldie’s Pet began to chase down the leader and arrived at a cracking pace to streak into the lead. Once ahead, she sustained her momentum. The late bid made by Abbey was enough only to cut down the margin. Nascar broke a blood vessel which explains why she failed to cash in on her good start.

Brit import Jockey David Portland made a successful start partnering Pesi Shroff trained Riquewihr (Phoenix Tower – Coconut Squeak, Manjri Stud) to clinch the Faiz Jasdanwalla Trophy for two-year-old debutantes.

He was quickly off but settled into the third spot as Medici and hot favourite Dancing Lances got past him. Portland slipped through close on the rails to reclaim the lead coming into the homestretch. He got Riquewihr into a fine rhythm and the filly responded with a fluent gallop to race away from the rest. Dancing Lances got a jolt when Trevor gave him a crack and suddenly veered outward the drift taking him to the outer railing, thus losing all his chances. Riquewihr won handsomely on debut and looks a good type. Star inspiration ran on to take the runner up berth but was completely outpaced by the winner.

Odessa (Tiz Wonderful – Silvery Star, Hazara Stud) opened her Mumbai campaign with a forceful win in the opening race of the day. It looked anybody’s race with a furlong to go with the four fancied runners within touching distance and mounting their bid alongside one another - Pugnacious, Jeanine, Odessa and Eternal Sunshine all cutting loose at the same juncture, with Uncle Scrooge also trying hard to stay in the mix. Odessa, ridden by PS Chouhan, burst through the line-up and bounded forward decisively to score freely in the end. Eternal Dancer kicked on to finish second ahead of Jeanine and Pugnacious.

Goshawk garnered solid support but he disappointed a large number of supporters fretting it away after shaping well coming into the straight. He had a handy lead which he maintained even past the final furlong marker. Aurelia started to bridge the gap, inching closer with every stride. Trevor saw his chance and egged Aurelia on and the Nazak Chenoy trained filly closed in rapidly in the final 100 to peg Goshawk back in the last couple of strides to snatch victory and bag the Division I of the Uttam Singh Trophy with a good finishing effort. Goshawk may have needed this run and it would be worth giving him another chance.

The lower division of the Uttam Singh Trophy was claimed by Tanjo (Western Aristocrat – Hazelhead, Nanoli Stud).  Favourite Lesrel flattered to deceive as she led from the start all the way until well into the straight, but ran out of gas when it mattered. Tanjo improved from an early third position to gain steadily on the leader and once she warmed up, Tanjo stretched out nicely to draw away from them all compiling a pleasing victory with a healthy margin. She won easing up and looked the winner long way from home. Elixir and Fine Tune both had a good educative outing and would improve for the run. Neither Lesrel nor Wabi Sabi, the two top fancies make an impact on the race.

Rehanullah Khan trained Rising Brave (Ace – Palazzio, Exhilaration Stud) put in a scorching run early in the straight to score a facile victory leaving no chance to the rest to catch up. Going straight for the lead on starting off, Rising Brave with PS Chouhan in the saddle picked up at a good clip and accelerated further on entering the homestretch. Philadelphia could not match the speed of the leader and lingered on in second. Beneficial looked good in third at one point, but failed to quicken well enough to have a say in the race and managed only to wrest the second spot from Philadelphia.

Grande Vitesse (Oiseau De Feu – Candela, Samra Stud) got going in the straight and worked up fiery pace to win running away. The Hosidar Daji ward was in sixth spot at the turn and worked his way up to gear up for his final assault. Master of Trinity had a handy lead with a furlong to go but Grande Vitesse started to wear him down steadily and soon took charge. Once ahead, Grande Vitesse, with apprentice K nazil in the saddle took full advante of the fie-kilo allowance and darted away to win with a good margin. Marvel ran on to take the runner up berth ahead of Master of Trinity. Vengence of Mine ended a close fourth.

Happy Birthday (Gaswar – Oscar silk, Sahgal Stud) proved an encore and obviously struck good form after a while. Trevor had him in the mid-bunch as Xoxo enjoyed a runaway lead until into the straight. Happy Birthday made a smooth forward surge on entering the straight and sailed into the lead without encountering any resistance. He galloped fluently with Trevor content to nurse the Shazaan Shah ward towards the finish line and was never perturbed even as Dusky Siren showed up one behind. Happy Birthday won with a measure of comfort though the margin was under a length. Dusky Siren is the one knocking on the door. Silver Moon improved considerably and did well to finish in the money from the position she was at in the straight.

For the professionals, jockey PS Chouhan rode out a treble while jockey P Trevor scored a double.