The small six-race card did not throw any surprises although only two tote favourites obliged on the day. Watch My Stride (Whatsthescript – Flamingo Fan) who travelled to Chennai for the Guindy Grand Prix (Gr3), shrugged off his defeat behind there and bounced back to score with authority.

Watch My Stride tailed leader Hard to Toss coming into the straight with Ashwa Raudee and City of Passion close behind. Hard To Toss squandered a handy lead as he could not sustain beyond the distance post. Akshay Kumar hustled Watch My Stride and the Sequeira trained gelding responded with a good burst of speed to tear away from the rest and score in an emphatic manner. He won by close to the three lengths without encountering any challenge. Trump Star surged past Hard To Toss to take the second slot.

Deshmukh trained Moringa (Leitir Mor – Mooring) thrived under jockey P Trevor, tasting her maiden victory on her 11th start. Trevor held Moringa in the mid-bunch for most of the journey and finished with a splendid turn of foot to romp home an easy winner. Queen Daenerys led them into the straight but could not kick on. NRI Touch shaped well in the early half of the straight as closed in on the leader briskly. Moringa started to devour ground approaching the distance post and once he started to accelerate, it was all over for the rest. Moringa zipped ahead showing dazzling speed and stretched away to win by two and three-quarter lengths, amply justifying the strong support he received. NRI Touch ended a decent second, beating the rest comprehensively. Grand Finale, who raced in the rear initially, improved positions to finish in the money.

Laxman Singh’s Jean Lafette (Knight’s Tour – Jeux De Danse) made ample amends for her last start failure to get her memorable first win. She did have some anxious moments though with the erratic Bandit King right in front of her.

Bruno guided them into the straight and was galloping reasonably well. Bandit King was close behind along the rails, while Salisbury and Star Cruise were not really threatening. Galwan was a poor shadow too and looked out of sorts. Jockey Ajinkya moved up with Jean Lafette, Bandit King shifted out, taking Jean Lafette with him. There was a tussle, but fortunately Jean Lafette wriggled out of what could have put her in a spot of bother and produced a fiery gallop to dash ahead and beat Bruno to the wire by just a length. Bruno ended a decent second, while Bandit King held off Miss Little Angel for the third.

Moonlight Ruby (Smuggler’s Cove -  Exemplary) trained by Faiyaz Khan, showed considerable improvement over her last start third and reversed the position vis-à-vis Able Love who had finished ahead in their last encounter.

Ashwa Pushkin darted into the lead with Able Love in chase along with Zeus and Moonlight Ruby along the rails. Ashwa Pushkin weakened soon on turning for home and Able Love cruised past to take charge. Moonlight Ruby, with Neeraj Rawal up, gathered momentum and inched closer to Able Love. Zeus was taking his time getting into the rhythm, while Zamazenta after taking the turn slightly wide was making some headway. Moonlight Ruby put her neck in front in the final furlong and though Able Love tried hard to rally, she found Moonlight Ruby hard to catch. Moonlight Ruby held on to win by a length from Able Love. Zamazenta edged out Zeus for the place stakes.

Star Babe (Top Class – Bold Babe) provided trainer Sequeira his second win for the day with jockey Rohit Kumar switching lanes deftly to get the clear run to seal the issue closer home.

Red River led the field from the start and had Air Salute, Hopscotch, NRI Gift and Star Babe close behind, racing in a closely knit bunch. On turning for home, Red River was driven all out to stay in contention. NRI Gift progressed slightly, while Air Salute and Hopscotch were struggling to keep up. Big Day looked prominent when she quickened and got to the fighting bunch in front. Star Babe was stuck behind horses and had to manoeuvre her way outward and once she got the clear run, she charged in at a great clip. The moment she dashed past Big Day she looked home and dry. Sheldon put in a powerful finish, but could only manage to edge out Big Day and that was no mean task. Sheldon ended a noteworthy second, just a length behind Star Babe.

Jockey Akshay Kumar signed off the day with his second win this time astride trainer Hassan’s Top In Class (Top class – Bella) in the concluding race of the day. Golden Forza had a sizable lead after guiding the field into the homestretch, but failed to kick on. California Beauty got past the leader easily but could not stop Flamingo Fame, who seemed to be shaping well enough. However, Top In Class lit up and produced a blazing run to outpace Flamingo Flame to win convincingly, stretching away from Flamingo Flame. Top In Class opened his account after failing to hit the frame in both his previous starts. Flamingo Flame will live to fight another day, finishing just over a length behind the winner. California Beauty did well until she was overwhelmed by the top two.

For the professionals, trainer RH Sequeira and jockey Akshay Kumar scored a double each.