A sizable crowd thronged the Mahalaxmi racecourse to witness the first Classic of the season and they were treated to some dazzling performances through the day. Ruffina, for one, was the sizzling star of the day and she certainly galloped her way into the record books and brought back memories of some lightning fast horse, the all time greats and Ruffina certainly deserves a mention whenever discussions on the best sprinters in the history of the sport. 

That said, the spotlight was on La Rondine, the new kid on the block. She was up against some of the very best and this was only her second outing. I, like many others, felt she was thrown in at the deep end a race too soon, but the way she went about her business and surfaced with a scorching finishing run, she was delightful to watch. 

La Rondine settled nice and early in the mid-bunch, not too far away from the front-runners as Tic Tac Ipsy Tipsy led the field early on with Arabia opting to keep with the pace, Merlot was right alongside with Strong Storm moving up on the outside. La Rondine was along the rails about a length behind, while favourite Isn't She Lovely was closer to the rear with only Eyes For You and Oomph behind her. 

Tic Tac Ipsy Tipsy bowed out sooner than expected and was losing pace even before they turned for home. Anatevka rallied after a slow start and brushed up to take the lead approaching the half way mark. She too faded out soon on turning for home. 

Merlot took charge early in the straight, but even before she could get going, Arabia came up and grabbed the lead. La Rondine, ridden by Leigh Roche, moved up nicely and soon caught up with Arabia and surged ahead with a measure of comfort. La Rondine showed a good deal of maturity, composure and temperament as she sailed ahead fluently shutting out the competition with every stride, adding distance and keeping the opposition at bay. The Vishal Gaikwad trained filly won by over two lengths from Arabia. Oomph progressed well to finish in the money. Eyes For you was another one to improve considerably in the straight and would be satisfied to have beaten Isn't She Lovely and figure in the frame.  

Isn't She Lovely disappointed her fans and supporters. She looked under pressure and so did her jockey David Allan. David pulled her out wide and perhaps opened throttle a tad too early as the filly couldn't find much in the final furlong. 

Trainer Vishal Gaikwad was understandably gleeful. "I had immense faith in the filly and I am delighted she proved me right. She took her time and got into the grove at her own leisure. I had to give her some mock races in Pune to get her going. After she won her last mock race, I had no choice but to run her on the opening day of this season to give her enough rest of three weeks for the Classic. She won well then and from that moment Leigh Roche was confident she was ready and would run a good race in the Guineas. I told him the filly was his to ride and there and then he opted to partner her for this race. I am happy with the outcome and La Rondine has done me proud," said trainer Vishal Gaikwad who deserves all praise for working the filly meticulously to the level of fitness she has gained. 

Dallas Todywalla trained filly Ruffina (Excellent Art - Miss Danehill, Villoo's Greenfield Stud) doesn't seem to amaze with her blinding speed. She reigned supreme yet again while claiming the Grade III Sir Homi Mehta Sprint Challenge in her inimitable style. She makes top notch sprinters look ordinary in the manner she dispatches the hapless opposition each time. She soared to her eleventh victory from 13 starts and she also rewrote the course record for the five-furlong scurry, stopping the clock at 57:31 seconds, clipping off the record held earlier by Maleficent. 

Ruffina was last until approaching the final turn as Wild Fire and Clinton disputed the lead. Clinton got the measure of the former and darted ahead with Clymene in chase. Ruffina arrived on tight reins with jockey David Allan relying on hands and heels right through. Ruffina flew past them all and stormed into the lead in the final furlong and won comfortably by a margin of two and half lengths. Clymene did well to beat Clinton for the runner-up berth. 

Gloriosus (China Visit - Glorieuse, Usha Stud) built on his last start victory with an even better performance in the hands of Robbie Dawney. The field of five raced in a closely huddled bunch with Zanara in the lead followed by Square Moon, Gloriosus, Gold Bond and Uncle Scrooge the last named off the blocks slowly. 

Zanara looked vulnerable soon on turning for home and it was Gold Bond who got into the act first. he shoot ahead and built a handy lead, however, it was not for long as Gloriosus arrived full of steam and unleashed a terrific burst that easily floored Gold Bond and the rest. Gloriosus, trained by Imtiaz Sait, won with a lot to spare and could end up winning again next time out as well considering his fitness, form and the manner of this victory.

Imtiaz led in another well backed winner later in the day with debutante Flying Visit (China Visit - Ooh Aah Camera, Usha Stud), this one also with Dawney in the saddle. 

Furiosa had a big lead coming into the straight but all that came to naught as she failed to sustain and caved in the moment her lead was challenged. Flying Visit picked up speed just past the 400 m mark and set off at a scorching pace. None could match that kind of brilliance and Flying Visit was all alone in the final furlong galloping away to a whopping seven-lengths-plus margin while notching up her first victory thus making it a memorable debut. Kudos to trainer Imtiaz Sait for the confidence on his debutante as the filly ran hot favourite and won in a dominating fashion. 

Beshiktash (Phoenix Tower - Badait Alzaman, Manjri Stud) picked the day to fashion his fourth victory and favourite Lesrel had to bear the brunt of her aggression. Lesrel was comfortably in front, approaching the distance post, with Bounty Queen working hard to stay in contention. Beshiktash took a while to warm up and had to cover a couple of lengths to get to Lesrel. Beshiktash shifted gears in the final furlong and produced a terrific burst of speed to draw away in the final 100 meters to win convincingly. Lesrel was unlucky to find the winner at his devastating best, but was graceful in defeat. Bounty Queen was nearly squeezed between the two, but did well to finish in the money. 

Golden Hind (Kingda Ka - Golden Bright, Nanoli Stud) finally broke the jinx and scored a much needed maiden win on his fifth attempt, while winning the Uttam Singh Trophy. This time round he looked a lot more determined and grabbed the lead soon on turning for home. Once in the lead, he galloped fluently and soon stole a march over the rest, building up a sizable lead approaching the distance post. That cushion was useful as Kimberella came in with a late finish to cover ground briskly and finished within two lengths of Golden Hind. Debutante Kennedy had an educative outing and should improve upon his third in his next start. 

Between the Waters (Surfrider - Althing, Ruia Stud) took advantage of his early move and held on from the fast finishing Shivalik Queen. 

Stormy Atlantic got past Dance Emperor to take charge early in the straight with Between the Waters looming large on the outside. Stormy Atlantic buckled under pressure as jockey Neeraj Rawal cruised smoothly ahead with the Sunderji ward. Approaching the distance post, Between the WAters was well ahead, however, Shivalik Queen started to warm up and draw closer. Between the Waters kept the momentum going all the way and was able to ward off Shivalik Queen and clinch the Kajrewal Trophy Division I by a narrow margin. Mount Olympus did well to peg back Aberlour for the place money.  

Long-shot It's a Deal (Kingda Ka - Marche Conclu, nanili Stud) won the Div I of the Lady In Lace Trophy creating a flutter. Ebony shaped well coming into the straight but failed to build on the handy lead she had in the kitty. It's a Deal picked up momentum midway in the straight and took charge going for the wire. Arrecife too finished on with a good but late gallop, but just failed to collar the winner. Eiger's Tiger ended a close third. 

It is never too late to earn your winning bracket as Sweeping Move (Rebuttal - Kon Tiki, Hazara Stud) proved while winning her maiden race at age seven and on her 18th start. She fought her way though in a three-way finish and all credit to trainer Karthik and jockey Bhawani Singh for the success. 

the fight began midway in the straight as Romantic Eyes was battling off Sweeping Move have just snatched the lead. Dragonmoss started to inch closer and join the pair. This trio fought stride for stride all the way to the wire, where Sweeping Move got the nod right to stay ahead of Dragonmoss and Romantic Eyes in a close finish. 

For the professionals, trainers Imtiaz Sait, Vishal Gaikwad and SK Sunderji saddled a double each, while Robbie Dawney scored a double as well.