Adhiraj Jodha trained Dangerous (Speaking of Which – Transformation, Usha Stud) put in a determined effort to quell the stiff challenge posed by hot favourite King’s Ransom and etched out a narrow victory to bag the prestigious Forbes Breeders’ Juvenile Fillies’ Championship (Gr3) in a thrilling battle that went down to the wire. Dangerous, who had won her debut race at Chennai, thus kept a clean slate returning an impressive two from two to kick start her career gallantly.

King’s Ransom got off to an ominous start as she veered out at the jump but soon returned to the right course, settling at the tail end of the field. Dear Lady led the way until into the straight with Fashion Icon in second, followed by Dangerous and King’s Ransom.

Jockey CS Jodha began to scrub his filly approaching the final turn and showed the urgency for grabbing the lead soon on turning for home. He urged Dangerous vigorously and sailed past Fashion Icon and Dear Lady with ease. King’s Ransom had to wait a stride to skirt around Dangerous before making her bid to chase down the new leader. At one moment it looked like King’s Ransom had the measure of Dangerous as she joined the front runner on cruise mode, but Dangerous was not done yet. She was equal to the task and stuck alongside her challenger.

The two fillies battled hard for more than a furlong and for the most part of the battle King’s Ransom seemed to have a slight upper hand! Jockey CS Jodha went all-out as did Chouhan, however, at the all-important end, Dangerous put her nose up at the right moment and scraped through to win by a short-head. King’s Ransom was gallant in defeat as she fought fiercely all the way. Fashion Icon and Dear Lady finished too far behind.

Satish Narredu trained Imperial Power (Multidimensional – Majestic Opinion, Usha Stud) was ridden well by Suraj Narredu and managed to avenge the defeat in the PBMM. This time the roles were reversed as Imperial Power had the first run with Dexa trying to chase him down.

Hooves of Thunder made the early running with Imperial Power in second; Wordsmith was third followed by Dexa and Sadler’s Legacy.

Imperial Power gathered momentum soon on turning for home and sailed past the leader. Wordsmith was trying hard to pick up, when Dexa started to come through from the outside. Sadler’s Legacy was also picking up and just when he was about to take off, Wordsmith moved in and closed the gap. Sadler’s Legacy had to be checked at that crucial stage and that didn’t help his cause.

Up in front, Suraj Narredu was riding out and a couple of cracks got Imperial Power going at a good clip. Dexa started to close in and was ridden out hands and heels with jockey Anthony Raj relying on his urging and his rhythm. However, Imperial Power held on to win by half a length to cap his campaign with the sweet taste of success. Dexa showed that he was a fierce competitor and did all he could to stretch the winner and finished a close second. Wordsmith finished third, but Sadler’s Legacy picked up well after breaking his stride and yet finished close alongside Wordsmith.

Endeavour (Strong Suit – Starring, Manjri Stud) continued his run of conquests with a top notch performance to pile up his fourth win in a row. This one too as in a clinical fashion as he didn’t take too long to gallop into the lead past Golden Guest and Mystic Bay to lead them all the way. The Imtiaz Sait trainee never looked in danger and strode out well to win convincingly, without encountering any challenge from even a set of game sprinters in the top class. Gazino ran on to finish two and half lengths behind Endeavour, without making much impact on the winner. Jockey PS Chouhan was well in control all the way and Endeavour fully justified the top fancy tag he garnered. Sunrise Ruby disappointed as Golden Guest beat her to the third spot.

Pesi Shroff trained Sun Gold (Excellent Art – Blue Ribbon, Poonawalla Stud) pulled off a fine win to clinch Gulamhusein Essaji Trophy keeping the fast finishing Treasure Gold at bay. Sun Gold got down to business soon on turning for home and made rapid progress to charge ahead of the front runners. Rue St Honore’ made a little headway, but found the going too tough to handle. Treasure Gold was the one who improved positions briskly and set about in chase of Sun Gold. However, jockey PS Chouhan had ensured there was a lot in the reserve as he kept a safe distance ahead in the final furlong to gallop to victory by just over a length. Treasure Gold found the top weight a tad too much to tackle but ended a fighting second well ahead of rue St Honore’ with Chieftain taking the last slot in the frame.

Inishmore (Planetaire – Ice Cube Baby, Sohna Stud) was impressive on debut scoring a fashionable win that was applauded in the stands. The Nazak Chenoy trained gelding was ready to pounce on the front running Freedom and changed gears soon on entering the straight to canter away to victory by a huge margin of over seven lengths to run away with the J Rustomji Sopariwala Trophy. Inishmore picked up well and produced a scorching gallop to leave the rest cold behind him and also providing jockey P Trevor a landmark 1500th victory, which is a humongous achievement for the ace rider. Flashing Famous improved well to take the runner-up berth from early leader Freedom.

Botero (Western Aristocratic – Verbier, Nanoli Stud) finally added to his solitary win thus far and boy did he have to shed a lot of sweat! The in-form Rasputin gave the on-money favourite a hard time putting up stiff resistance all through the long Mahalaxmi straight.

Rasputin was in the lead coming into the straight with Botero closing-in on him. Botero gained well and got alongside Rasputin smoothly but Rasputin rose to the task and not only stuck by Botero but stayed stubbornly ahead keeping his neck in front no matter how threateningly close Botero got. The duo battled on with both jockeys giving it all. Kamaria picked up late and was speeding towards the duo, but she had too much to do to get the boys. Chouhan rode his luck and got the nod right with Botero to pip Rasputin on the post by a head. Kamaria was a close third finishing on the haunches of her two battle-scarred rivals.

Narendra Lagad trained Hilma Klint (Excellent Art – Praise of Folly, Villoo’s Greenfield) showed a clean pair of heels winning the first race of the day while notching up her maiden success on her seventh start. She was off quickly darting into the lead and held a handy lead as they turned for home. Once in the straight, jockey Aniket looked well in control as he bounced away from the other rivals with ease and maintained a safe distance all the way through the homestretch. Hilma Klint outpaced the rest, winning by a clear margin of well over three lengths. Debutante Sim Sim improved positions and ended a decent second ahead of Red Riot and Suited Aces.

Veteran trainer SS Shah trained Rhythm of Nature (Kingda Ka – Leonora, Yeravada Stud) was ably ridden by jockey CS Jodha and the mare got to her maiden victory on her sixth start. Settling in the front bunch led by Power of Neath until into the straight, Rhythm of Nature had to work hard to get past Hyperdimensional first and then once he got the lead he had to sustain it for another furlong. Stars For You was beginning to mount a challenge and was even getting closer to Rhythm of Nature, but Jodha rode out deftly to keep the momentum going and eventually score by a comfortable margin of two lengths. Stars For You ran on to finish second ahead of Hyperdimensional.

Karthik trained Lord Vader (Be Safe – Copper Bracelet, Sans Craintes Stud) lorded over his rivals just as he had done in his earlier race and won the concluding race of the day with a big margin. He was up in front quickly, sandwiched between Sufiyah and Dilbar until into the straight. While Dilbar faded away, Sufiyah fought briefly before surrendering to the inevitable. Lord Vader picked up speed approaching the distance post and once he got into the groove, Lord Vader, in the hands of Bhawani Singh, motored away to pile up more than four lengths at the post to dish out another handsome victory. Gusty Girl improved places to finish second ahead of Sufiyah.

For the professionals, trainer Pesi Shroff and jockeys Trevor, PS Chouhan and CS Jodha all scored a double each.