Shiraz Sunderji trained Desert Conqueror (Tirol – Voices of Spring) defied the handicapper and produced another sparkling run to register an encore in the P. B. Avasia Plate on Friday. Desert Conqueror was in fact provided this opportunity by the favourite Hugo, who was unable to shoulder the allotted top-weight. Hugo appeared cruising towards victory when he joined the issue with Celestrella opposite the stands but lacked the turn of foot to oblige his supporters. Desert Conqueror on the other hand accelerated nicely when apprentice D. K. Ashish alerted her and simply mowed down the two preferred choices of the public. But Desert Conqueror was not allowed the luxury of having an easy passage. Ponyta, who has blossomed after coming under the care of Asad Siddiqui, came with a powerful run towards the end but found the winning post coming to the rescue of the winner. In a similar finish, Magansingh Jodha’s ward Everybody Counts (Honour and Glory – Count the Stars) warded off the spirited bid of Melba to graduate from the maiden ranks. Everybody Counts was eased into the lead by Neeraj Rawal after Gypsy’s Advice had shot her bolt by the time the field had entered the home stretch. Hot Talent ended an easy third ahead of Gypsy’s Advice. Making hay while the sun shines was the mantra adopted by Bezan Chenoy and his protégé Silent Presence. The chestnut son of Greensmith out of Menorah cashed in on the discovery of his recent form and it was Morpheus who had to bear the brunt. The grey gelding from Faisal Abbas’ yard had done all the hard work from the word go but K. P. G. Appu’s persistence with Silent Presence meant that Morpheus would have to go empty-handed from Mahalaxmi this season. The Rising, though having remained on the sidelines for more than four months, had not lost his zest for racing and proved too good for his five rivals. The failure, or rather the reluctance, of Mister Fixit to slip into the lead from the barriers paved way for the S. N. Joshi trained The Rising (Forest Fair – Miss Padmini) to make most from the arisen situation. Nectar Jewel, it seemed, had made up his mind to hold back his true potential for the forthcoming Pune season and it was amusing to watch R. Shelar make a farcical attempt to display his “serious” intent on this Shiraz Sunderji trainee, who ended third. Nucleus (Diffident – Aquila) showed remarkable improvement over his recent form as he went on to score a stunning upset in the hands of M. Mark. The resident of M. K. Jadhav’s barns briefly encountered the threat posed by Pursuit of Power but thwarted her bid resolutely. Colour of Joy ran on late to finish runner-up. The rest of the fancied runners had taken a day off when it came to conducting serious business. Expensive Affair’s start-to-finish mission was foiled by Don Surti’s candidate Constantia (Storm Trooper – Number Thirty) in the concluding race of the day. Appu took the courageous decision of hitting the front with Expensive Affair despite the fact that Dallas Todywalla’s ward was conceding chunks of weight to her opponents. Appu’s gamble almost paid off but Constantia and her saddle partner Zameer Sayyed had other ideas. Zameer however had to dig deep into the reserves of Constantia to pip Expensive Affair near the post. Fire N Desire ran thereabouts to be third ahead of Pacemaker who too figured among the front runners. Premier Image ran disappointingly to finish in the rut.