The money-back favourite Zuccarelli made his three rivals look ordinary as he trounced them in the AC Ardeshir Trophy (Gr.3) on Sunday. There were some stray concerns whether the mile trip would be to Zuccarelli’s liking or not. But the four-year-old dark bay from Pesi Shroff’s yard had an able ally in stablemate Northern Lights, who set the early pace which made things easier for Zuccarelli. Jockey C Umesh astride Northern Lights hit the front and dictated the terms to Taimur, who was brushed by Bhawani Singh to join the leader after a sluggish start, Flying Visit and Zuccarelli. Taimur blew up as the heads turned for home and dropped back whilst Zuccarelli travelled on the bit. With a furlong and half left for home Trevor Patel eased his grip on Zuccarelli (Western Aristocrat – Circle Of Bliss) and the flashy bay gelding cruised past stable-mate Northern Lights. A couple of backhanders from Trevor and Zuccarelli strode out majestically to record his eighth win from fourteen starts.

A couple of hours earlier, Trevor had confidently piloted another public choice, Ahead Of My Time, to his comeback victory in the upper division of the Seth Ramnath Daga Trophy. Trevor settled Ahead Of My Time in the mid-bunch as the speedy lot of pretenders headed by Superlative and Majestic Warrior brought the field of eleven into the home stretch. Pepper flattered briefly after the front-running duo faded away and was soon challenged by Ahead Of My Time with Lord Vader close on his haunches. Ahead Of My Time (Excellent Art – Miss Danehill) had the upper hand with furlong away from home but faced some nagging from Bhawani ridden Lord Vader. A few reminders from Trevor and the blue-blooded bay colt, schooled by Dallas Todywalla, stretched out and put the issue to rest. Spring Grove did well to finish in the money ahead of Pepper.

The outcome of Trevor’s next two riding engagements, Presidential and Lord And Master, were not in line with the punters’ expectations. Karthik Ganapathy saddled Kamaria (David Livingstone – Ridawana) literally swept her six rivals off their feet in the Sir Rahimtoola Chinoy Trophy run over nine furlongs. The bottom-weighted Kamaria was pressed into the lead by Neeraj Rawal soon after the gates opened and the tail was the only anatomy of the grey mare which her rivals saw all the way home. The fancied troika – Exemplify, Great Guns and Presidential were outpaced and were made to eat a humble pie in the end. C Umesh ridden Chamonix made steady progress from the rear and tried to make a race of it but her rally was too late to spoil Kamaria’s party. Presidential couldn’t quicken in the straight and ended a neck behind Summer Knight, who finished third.

Shroff’s ward Lord And Master was equally fancied in the market along with Altaf Hussain groomed Magileto, who had had a string of failures during the Pune season. Entrusted to Bhawani on this occasion, Magileto (Sedgefield – Providence) raced towards the rails and close on the heels of leaders Esperanza, Intense Approach and Desert Fire till the heads turned for home. Soon Magileto went in chase of Esperanza and collared him in the last furlong. Magileto was driven out to easily triumph over Northern Singer, Lord And Master and San Salvatore. Lord And Master was hanging in after entering the straight and couldn’t really assert himself. San Salvatore warmed up late to finish in the frame. Both Lord And Master and San Salvatore should do well over an extended journey.

Dragonlord jumped out a bit slow from the widest draw but went smoothly into the lead as the fourteen-horse field embarked on the nine-furlong trip for the Director General Of Police Trophy. Yash Narredu-partnered My Treasure raced in striking position and had Kirkines following her. Although Dragonlord remained in charge of the lead, My Treasure started to bridge the gap after the field straightened for home. Kirtish Bhagat went all out on Dragonlord and so did Yash atop My Treasure. However, Malesh Narredu saddled My Treasure (Planetaire – Wonder Smile) overwhelmed Dragonlord close home. Kirkines raced prominently behind Dragonlord and My Treasure but failed to progress though hard-ridden by Neeraj. The filly ran third, well clear of Galloping Glory and the rest.

Indian Crown from veteran Imtiaz Sait’s yard went darting ahead as the starter’s flag came down and had a sizeable lead as he entered the final run in. As Trinkets, Rhythm Of Nature and Campaign were unable to match strides with Indian Crown, it appeared that the Umesh ridden filly was en route her maiden win. But MK Jadhav trained Moonshot, who met interference at the start and then ran into a wall of horses before dropping to lie last, came flying in the last furlong when NS Parmar set him alight in the straight. Moonshot (Multidimensional – One Giant Leap) swooped down on Indian Crown in the last fifty metres or so and went on to register a convincing victory. Indian Crown had to play second fiddle once again. Despite Vikram Jodha’s antics astride Charlie, the Vinesh trained colt rallied well towards the end to pip Campaign and Rhythm Of Nature for the third berth. Favourite Silver Bells ran hopelessly throughout.

Sentinel (Planetaire – Carter Pace) provided both her master K Ganapathy and rider Bhawani their second winner of the day. Sentinel stayed close on the heels of Sonisha, who brought the field into the straight, and took charge of the running in the last two furlongs. Bhawani drove Sentinel vigorously to ward of the spirited bid of well-backed Spirit Bay and Tarzan. Nord curiously chose to play the waiting game and ran on when it least mattered. Nord ended fourth. The other runners barring Princess Of Naples, who was running after a long gap, and slow-starter Mariella ended in a huddle behind Nord and seemed content in lying low. Champers On Ice planted in the gates causing a lot of money to go down the drain.

Vishal Bunde ridden Sandman (Kingda Ka – Sultry Me) brought home the bacon for his master Nirad Karanjawalla who astutely placed his charge to win. Carrying top weight in this event reserved for elderly horses, Sandman lay at the wrong end of the field as Blazing Bay called the early shots and then handed over the baton to Jetfire immediately on entering the straight. It appeared that Jetfire would land the spoils but Sandman unleashed a powerful run to humble the DA Naik ridden gelding close home. Tasman was denied a clear run for most of the journey before he could finish in the money. Periwinkle and Speculator ran disappointingly to finish behind Tasman.