Trainer Pesi Shroff just will not let the momentum drop. Keeping up with the remarkable string of success in the recent past, Pesi scored a fine treble on Thursday to forge ahead considerably in the trainers tally. He is way ahead of the Cooji Katrak his archrival, notching up 18 winners as against Cooji’s eight. Knowing Cooji, he is not one to let go his title easily and you can expect the best from these two top-class trainers to launch a severe battle for supremacy this season. Thursday’s round went to Pesi decisively. He picked up three of the four races he had aspired to win. Hazel Morgan was the one who returned second best. Pesi started the day with a handsome victory with the piping hot favourite Chancellor (Ontario – Truffa) in the first race of the day. Chancellor was unchallenged both in the betting ring as well as on the track. At money-back, the only business the bookies would have done would have been on the place bets. Chancellor hit the front soon on start and into the straight gathered momentum at a brisk pace. Jockey Paul Mulrennan had precious little to do and for want of looking busy, cracked her couple of times as if to show he was earning his wages the hard way. Peregrine Falcon ran on to finish second and Deep Purple ended third. Spellbinder (Steinbeck – Psychic Flame) provided a back-to-back double for Pesi showing as they say a clean pair of heels and trouncing the opposition with effortless ease. Quoted at a nourishing 8/1, Spellbinder was all by herself in the final furlong. Sitting well up right behind Rio Del Ray, Spellbinder readily hit the front soon on straightening up. Track Thunder, the pubic rage, improved at the turn and tried to chase Spellbinder putting in a feeble and a futile attempt. Spellbinder bounded forward and drew away in a trice, the jockey Ruzaan driving her forward with every push. He pulled the whip out just in case, and hearing no commotion behind him tried to look for any possible threat but there wasn’t any. He turned back a couple of times more, probably in disbelief, but was certainly not complaining. Track Thunder put in a meek performance despite the efforts of McCullagh. Forward Charge gained on the favourite and snatched the runner up berth as well from the grasp of Track Thunder. St Vincent (Ikhtyar – Magick Sword) scored a brilliant victory on debut showing tremendous finishing effort to collar Lone Monarch in the final few strides. Showing good alacrity at the start, St Vincent sat second behind The Brave Heart until the turn. Lone Monarch, who was also in close vicinity, was the first to make a forward move and the whip-less jockey C Rajendra (he is deprived the use of whip) seemed to be going well when he opened up a handy lead going past the distance post. Mulrennan this time was not over-playing. He had to gather and force St Vincent into the top gear and was persistent with the debutante. With less than 50 metres to go and more than two lengths to cover, St Vincent suddenly sensed the urgency and rocketed forward to humble Lone Monarch strides before the winning post giving Paul Mulrennan a popular double. St Vincent has now tasted blood on debut and will be tougher to beat in his next outing. Trainer Mansoor Shah combined well with jockey Suraj Narredu and landed a lucrative double with Ka Ching and Pretty Commission for owner Haresh Mehta. Ka Ching (Glory of Dancer – Santella Katie) looked out of sorts in the early part of the race with Suraj putting in a lot of effort to goad the gelding who was lagging behind. Walking Tall collared the front running Fiery Fox midway up the straight and nosed ahead. Frangipani was moving along the rails but not troubling Walking Tall. The assault came towards the finish when Ka Ching produced a strong gallop and stormed past Walking Tall within smelling distance of the winning post. Pretty Commission (Alnasr Alwasheek – Priceless Asset) was a lot more authoritative in his victory. Hitting the front early, Pretty Commission and Highland Warrior were disputing the lead as the straightened for home. Hazel Morgan was right behind with Phosphor on the railing. Past the 400, Pretty Commission quickened well and surged ahead and kept the momentum going at a steady pace. It was clear at the distance post that the rest could only have a crack at the minor placing. Pretty Commission won drawing away. Hazel Morgan ran on to finish second. Tudor Regent and Algorithms were gaining ground and on the wire, the latter managed to nose ahead for the third place. Free Spirit (Tomba – Polistatic) looked as good as any of the dark bays who are blessed with impressive appearances. He looked very fit for the fray too! When Monarchos came into view passing Medtias Pride in the straight, Free Spirit was making headway with every stride. Monarchos was fighting a losing battle yet galloped on to finish a good runner up. Top Action worked his way for the third and old-timer Game of Power fought his way from way back to end in the judge’s frame. Blessings (Senure – Razana) won the last race of the day pulling off a good victory for his connections. It was a two way fight in the straight as Splendid Secret, the next in demand went ahead soon on turn. Blessings took her time to get into top gear but when she did, she tore away from Splendid Secret winning with a decent margin in the end. Both Blessings and Splendid Secret will both run well again. Mohabbi ran a good third and Seen It All ended was fourth close behind.