Highly Acclaimed (Phoenix Tower – play That Tune) ridden by five-kilo claimer Surya Prakash hung on to dear life as he managed to stave off the late and serious bid from Be Sure to clinch the Bhagyanagar Cup in a close finish.

Highly Acclaimed was quick at start and got down to business leading from the early stages all the way home. The Deshmukh ward entered the straight with a handy lead and build on it steadily to shape well coming into the final furlong. Be Sure started to warm up and made good progress picking up speed and was inching closer to the leader. Inside the last 100 meters, be Sure really applied pleasure eating up ground briskly and looked fast enough to topple highly Acclaimed, however, jockey Surya Prakash pushed hard and ensured there was no last minute surprise and held on to win by a quarter of a length. Be Sure fell just short but ended a gallant second ahead of Durango.

Sequeira trained Clarisa (Phoenix Tower – Celestial Treasure) had it relatively easy while pocketing the Twin City Cup with a measure of comfort, with jockey Akshay Kumar in the saddle. Columbus led them into the straight with Mozambique in close second, with the rest not too far behind, Somerset at the tail end of the field. Mozambique had barely taken charge and Exclusive Striker was fighting hard to stay in contention too, when Clarisa arrived with a fluent gallop from the centre of the track. Clarisa was simply too good as she accelerated extremely well to floor them all and bounce away for an impressive victory. Somerset too covered ground briskly and ended a good second ahead of Humaaghar and Avantika.

Amazing Script (Whatsthescript – Fearless) from the Deshmukh-stables, came up with an inspired finish to pip Happy Together on the post, timing his finish to perfection. Happy together looked good all the way and was well ahead of the rest approaching the distance post. Amazing Script, who did not get a clear passage through the first half of the race, switched lanes and started to make her way up to the leader. Jockey Prashant Dhebe worked hard to get Amazing Script going and the filly started to respond well to his call. She picked up momentum and put in a fierce gallop generating top speed to scorch the turf and catch happy Together in the nick of time to snatch victory on the last stride. Happy Together did no wrong, but fell to a really dazzling burst of speed by Amazing Script. Farmville also made good progress in the straight to end a notable third.

Classic Remark (Tariq – Charmstone) scored a fluent start to finish victory outclassing his rivals while posting a resounding victory by six lengths. He never looked in trouble even as Classy Guy did seem to make a bit of progress approaching the distance post. Classic Remark simply extended well and drew away from Classy Guy in the final furlong to romp home in style. Classy Guy caught one far better and ended second. Honest Hunter picked up the place stakes.

Long Range (Surfrider – Outtostealthescene) and Your Grace (Western Aristocrat – River Cree) were involved in a dead-heat in the opening race of the day. Long Range had the upper hand for most of the way as he shook off Ursula soon on turning for home. Long Range picked up momentum and worked up a handy lead coming into the final furlong and even looked good to stay on ahead all the way. While the others didn’t match up, Your Grace warmed up nicely to draw closer to the leader. Your Grace eventually picked up raw speed and arrived with a blazing run. The pair dashed past the wire and the judge had to take a real long look at the photo-finish and finally declared a dead-heat. Symbolic Star saved the place money.

Vallee Ikon (Green Coast – Kiana) was another one who got stronger at the finish and was able to collar long-time leader Southern Meteor closer home. Southern Meteor had done all the hard work and was going well in the homestretch with a handy lead approaching the distance post. While he accounted for the rest, he could not withstand the blitz that Valle Ikon came with. Vallee Ikon, ridden by Md Ismail, packed a punch in his finish and simply trounced Southern Meteor with a blazing finish to win by more than two lengths. Southern Meteor was unlucky to have caught the winner in such a mood. Diesis Dream improved to finish third.

For the professionals, trainer Deshmukh and Sequeira saddled a double each, while jockey Akshay Kumar was back to winning ways after he drew a rare blank the previous day.