Followers of favourite enjoyed a profitable day as most of the races panned out on expected lines. Corfe Castle (Excellent Art – Miss Danehill) was strongly fancied to win the day’s feature, the Governor’s Cup. Perhaps the colt’s ordinary showing at both in Hyderabad at the end of the last season and at Bangalore fetched his backers higher odds than the field would suggest and at 13/10 the punters made a bee line to wager on the L D’Silva ward.

Corfe Castle went about it in a clinical fashion, settling down to chase leader Phenomenal Cruise with the rest following a couple of lengths behind. Corfe Castle collard Phenomenal Cruise approaching the distance post with jockey Akshay Kumar riding out hands and heels while drawing away from the field. Corfe Castle brought about his sixth career win and certainly looks good for more. Phenomenal Cruise did well to take the runner-up berth keeping Like Wise at bay.

Isabelle (Excellent Art – Messalina) saddled by trainer Laxman Singh, was made to sweat just a bit before she got the measure of Classic Remark. However, she never looked in any danger and it was only a matter of time and a couple of strides before she called the bluff.

Classic Remark darted to the front soon on start with Isabelle on his tail and Trump Girl just behind in third. Once they turned for home, Classic Remark and Isabella pulled away from the rest. Isabella drew level with Classic Remark past the 400 m mark and whilst the universal expectation was Isabella would sail away, Classic Remark showed grit and courage to stick by the favourite all the way until into the final furlong. That gave the crowd lots to shout about, but jockey Suraj Narredu confidently rode the filly out to eventually romp home in style. Classic Remark was remarkable in offering resistance for as long as he did, ending a good second. Trump Girl would be disappointed as she raised no gallop while finishing a faraway third.

Mozambique (Western Aristocrat – Jahanara) continued his domination with another superlative victory in the division I of the CR Bhoopal Memorial Plate. Jockey Akshay Kumar had little to do as Mozambique drew level with the front running Arc of History soon on turning for home. Mozambique didn’t need to fire on all cylinders as he surged ahead smoothly and stretched out majestically without needing any assistance from the saddle. He piled up a huge lead to win by an inspiring margin. Arc of History stayed on to take the runner up berth comfortably ahead of Warrior Prince. Royal Dynamite edged out Asteria for a slot in the frame.

The lower division of the race saw a thrilling finish. Gorgeous Lady led them into the straight and galloped on gamely without showing any signs of giving up. Favourite Marina Del Rey had to dig deep to tackle the unexpected and stiff challenge posed by the leader. Soon the battling duo was joined by News O’ Star who was finishing on powerfully. The trio was abreast inside the final furlong, going all out and in full flight. News O’ Star was ably ridden by apprentice jockey Gaurav Singh who launched the Ravindra Singh ward into an all-out attack mode and News O Star managed to pip Marina Del Rey on the post. Gorgeous Lady ended a close third.

Jockey Akshay Kumar had begun the day well on a positive note guiding Prasad Raju’s Flamingo Flame (Burden of Proof – Flamingo Fan) to her maiden victory. Akshay settled Flamingo Flame close behind leader Carmella and Original Temptress with Moskova alongside.

Carmella kicked on in the straight with Flamingo Flame poised threateningly along the inner rails. Original Temptress was running out of gas and Moskova too was not getting anywhere. Flamingo Flame stormed into the lead past the distance post at a good clip to clinch the issue. Alliston came with a nippy finish to end a good second finishing on the haunches of the winner. Ayur Shakti too progressed well to finish in the money.

Apprentice jockey Rohit Kumar has been impressive this season with his form and riding skills and his stocks are certainly rising at a quick rate. He is high on confidence too and it showed in his handling favourite Freedom Fire (Excellent Art – Strawberry Fields) to a facile victory.

Freedom Fire hit the front soon on settling down and never looked back thereafter. He grew stronger in the straight and soon stretched away from Diesis Dream who was in chase all the while. Freedom Fire found no resistance at any stage and romped home to score a memorable maiden victory by a healthy margin. Diesis Dream kicked on and just about managed to stay ahead from the fast finishing Rhine for the runner-up berth. Rhine was sluggish at the start and was not fluent in the straight either, yet he finished a good third. With a little bit of maturity, Rhine could fare better.

The race card inadvertently saved the best for the last. My Journey (Tazahum – Berry Girl) saddled by Laxman Singh scored an impressive victory which was easily the most impressive performance of the day. Jockey Suraj Narredu only had to guide My Journey from the outside draw at the start and the bay colt cruised in well to settle behind Darshish until into the straight.

Once into the homestretch, My Journey reigned supreme as he galloped away fluently to outpace his opponents completely. Even commentator Shiva Prasad attributed a quote to My Journey as though the colt was saying “count my strides” as he galloped away to pulverize his hapless rivals, winning by a whopping nine lengths effortlessly. Alta Vita improved to finish second ahead of long-time leader Darshish.

For the professionals, trainer Laxman and jockey Akshay Kumar scored a treble each, while jockey Suraj Narredu chipped in with a double.