Red Romeo (Steinbeck – Allspice) came into his own (as I professed in the selections’ write-up) and put in a ‘forceful’ run to edge out the strong challenge from Celestial Way in the homestretch. Portrush and Red Indian were in front, detached from the chasing lot. Equidae and Red Romeo were in the rear with the rest closely huddled forming the mid-bunch. Portrush failed to quicken and lost the early advantage. Red Indian was heading nowhere. At this time, well into the straight, Sea Princess prominently got close to the front. Celestial Way began to gallop strongly which is when Red Romeo came alongside from the outside with the strongest gallop.

Jockey McCullagh went all-out astride Celestial Way but Red Romeo who was ridden by M Fenton was a lot more resolute. Red Romeo did shift in, but that was when he had already headed Celestial Way and was clearly travelling better of the two. McCullagh did not surprise anyone when he lodged his protest with the stewards to review the race. He claimed that the winner had intimidated him and ‘touched’ him in the last 50 metres or thereabouts. Jockey Ruzaan too lodged an objection against Celestial Way for bumping him near the 300m. While Ruzaan’s objection was ruled frivolous and his deposit forfeited, the stewards saw some merit in McCullagh’s. After due consideration, the Stewards concluded that the incident had no bearing on the outcome of the race thereby it was a fair ruling to allow Red Romeo to keep the race. At no stage it was found that McCullagh was caused to stop riding, and there is no denying that Red Romeo was clearly travelling better and would have won regardless. Thus, this was a truly ‘forceful’ victory for Red Romeo who is back again to his ‘in-form’ best. Pesi Shroff is having an amazing run of success. Everything is going right for the champion horseman and his horses are dominating the turf at an awesome rate. Out of his six runners, five were fancied, four of them returned triumphant. Saint Vincent was the odd one out.

Triunfo (Alnasr Alwasheek – Connivance) did not show a single sign of fatigue for racing on the immediate next race day – within two days. I told you so! He was seen covering ground at a brisk pace to complement stablemate Onassis’ victory on the previous Thursday in the upper class. The present set was child’s play for Triunfo and boy did he play with the field! Taking charge as soon as they settled down for the seven-furlong race, Triunfo dictated terms all the way. Favourite River Glory watched helplessly as Triunfo lunged forward in the straight and added more turf between self and River Glory. Save Tzigane the others could not even sight Triunfo in the straight or even earlier for that matter.

Such was his dominance! Blue Danube (Diffident – Victory And Gold) compiled a terrific hat-trick in this season winning all her three starts with undoubted authority. The runners in the Royal Calcutta Turf Club Trophy provided no threat and the markets offered ridiculously low odds on Blue Danube though she was the only filly pitched against the stronger gender. After this back-to-back double, Saint Vincent broke the run for Shroff, as she failed to collar Doi Moi in the next race over the Derby distance.

Doi Moi (Royal Kingdom – Count The Stars) conserved his energy until the last moment and then produced his best to outlast all and sundry. Sitting well off the pace even as they turned for home, Doi Moi came full of steam to knock the steam out of the rest including favourite Saint Vincent. Doi Moi was the last to enter the straight, but moved up strongly in the final furlong to get past the leader Oh Calcutta and post a convincing victory. Saint Vincent was well and truly beaten and had to be content with the runner up berth.

Tender Romance (Alhaarth – Tender Moment) got to an electric start and hit the front immediately. There was no looking back since! Jockey C Alford had the colt in complete control and when he alerted him, which was delayed until the final furlong, Tender Romance managed to ward off all-out effort from favourite Star Of Roses who struggled to catch up with the winner, but kept her challenge going not letting Tender Romance to relax. The Consulate General of Bahrain, His Excellency Mohammed Al-Khaja, while presenting the Trophy to the winners, announced that their association with the RWITC had grown stronger with the years of running of this traditional race in Mumbai and that they would certainly make a larger effort to make this race an important and even more entertaining next year. Mr Vivek Jain, Chairman, RWITC, thanked the CG of Bharain and presented a memento on behalf of the Club.

Spellbinder (Steinbeck – Psychic Flame) literally bulldozed her way to the front and although it would have been appropriate to call for a stewards enquiry in the absence of any objection. However, the incident did not go unnoticed and the stipes reported both jockeys Neeraj Rawal and Paul Mulrennan to the stewards. Both jockeys were handed out relevant punishments for their jostling and causing interference to the running of other horses in the race. Calypso Dancer and Alaska were badly affected and the replay of the race was not the most pleasant sight! It all happened at the turn. Neeraj astride Lakhadema bumped into Spellbinder and as they straightened; Spellbinder came in sharply and jostled with Lakhadema who in turn passed it on to Calypso Dancer who went on to Alaska, probably the worst affected. All this happened before they hit the 400m mark. From then on, Spellbinder raised a fiery gallop and sped ahead. Royal Porthcawl warmed up late to stretch the winner but Spellbinder was never in danger of losing her grip on the race.

Monarchos (Diffident – Sweet Calabash) showed tremendous courage and grit in toppling favourite Adams Law, his closest rival going by the market trends. Adams Law took over from The Brave Heart in the straight and just when it looked like he would kick on, Monarchos came up with menacing strides and Secret Talk too produced a lively finish. Maverick, the only other horse with some backing in the betting was badly placed at a crucial juncture. He came with a good run but only when it was too late and ended a notable fourth. Monarchos, who was later found to have bled, got Adams Law on the post with Secret Talk finishing almost breast with the duo.

Tabar (Ontario – Gallarus) was truly dazzling at the finish. He got off to a bad start owing to a jostle as the gates flung open. Blau Himmel and Yowza too were hampered. Shaktiman led the field with Seen It All in close attendance and that’s the way they entered into the straight with Addiction not too far behind. Seen It All improved nicely to take charge and Tabar who was constantly being urged by jockey Fenton started to warm up midway up the straight. In the final furlong, Tabar bounded forward and left Seen It All completely overwhelmed.

The last race of the day was a cliff hanger with a scintillating finish brewing between the leader Ran Banka and the chaser Highland Vision (Alnasr Alwasheek – Prenom Carmen) from the outset and going all the way into the homestretch until the winning post. Ran Banka hit the front soon on start and Highland Vision was right up next. Ran Banka entered the straight with a handy lead and was keeping the momentum going. He was still clear with only a furlong left to go. Highland Vision then started to bridge the gap at a fair clip and just managed to down Ran Banka at the wire. Roaming Fame, Top Action and Fiamma finished together in that order for the minor placing. Shroff’s quadruple was the highlight of the day. His closet rival Cooji Katrak saddled a double. Jockeys Paul Mulrennan and M Fenton too scored a brace each.