It was a moment he will cherish. Karthik Ganapathy had to wait for three long years for it to happen and finally the coronation at Guindy was well worth the wait. Second behind Adjudicate at Mysore a week before the first case of Corona was reported in India. Second again at Mahalaxmi last year, for more reasons than one and for no fault of hers, Juliette, come what may, it appeared had decided to prove a point at Chennai and so too her master Karthik Ganapathy. And in the showdown at sundown in Guindy, the grey put to sword three classic winners including the triple Derby winner Zuccarelli in effortless fashion. The two victories after she was given a shocking ride in the Indian Turf Invitation Cup at Mumbai only confirms that Juliette was very unfortunate to lose out at Mahalaxmi and that she is the best horse on the Indian racing circuit. 

It was good to spot the smile back on the face of Karthik and all credit to the pro for sending out Juliette spot on and in a mood to put the record straight.  The star performer was the sentimental favourite and the punters simply chose to support her big despite the fact that she was up against Zuccarelli. And the champion mare in a style of her own pulled the plug and fused out her five rivals to win the Champion Of Champions event in splendid style. A big roar in the stands when Chotu Singh Jodha was poised to assume command only confirmed that all Chennai wanted the champion to savour what she was denied and the railbirds loved it. 

"It was a splendid effort and she simply proved that she is the best. And all credit to Jodha. He produced a top draw effort on the big stage and it really means a lot to me. I was confident that Juliette will do it and I will cherish the moment she flashed past the post first," said Karthik . It simply was an astounding performance and Juliette is now the undisputed Queen. 

Unlike in her earlier starts, Chotu Singh Jodha chose to keep Juliette in a striking position and in fact the classy mare raced ahead of Zuccarelli for most part of the classic mile-and-half trip. The fast pace set by Souza, to assist stablemate of Zuccarelli in fact helped Juliette settle nice and easy and the moment Jodha reminded her of the task ahead rounding the final curve, she galloped home like one possessed to settle the issue even before the race came on a boil, her arch rival Zuccarelli and the other fancied contestant A Star Is Born struggling to make a race of it. Lagarde it was who gained the runner-up berth ahead of Zuccarelli while A Star Is Born finished a poor fourth. 

Smarting under the defeat at the hands of Giant Star in his last start, the Sulaiman schooled Cosmic Ray produced a champagne effort in the Maj.P K Mehra Memorial Super Mile Cup to emerge the best miler on the racing circuit. The winner confidently piloted by Trevor Patel tracked the leader Historian and the public choice Forest Flame for most part of the trip before the top English pro David Egan astride Forest Flame tried to runaway with the race at the top of the straight. But an alert Trevor and the star performer proved equal to the task, quickly gearing up and sealing the issue in the final furlong. Eternal Blaze from trainer Subbiah Ganapathy's yard finished third ahead of Giant Star. 

The presence of the Sprinters' Cup winner on Saturday, Multifaceted, in the Suresh Mahindra Multi-Million raised the competitive edge and it was the Sprinters' Cup winner, who was fancied most, punters swearing by the Darius ward to stand tall with two wins in the week-end racing extravaganza. But that didn't happen and it was Northern Alliance, a ten to one shot from Neil Devaney's yard who stole the limelight producing a sparkling gallop in the hands of Umesh to win the coveted trophy. Least fancied Knotty Dancer surprised most finishing second ahead of Multifaceted, while the second in demand at the betting ring Priceless Gold only managed to complete the frame. 

The young Neil Devaney who enjoyed a dream week-end leading in three winners, earlier struck it rich on Last Wish who proved too good in the hands of the in-form pro Antony Raj in the Dashmesh Stud Juvenile Million run over a distance of seven furlongs. The well-backed favourite, who had finished second behind Supernatural in the Breeders Produce Stakes at Mumbai made every post a winning one convincingly pegging back the challenge of King Louis, who opened the favourite at the start before money came pouring in on Last Wish and all wishes were fulfilled at the end. 

The fact that price on the favourite Allamanda from trainer Arjun Manglorkar's yard drifted alarmingly in the betting ring, (18/10) from (90/100)  put off a good number of big bettors who chose to stay away, advocating that all is not well, but the brave and bold who trusted the book of form were richly rewarded, Antony in line for a treble, packing punch on the public choice to romp home a deserving winner. Garamond who attracted support after many started to smell a rat, finished second ahead of Four Wheel Drive. Antony had earlier booted home the four to one shot Ashwa Morocco in the Sans Craintes Stud Juvenile Million run over a sprint. 

The Sovereign Orb and New Look were the other two winners on the big day. The former won the opening event beating the favourite Columbian, while the Hyderabad challenger New Look floored the followers of form in the Sumangala TMT Million run over a mile. The winner piloted by apprentice Gaurav Singh edged our Mr Kool, while the half-money favourite Stockbridge failed to display his true potential.