The followers of favourites went home with heavier purses and beaming faces from the Mahalaxmi racecourse on Sunday. Not only had they witnessed a stunning Oaks conquest by the new star on the block, Jacqueline but the majority would have returned home richer in the pockets. Seven of the races slated for the day were dominated by the first favourites. The other three races too were won by well-backed horses. There were no shocks/upsets and the highest dividend on tote paid just Rs 48, and that was Demonstrator. Before the plum event went to the connections of Jacqueline, it was the Jain-Patel combination that hogged the limelight in the lead-up races to the Indian Oaks. The new Chairman of RWITC, Mr Vivek Jain and his partners made the journey to lead in winners, thrice in the first half of the day.

Nobel Glory (Steinbeck – Absintho), in which the breeder Ms Ameeta Mehra had a share too, won the Ahmed Rahimtoola Trophy on debut. Sitting last in a closely huddled bunch of five runners (Hearts Of Fire was withdrawn), Nobel Glory was switched from the inner rails to challenge the front-runners Star Craft and Zaracha. The trio then fought out the final furlong before Nobel Glory quickened and drew away from Star Craft. Zaracha could not sustain and was beaten to finish last but abreast with Roesti and Last Tango in a close finish. Nobel Glory looks a good type and may win again even over a longer distance. Roesti, the favourite, put in an off colour performance and may have needed the run.

Last start winner Swahili (Alnasr Alwasheek – Singita) carried on from he had left and won running away from the small bunch. Swahili hit the front soon on start and led the field comfortably all the way. Nora tried to get closer in the straight, but Swahili bounded forward and raced away without giving any hope to his rivals and looked the winner a long way from home.

Forever Young (Diffident – Caractere) too romped home in style despite running on promotion to a higher class. Polariser shot ahead as they settled down and Forever Young was only biding her time in second. The rest were following close behind. Forever Young passed Polariser at the 400 and accelerated well to stretch away and build a handy lead. Slickkit tried hard to make a race of it but Forever young proved too good for the entire set. Forever Young finished on strongly and won comfortably. Slickkit had to be content with the runner up berth. Pillatus ran on to finish third and ended up on the haunches of Slickkit. Pillatus would have gained a bit from this run and is one for the notebooks.

Demonstrator (Alnasr Alwasheek – Star Concert) produced a scintillating burst in the dying moments of the race to spoil the party for the backers of favourite Black Rainbow. This race was perhaps the most intriguing race as the leads changed rapidly in the homestretch and the suspense extended until the last few strides when Richard Hughes pounced upon the favourite Black Rainbow astride Demonstrator practically inside the shadow of the winning post. Sea Diamond led the field homeward but was soon passed by Red Tabasco. Soon Uproar joined and went past Red Tabasco with a fiery gallop. Then came a dual charge from Silver Screen and Black Rainbow, both making their final bid at the same juncture, past the distance post. Uproar offered some resistance and just when it looked like Black Rainbow was gaining control, Demonstrator flew into the fray and zipped past in a sweetly timed finish. Richard Hughes rode a brilliant race and set himself up with a perfect start before the big one a race later. Black Rainbow finished second but did enough to imply that he will have his day soon. Demonstrator too is capable of proving an encore. Silver Screen did well to finish in the place money. However, Kalinga Star was the one to catch my eye. The bay gelding was slowly off the gates and was nowhere sighted until the distance post. He covered a lot of ground and was not too far away from the top three at the wire. Keep an eye on Kalinga Star as well.

Dr Ramaswamy’s Ordained One (Placerville – Amazing Princess) made his second run count and earned his maiden victory without any hiccups. Hitting the front readily from the start, Ordained One brought the field into view. Icon attempted to match strides but failed to gain on the favourite. There was no third horse in sight to challenge Ordained One who got stronger at the finish to win, increasing the margin of victory towards the finish. Lionwoods progressed late to peg back Moneybags for the third place. Sun Glory disappointed and would need time. Trainer Sunderji is moving closer up the top in the trainers’ tally and making steady progress at that. While Pesi Shroff has piled up an incredible amount of 41 winners from his stables to date, the runner- up berth in the trainers’ championship is now becoming interesting. Cooji Katrak and Sunderji are at 16 and 15 respectively and this will hopefully provide an interesting tussle. Imtiaz Sait is one short of the double figure mark.

Sunderji saddled a double on Sunday with Courage Under Fire (Major Impact – Stylish Bird) in the first race and River Force in the eighth. Courage Under Fire made steady progress from the fourth initially, to take charge in the straight. Flo Nightingale made a late bid but by then Courage Under Fire had a firm grip on the race and the late challenger only managed to reduce the margin. With a stronger rider, Flo Nightingale could have done better.

River Force (During – Social Place) put in a forceful run to dart away from the field in the closing stages of the race winning the Harrish Mehra Trophy without encountering any trouble. Rave On led the field homewards and River Force was soon on his haunches moving with purposeful strides. Opportunity was also alerted to the task and went all out in pursuit of the River Force. In the last furlong, River Force grew stronger and despite shifting out, won convincingly.

Trainer CD Katrak chipped in with a solitary victory in the day’s penultimate race with Sea Star (Maria’s Mon – Chanteline). Sea Star made quick progress coming into the straight and led the field home. Illuminate who was a couple of places behind warmed up and quickly got into the second and that is as far as he could get. Sea Star started to accelerate further and won drawing away. Visionaire improved considerably to beat Roaming Fame for the place money.

Psychic Power (China Visit – Santorini Star), owned by Ms Ameeta Mehra, won the last race in a thrilling finish involving last-start winner Up North. Racing in the mid-bunch, Psychic Power improved position coming into the straight. Long time leader Brave Gun weakened soon on turning for home and Up North was seen devouring ground to grab the lead. Step By Step too come into contention but as she has done so often, Step By Step failed to keep her burst going long enough. Meanwhile, Psychic Power with jockey TS Jodha came alongside the duo. Up North got the measure of Step By Step alright, but Psychic Power was getting too strong for comfort. The fight went to the wire and Psychic Power got the final stride right to edge out Up North in a photo finish.

For the professionals, trainers SK Sunderji and Zadmal Singh scored a double each as did jockeys Richard Hughes and Imran Chisty.