Vulcan (Sedgefield – Shinning Force, Jai Govind Stud) benefitted by an astute piece of ridding by ace jockey Sandesh to clinch the Cricket Club of India Trophy for Class I horses, run over 2400 meters. Sagittarius got past Momentum soon on settling down to lead the field of four through the backstretch. Momentum, Magistero and Vulcan followed in that order in a single file. They went about their motions in the same order of running until Sandesh decided to get down to business.

Sandesh made quick headway around the halfway stage and got past Megistero and Momentum to join Sagittarius just before the final turn. Vulcan galloped strongly in the straight with Sandesh riding the Adhiraj Jodha trainee aggressively. In comparison, apprentice jockey Prakash paled. He was weak in his pushing and seemed under pressure. Sandesh got the best out of Vulcan and persisted with his strong riding to skip away in the final furlong and that handy lead that he compiled stood him in good stead as Sagittarius, also a confirmed stayer, rallied on to inch closer. Eventually Vulcan was able to stave off the renewed challenge and carve out a narrow victory over Sagittarius. Megistero and Momentum were clearly outpaced.   

David Allan too was at his fighting best astride Silver Flames (Leitir Mor – First and Only One, Ponawalla Stud) to claim the Garware Club Trophy. This one was a long drawn battle over the 1000 m scurry, with Silver Flames and Joplin getting past Wild Fire and Impala with ease. Mystic Bay was cramped up at the start and tailed the field throughout until after the turn.

Joplin was a neck ahead with 400m to go with Silver Flames looming large on the outside. Mystic bay was a couple of lengths behind these two and had to switch lanes and in doing all that lost valuable time. That said, Silver Flames was not letting Joplin get away and after sticking by until into the final furlong, the Altaf Hussain trained gelding started to flex his muscles. He headed Joplin soon after and although Joplin tried gallantly, Silver Flames had the slight edge in the final few strides. He won by a neck in an interesting battle that was savoured for long, right through the homestretch. Mystic Bay ended third a length and half behind the pair.

Intense Approach (Western Aristocrat – Amber Valley, Manju Stud) returned the most impressive winner on the day and was also the shortest priced runner as well. Jockey Nicky Mackay held him back in the third spot as Fairmont led them into the straight. Curfew showed good paces early in the straight and shot past the leader. Intense Approach found day light and the Sunderji trained gelding got going briskly to cruise past them all and rule the latter half of the homestretch all by himself. Jockey Nicky Mackey eased him up long before the winning post and also looked over his shoulder closer home while achieving a maiden success for Intense Approach. Accenture did well for a first run to beat Curfew for the runner-up sash.

Trainer Pesi Shroff sent out three winners in the day starting with Nekhbet in the opening race of the day. Beemer led them into the straight but was soon challenged by Mishka’s Pride. Nekhbet joined the issue a few strides later but Mishka’s Pride was the one who seemed to have the upper hand approaching the distance post. Beemer tried his best to stay in contention, but weaked in the last 100 meters. Nekhbet, in the hands of app PS Kavraj, started to gain on Mishka’s Pride. Tasman too started to draw closer to the pair, but his was an effort too late. Mishka’s Pride and Nekhbet flashed past the post licked together with the photo showing Nekhbet nosing out Mishka’s Pride by a whisker. Tasman ended less than a length behind the top two.

Shorff then saddled Eagleinthesky (Footstepsinthesand – Trumbaka, Nanoli Stud) in the second race of the day for back-to-back successes. Eagleinthesky led right from start in the 2000m race and led all the way into the straight setting a decent pace.

Once in the straight, Eagleinthesky, with Neeraj Rawal astride, galloped persistently, not making it easy for the hot favourite Galloping Goldmine who was searching for his fourth career win. Galloping Goldmine looked on course when he caught up Eagleinthesky early in the straight. But just when it looked like the favourite would be hard to contain, Eagleinthesky produced that extra bit in the final furlong. Jockey Neeraj Rawal rode all out and stayed just ahead all the time to ward off the challenger and etch out by less than a length. Galloping Goldmine did most things right, but had to be content with the runner-up berth.

Pesi then struck his third win with Anatevka (Multidimensional – Smashing, Usha Stud) with apprentice PS Kaviraj guiding the mare to her second straight win, fourth overall. Anatevka made quick progress around the turn to improve position and surface from the mid-bunch to be in striking position on straightening up.

Frieze had just taken charge   and was speeding away and Anatevka started to chase her down. Although Jetfire, Epiphany, Ebony were close behind at that point, none could get any closer to the fighting duo in front. Frieze put in a determined effort and fought every inch of the ground across the stands. Anatevka was resolute too and got stronger at the finish. She did take a while, but finally managed to peg back Frieze in the last couple of strides to settle the issue, winning it by a neck. Jetfire ended a faraway third.

Palomar (Surfrider – Leit Motif, Ruia Stud), saddled by Altamash Ahmed, found his touch after a bad run to pull off a dramatic win with a late dash. Mikayla’s Pride, Memorable Eyes and Dreams were in the thick of action when Guarnerius rallied from the rear and charged through between horses to storm ahead. While Mikayla’s Pride was done it, Memorable Eyes fought on to stay in contention. Palomar appeared from nowhere with a late but scintillating dash to floor the fighting duo and snatch the verdict in a thrilling finish. Jockey NS Parmar timed his assault to perfection and reaped rich rewards for a well-ridden race. Guarnerius was overwhelmed close home and Memorable Eyes ended just half a length further behind.

Divine Hunt (Arazan – Nearness of You, Poonawalla Stud) was heavily backed to win the last race of the day and he did so, but not without a scare. Luminosity was the one to pull away and gallop gleefully, hurtling towards the winning post. Divine Hunt, trained by Altaf Husssain, was ridden hard by jockey P Trevor and the lad had to use all his skill, and experience to nail it. He began to bridge the gap past the distance post and he found a little more depth as Divine Hunt galloped strongly in the last few strides to carve out victory by less than a length. Luminosity was a gallant second and was a tad unlucky not to hold on for another couple of strides. Macau, also among the fancied runners, finished a tame third.

For the professionals, trainer Pesi Shroff scored a treble and Altaf Hussain a double, jockey PS Kavraj scored a double as well.