The day belonged to jockey Akhsay Kumar who was at his best reeling off winner after winner right through the day to bag a rich haul of five wins in the eight-race card. The lad combined with trainer RH Sequeira to score a hat-trick from the second race on.  The trainer-jockey combination first struck with The Special One and romped through to win three in a row.

The Special One (Burden of Proof – Athabasca Star) showed galloped to his maiden win with a lightning strike close home. Inside the final 400m very few would have given the winner a chance as he was way too far from the action.

Classy Guy had got past early leader max soon on turning for home and was shaping well until the hot favourite Your Grace got to his tail. City of Ayaansh was also putting up a fight on the outside. Max was still hanging around with a couple of other runners alongside when The Special One started to quicken. Young apprentice Koushik switched lanes to forge his way forward with The Special One and once he found the turf clear in front, The Special One whizzed past them all to score an impressive victory. He dazzled in the final 100 meters to thrill his connections with an emphatic victory. City of Ayaansh did well to beat Your Grace for the runner up berth.

Their next conquest was with Riddari (Western Aristocrat – Quiet Lane) who opened his campaign with resounding maiden victory. The chestnut colt was out of the gates in a flash and stuck close by the leader Palsy Walsy until they straightened up for home. Riddari changed gears swiftly on entering the straight and spurted ahead past the 400m maker to take charge. Once in the lead, Riddari put distance between himself and his rivals with ease to win by a healthy margin. Natasha ended a faraway second, ahead of Best Friend who edged out Handsome Duo for the place money.

They pulled off their third with Amazing Response (Lord Shanakill – Zing Wing) where again jockey Akshay merely had to guide the gelding home. Amazing Response was right with the front bunch which was led by the speedy Dream Girl. Amazing Response zipped past Dream Girl in a trice as they turned for home and won drawing away. Dream Girl held on for the second spot while Palisades Park did well to beat O Ms Akilah for the third.

Akshay Kumar continued his victorious run piloting L D’ Silva trained Barnabas (Chinese Whisper – Feel of Flames) in the very next race getting a personal best of four in a row. Settling close to the front runners, Barnabas progressed nicely in the straight. He had to be goaded initially to tackle Classic Remark who led them in. Barnabas then strode out steadily to steer clear of the rest.

Favourite Sublime never settled into a rhythm initially and was constantly being urged to improve positions. She was far to back even in the straight to make an impact on the winner while ending second. With better luck, Sublime should be able to score the next time out.

Akshay capped the day with another fine victory astride Great Glory (Lucifer Sam – Regal Glory) from the yard of trainer Ananth Vatsalya.  This one was perhaps his closest win that needed some hard riding and a befitting finishing touch. It was literally a scramble to the winning post in the final furlong. Great Glory had barely taken charge when the challengers came around from both sides. Hammer was perhaps the unlucky one to have got tightened for room at a crucial stage. Aalishaan flew towards the end but was a tad too late while finishing a close third. Great Glory was strong in his finish and kicked on gamely to pull off a narrow win, with Hammer and Aalishaan finishing on fast.

Et Voici (Varenar – Sayuri) achieved her maiden success in the hands of jockey Neeraj Rawal. Settling well & early in the fourth spot close behind leader Silver Dollar, Et Voici shot into the lead past the 400 to make them all chase her down. None did as Et Voici accelerated beautifully to race away to victory. Rajneeti finished on fastest taking the runner-up slot from Avantika who edged out Silver Dollar and Kohinoor Legend.

Phenomenal Cruise (Declaration of War – Fire Bird) won the day’s opening event, etching a hard-fought victory over Durango. It was Treasure Striker who won the start to lead the field with Durango in second; Phenomenal Cruise stuck to the rails a close third with the rest following close behind. Limitation lost a distance at the start.

Treasure Striker brought them into the straight with Durango asking questions. Phenomenal Cruise joined Treasure Striker soon on turning for home and started to apply pressure on the front runner. Durango took his time to switch into top gear, but by then Phenomenal Cruise had got the upper hand and was leading, though not by much. Durango put in a last ditch effort to get closer to the Phenomenal Cruise, however, Jockey Akshay Kumar rode out the D Netto trained gelding astutely to ward off the renewed challenge from Durango to carve out a narrow victory. Durango ended a good second and Treasure Striker did well to finish in the money, well clear of Bayrd.  

La Romance (Roi Maudit – Romance In Rain) got back to winning ways with a weighty performance in the hands of jockey Arshad Alam. La Romance was off in a flash and made every post a winning one. She entered the straight with a handy lead and built on it as she quickened well and sped away to keep the rest at a safe distance all the way home. Far Sight ran on to take the second slot while Batur finished on well to finish just a short behind the runner up.

For the professionals, it was jockey Akshay Kumar all the way with a whopping five wins. Trainer RH Sequeira saddled a fine treble.