The moment the Darius Byramji-trained Cosmos enjoyed a sizable advantage at the scales in the Ashoka Chakra Cup run over a distance of nine furlong on Thursday's winter races, it was clear that this bred in the blue performer who is in great heart and more importantly on top of his game would be hard to down in the feature event. And this is exactly what happened, the well backed winner  romping home in the hands of leading pro Suraj Narredu without really raising a sweat. All credit to his trainer Darius who sent him out in top condition and Cosmos did make Darius proud and will continue to pose with his master at the podium in the weeks ahead. 

A number of top pros at this centre without appreciating the talent and performance are only pointing out that it was a gift but one must understand that in any sporting field one gains a big chance, be it a dropped catch or a no ball and one cannot simply point and fail to sportingly accept the result recorded in style by both the trainer and the horse. 

It is true that the terms of the race were totally loaded against Group race winners. As per the terms of the race, Well Connected who is a double classic winner was left to concede 7.5 kgs and this clearly put her out of the winning equation but like I said these things are part of any game as long as they are not introduced to gain favour or stop progress intentionally. This certainly was not the case here and as far as what can be done in future we can debate again and our pundits and some of the old hats in the game may provide a couple of good answers.

Well now back to track, Cosmos went to the starting gate looking the best on parade and he bolted in the moment Suraj asked him to quicken at the distance post. Salazaar from Irfan Ghatala's yard finished a game second ahead of Well Connected while Anjeze performed like a dud. 

Earlier Akita Pro from Irfan's yard surprised most railbirds winning the Kabini Cup. The punters are of the view that most horses from this stable race best when they are offered good odds and perform below par when they are fancied most. Well let's leave it to Irfan answer that while only pointing out that favourites from this yard do need to obtain better results. 

Last start winner Malwa on the strength of his last victory was expected to provide an encore but he failed to maintain the form and promise which he had displayed earlier this season and in subsequent morning trials and as a result was out of contention even before the race came on a boil. Regal Music did well to gain the runner-up berth and is one for the notebook. 

Rajesh Narredu trained Animal Queen dropped the biggest bombshell on a day punters returned home evens-stevens, four fancied horses coming through in the eight-event card. Apprentice jockey S Hussain took Animal Queen on a start to finish mission. The long-shot had a sizeable lead going into the final furlong and won with a measure of comfort over Asgardia who warmed up late. Donna Bella at one stage looked good to seize the initiative and score but lacked the gas in the tank at the all-important end. 

A smart last start winner, Sovereign Legend from trainer Padmanabhan's yard was touted a 'moral certainty' in the upper division of the Cordon Bleu Plate but the strongly fancied on-money favourite failed to reproduce his earlier sublime effort on debut and only managed to finish a poor third behind the impressive winner Katana and Realia from trainer Prasanna Kumar's yard.

Imtiaz Khan trained Twinkle Feet who was confidently fancied to land a good gamble did it in style. The winner in the hands of Ashad Asbar stormed up to gain control and put the issue beyond doubt in the final furlong. Black Coffee had some support in the betting but the horse dropped jockey Neeraj Rawal and bolted and was subsequently withdrawn.

You got to appreciate the confidence and patience of champion trainer Prasanna Kumar. He always believed that Astral Force was a good horse despite the fact that the horse time and again failed to realise his potential. He has scored with Astral Force already twice this season and the in-form player is likely to record a hat-trick. Electra did produce a good game gallop at end but that was just not good enough to steal the close verdict at the shadow of the winning post.

Sporting Memories had shown promise last time out with a good forward run and was well supported to win the World Soil Day Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds.The on-money favourite much to the relief of big favourite bettors edged out Redoubtable in a very close finish while Handsome came home third. 

On the basis of a mock race and eye-catching performances in the morning trials, Irfan Ghatala trained Garamond was considered a good bet in the opening event but the favourite flopped badly much to the chagrin of the followers of form. Lokanath`s Ombudsman won the event while Garamond was a disappointing third.