Juliette continued her romance with the turf and perhaps dished out her best on the day, while also promising that more is yet to come! She looked a beauty on parade when they turned for home for the stretch-run in the Darashaw Indian St Leger (Gr1). Here too, she spent just what was needed and not an ounce of energy more than what was required. A short burst to get her going and once she was in front and picked up momentum, jockey Sandesh let her go on cruise mode in the final 100 m or so. Yet Juliette compiled over seven lengths to Wizard of Stock and that is something out of the ordinary. 

Wizard of Stock expectedly hit the front leading all the way until into the straight, galloping at an easy pace for more than half the 2800m distance. Sir Supremo raced in second with Parisian and Anjeze following close behind. Juliette was well off with only Daddy’s Pride behind her. 

The pace picked up past the 1000m marker with Wizard of Stock still enjoying a slender lead. Parisian got closer to the leader and Juliette too readying herself for the final showdown. At this point, Sir Supremo seemed in distress and was obviously injured as he bowed out turning for home. It is learnt that he will survive and will now enjoy a well-deserved retirement. 

Juliette (Musketier – Gimmesumsugar, Sohna Stud) didn’t wait too long to get down to business. She unleashed a terrific burst of speed as if waiting for her jockey to let her loose. Within a few strides she trounced both Parisian and Wizard of Stock and stretched away within a blink of an eye. Once well inside the final furlong, Sandesh enjoyed the breeze and let the momentum take them all the way past the post. Wizard of stock battled hard to hold off Parisian for the second position. 

“It was heartening to watch Juliette win the way she did,” exclaimed trainer Karthik, who was overjoyed and clearly showed his fondness for the mare. “I was pretty confident that she would win, but her manner of victory is something I was pleasantly surprised by to be honest. She is strong from within and has overcome injury and hard times, yet she bounced back well to pick up the two races on the Pune track. I only need to keep her happy now for her future assignments.” Needless to say, the forthcoming Invitation Cup is now her next target and quizzed on her chances there, Kathik said, “Well, I think she is peaking to her best now, it’s for all to see. She will be taking on the younger lot in the Invitation Cup, but I would say she is as youthful as ever and I would most humbly add that in my opinion, her best is yet to come. I feel blessed to have Juliette in my stables,” concluded Karthik with a hint of pure joy in his voice. 

It was a day of the feminine gender and Super Girl winning the first race of the day, in hindsight, seemed a clue to that. Another newbie filly Miracle (Multidimensional – Khalila, Usha Stud) displayed class, speed and temperament to clinch the prestigious Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million (Gr1) with unexpected ease. The Pesi Shroff trained filly lined up her third straight win, showing marked improvement with each run. This was a big stage for the juveniles and Miracle was nimble on her feet after weaving her way through between a packed bunch to unleash a final flourish to win by a good margin of three lengths. 

Ascoval took off well and led the field early with Knight In Hooves in second; Miracle was in the fifth or sixth spot and between horses approaching the turn. Ascoval shaped well on turning for home and had a handy lead too. While Knight In Hooves was finding it tough, Miracle was urged to break free and make a quick forward surge. Jockey PS Chouhan then pushed Miracle to join Ascoval approaching the distance post. Miracle quickened well and accelerated fluently thereafter sealing the issue in the final furlong by speeding away from the rest to win with a measure of comfort. Allamanda improved well to take the second spot beating the rest by two and half lengths, while Spinoza too came from way behind to peg back Ascoval for the third spot. 

Truly Epic (Mull of Kintyre – Sun Control, Sohna Stud) booted home the advantage he enjoyed on the weights to arrive with a good late finish and beat Lightning Bolt by a narrow margin. Truly Epic was last of the five runners until into the straight. Majestero led them in with Bronz in second. Considering Bronz was racing after a long layoff, he did well to carry the top weight (61kg) and dart past Magistero to grab the lead. But the weight told on him and soon Lightning Bolt stormed past to take charge. While Trouvaille was there but could not reproduce what he used to, Truly Epic started to eat up ground at a brisk rate. He caught up with Lightning Bolt a few meters from the post and then surged ahead to carve out a narrow ¾ lengths victory. Lightning Bolt ended a gallant second. 

Sunderji trained Menilly (Leitir Mor – Star Goddess, Poonawalla Stud) rallied well from the last position to work up tremendous speed at the business end to toss Ms Boss out of her long reign she held from the start until beaten. Ms Boss looked good when she entered the straight with a slender lead as both Exotic Queen and Highland Lass who were close behind were labouring to stay in contention. Aegon started to flex his muscles, but even before he could get going, Menilly arrived with Sandesh in the saddle. Into the final furlong, Ms Boss still had a useful lead, but Menilly came swooping down on her and shot ahead a couple of strides from the winning post to win by a length. Ms Boss ended second a good two lengths ahead of Aegon, who just about held on from the fast finishing Belenus. 

Petronia (Kingda Ka – Smoke Ring, Nanoli Stud) improved on her debut second to score her maiden victory on her second start. Jockey Zervan had to work hard to guide the Hoshidar Daji trained filly home as Alastair provided a tough fight all through. Alastair got off to a steady start and led the field with Petronia right behind, followed by Multiencrypted. These three did not allow any to get past. 

Alastair shaped well entering the homestretch, but he learnt soon that the long Mumbai straight is tough to sustain. Petronia too had to dig deep and was also under pressure. It was clear soon enough that the fight was going to be between these two and with both of them equal to the task, the duel was long and gripping. Petronia got alongside Alastair inside the final furlong, but Alastair stuck by stubbornly. It took a special effort in the last few strides for Petronia to prevail by half a length. Multiencrypted ended third while River Song improved to finish in the frame. 

Desert Fire (Arazan – Lady Angharad, Villoo’s Greenfield Farm) showed commendable improvement over his previous runs to achieve his maiden success on his fifth attempt. He was off to a quick start and dominated the race all the way home. Noble King, the pre-race favourite didn’t show early speed and worse, he got caught between horses to race in the rear, thereby losing all his chances. 

Desert Fire on the other hand, was gaining in speed once they turned for home and jockey J Chinoy kept the Narendra Lagad ward going to score by a good margin of over three lengths. Wave Runner chased the winner home, while Thea’s Pet managed to pip Divija for third place. 

Super Girl (Arazan – Mauna Kea, Poonawalla Stud) had it easy all the way and justified the cramped odds offered on her. The SS Shah trainee was cut above the rest as she went into the lead and then won as she liked. Super Girl turned the heat on her rivals in the homestretch, galloping majestically while adding turf and distance with each stride, eventually winning by over 10 lengths. Little More edged out Dowsabel for the runner-up berth.   

Shroff trained Mandeville (Multidimensional – Ambrosia, Usha Stud) showed a clean pair of heels and was a colt on a mission alright! He sat back in the mid-bunch as Melisandre entered the straight with a handy lead. Mandeville improved positions rapidly around the turn and collared Melisandre in a trice after entering the homestretch. He then dominated the stretch with a top notch gallop and was clearly far superior to the rest. Jockey PS Chouhan didn’t have to work too hard and Mandeville cruised home by close to four lengths, without being extended. Brazos did well to finish second ahead of Memorable Moments and Multistarrer.  

Altaf Hussain trained Divine Hunt (Arazan – Nearness of You, Villoo’s Greenfield Farm) bounced back to form with a determined effort to smother a stiff challenge from White River to survive by the skin of his teeth. Genau and Auroden were in the lead as they turned for home, but were soon challenged and passed by Divine Hunt. Dreams started to open up and begin her chase. Black Cherry moved to the outside and in-between White River too started to make headway. Divine Hunt was challenged strongly by Dreams, but the latter could not sustain and fell back. White River made a serious effort and flew in the final few strides and it appeared that White River may have just about made it, however, the photo finish result went in favour of Divine Hunt who just about held on to win in a cracker of a finish. White River fell shy by a nose, while Dreams just about held off Black Cherry for the third spot. 

For the professionals, trainer Pesi Shroff saddled a double, while jockeys Sandesh and PS Chouhan scored a double each.