Laxman Singh trained Downtown Gal (Multidimensional – Cest Bon) showed a lot more improvement than Mirana did after their Guineas tryst and galloped away to reverse the ‘place’ verdict of the classic won by Lombardy. The fact the Mirana had come from behind and beaten the Gal for the runner-up berth saw Mirana being installed the favourite. However, Downtown Gal dominated all through the homestretch leaving Mirana panting and in futile pursuit.

Jockey Neeraj Rawal had Downtown Girl well settled close to the front runners, racing in fifth position. The lead kept changing in the early stages and Cincia Azzurra shot ahead to lead until the halfway mark after which Egyptian Prince tore away from the pack. Downtown Gal awaited her time Neeraj showing no urgency whatsoever even as they wheeled around the corner.

It was all Downtown Gal once they entered the straight as the filly showed a lot of speed and class cutting down the three length lead amassed by Egyptian Prince in no time. Once ahead, Neeraj had precious little to do as Downtown Gal accelerated fluently and was stretching away from her rivals. Mirana moved up from the mid bunch and started her chase, but just could not catch up with the winner. Downtown Gal won on easing up and that perhaps helped Mirana keep the margin down to less than two lengths. While Downtown Gal impressed, Mirana was cleared off colour in her finish, but she certainly is not to be written off. Given time, she should bounce back.

Ravindra Singh trained Wah Ms Zara (Sedgefield – Cozumel) arrived all guns blazing in the final few strides to spoil the party for Incredulous, who had just then managed to ward off Xfinity and was shaping to pull it off. Jockey P Trevor got Wah Ms Zara to produce a big final burst and the filly charged in with giant strides to overwhelm Incredulous by half a length. Xfinity ended a close third.

The Prospect (Be Safe – Elenor) became the Champion Be Safe’s first progeny to achieve a winning bracket and he did so after two promising starts. The Prospect looked good as he marched off to lead the field and looked even more assuring in the homestretch. He was hard held almost all the way and galloped majestically to stay well ahead of his rivals to notch his maiden victory by two lengths plus without being extended. Surely an encore is on the cards for this impressive winner. Keystone, for her debut, didn’t do too badly and finished a decent second, finishing well ahead of Bruno and some of the more experienced runners. Keystone too should have her moment in the sun before long. Bruno toiled hard to finish in the money.

Look of Love and Beautiful Luv were touted as the two prime fancies and the pair provided an exciting finish in a gripping fight that went to the wire. This one was a long drawn battle which started right from the outset. Beautiful Luv shot into the lead and had Look of Love on her tail and these two entered the straight with a pack of four a couple of lengths behind them. It was clear soon enough that the two in front were only the ones in serious contention. Although Belle Springs did finish strongly ending a close third at the post, she never looked a threat. Beautiful held sway almost all the way with Look of Love in hot pursuit. Jockey P Trevor rode his heart out as did Akshay Kumar and the duo battled all the way to the post with Look of Love craning her neck just in time to pip Beautiful luv on the post. The finish was an engaging one and while Look of Love pulled off a well-fought win, Beautiful Luv too shared the honours as a gallant runner up. Belle Springs arrived late on the scene and covered a lot of leeway and did well to finish just another half a length behind the top two finishers. That run was suggestive and Belle Springs looks on advancing mode.

Advance Guard (Air Support – Six Sigma) too was on advancing mode this season, showing a leap of improvement with each run. True to the trend, the Sreekant ward brought up his maiden victory on the day, guided by ace jockey Suraj Narredu.

NRI Touch led them in with Sputnic putting up a spirited challenge; Moringa was making headway on the outside while Suraj got enough gap along the rails to slip through. Not one to wait for a second invitation, Suraj slipped through the rails immediately and made a quick forward charge. Advance Guard responded well and surged ahead working up a handy lead approaching the distance post. While the others were closing in, Advance Guard never let his guard down and galloped on strongly until he reached the  safety of the winning post. Moringa progressed well to beat Sputnic for the runner-up ebrth with NRI Touch breathing down their necks. Unstoppable finished one off the frame, but close enough to be sighted.

Maxwell (Crimson China – Amazon Sky) scored a facile win, living up to the expectation that had built around him in his last start second place effort. Jockey Akshay Kumar did not wait too long before darting to the front and Maxwell entered the straight looking in fine rhythm. The Sreekant trainee made steady progress in the straight and within a couple of strides, was bounding further away from the rest. He was all alone in front in the final furlong and with no threat in sight, Akshay eased his mount yet managed to win by three lengths. Promiseofhappiness did well to finish second, while Once More improved considerably, covering a lot of ground to finish in the money.

K Sateesh trained Blissful (Net Whizz – Incanto Bliss) bore the uncertainty of the sport, hitting the fancied lot like a bolt from the blue. On his third start, with no previous indication that he is one to reckon with, Blissful despite a shaky start, came from a fair distance behind to stun the field while picking up her maiden victory. Blink of an Eye led them in and soon faded out of contention. Chuckit, who has been consistent this season along with Four One Four, started to make a break for it. Four One Four too was looking good as they dashed past the distance post. Green Turf was working hard and was contesting with the pair when Blissful launched an all-out attack. Jockey Nakhat Singh was at his best when he charged in from the outside to pass them all and carved out a narrow victory beating Chuckit by a short-head. Four One Four finished on the haunches of Chuckit beating Green Turf by a head for the place money.

Brisbane (Phoenix Tower – Dance to the Tune) provided another thriller in the concluding race picking up her maiden victory on her third start.  Dunkirk looked well on her way as she slipped along the rails and wrested the lead. She had Barbosella, Brisbane and NRI Vision to contend with as they were the nearest and too close for comfort. Brisbane showed good maturity and stood up to fight. NRI Vision too moved up to take them on. Barbosella could not sustain but hung on. Dunkirk had a slight upper hand with less than 100 to go and Brisbane was giving it everything to put it across Dunkirk. The bob of the heads went in favour of Brisbane who got it right in the nick of time to get a memorable first win. Dunkirk fell agonisingly short after putting in a gallant performance. NRI Vision fought well and was rewarded with the place money.

For the professionals, trainer Sreekant and jockey Trevor scored a double each.