Miss Marvellous (Crimson China – Gamay Beaujolais) was the star performer of the day scoring a fluent victory to clinch the Srinivasa Sadagopa Sharma Memorial Cup Division I a mile affair. Miss Marvellous settled in the fifth spot as Ashwa Arjun led them until the turn and bowed out. Jockey Suraj Narredu made steady progress as they began to wheel round the corner and cruised past the new leader Royal Style soon on turning for home. A friendly tap got Miss Marvellous going and the L D’Silva trained filly accelerated sweetly to run away from the field. She piled up seven-lengths-plus over the hapless lot and her win came effortlessly. Yogastha ran on to beat Royal Style for the runner-up slot.

Laxman Singh trained Best In Show (Tazahum – Dubai Spirit) won the lower division of the race with a strong finishing effort to down Red River who was shaping well until she was floored in the final few strides. Red River got off to a quick start and looked good entering the straight with a handy cushion. Best In Show started to chase down Red River, while Nova Scotia had to do a lot of running in the homestretch. Red River fought on stubbornly, not making it any easier for Best In Show, however, jockey Robbie Dawney exerted that extra power out of his mount to surge past Red River and carve out a narrow victory. Nova Scotia progressed in the final furlong, but had given away too much leeway. All he could do was cut down the margin to finish close behind Red River.

Honest Hunter (Gaswar – Kilspindie) was resolute in her final run and had to battle rivals on either side. Rahil was in the lead along with Classy Guy as they turned for home. These two were fighting neck and neck when Honest Hunter and favourite Star Envoy came up with a game challenge. Pentagon was trying hard to stay in contention as well.

With a furlong to go, Classy Guy weakened and Rahil was galloping hard with Honest Hunter and Star Envoy breathing down his neck. Jockey BR Kumar rode his heart out and got the best out of the Waseem Ahmed ward to go for the final push and seal the race just in time. Star Envoy narrowly failed to nail it, while Rahil and Pentagon finished alongside the top two in a thrilling finish.

Sreekant trained Nayadeep (Gusto – Fast Escape) produced a fiery gallop at the business half of the homestretch to tame Dandy Man and company. Sitting in fourth position as Siyabonga hit the front and led them all the way into the straight. One One One shaped well for a brief while as he got close to Siabonga, but when Nayadeep pushed the pedal, it was all over. Nayadeep, with jockey Irvan Singh in the saddle, scorched the turf with a blazing finish to shut the competition out in the final furlong. Dandy Man put in a good effort, but just could not match the speed of Nayadeep who won drawing away. Dandy Man saw a good effort going down, beaten to second by a better horse on the day. Once More put in a good dash from behind to pick up the third spot ahead of Miss Lily. Both Siyabonga and One One One disappointed.

Ashwa Virrat (Leitir Mor – Silent Crystal) made ample amends over his loss on debut to win pulling up this time in the hands of jockey Suraj Narredu. The was a brief moment of tussle as Ashwa Virrat was looking to wriggle out and poke through between early leader Melting Ice and Horus approaching the distance post and Suraj poked through between the two with an aggressive approach. The jostle squeezed Melting Ice who had to be checked along the rails. Ashwa Virrat then stormed ahead and drew away from Horus. Advance Guard improved in the final furlong to finish ahead of Melting Ice.

The concluding race saw an exciting finish with jockey Akshay Kumar riding all out astride L D’Silva trained Diesis Dream (Hymn – Dream Dance) to hold on narrowly from the fast finishing Halo’s Princess. Diesis Dream was on a start to finish mission and led them into the straight. He upped the ante on turning for home with a couple of lengths lead and raced ahead towards the finish. Halo’s Princess picked up momentum but did falter as she hung out a tad at a crucial juncture. Diesis Dream galloped relentlessly doing everything possible and hoping for the post to arrive soon. Halo’s Princess inched closer with every stride but in the end, Diesis Dream had enough legs to roll on past the line keeping nose in front at the wire to achieve her maiden success after 21 previous attempts. The throwing her head outward in the final run cost Halo’s Princess dearly. Hurricane managed to ward off favourite London Bridge for the third place.

For the professionals, trainer L D’Silva and jockey Suraj Narredu notched up a double each.