The grey mare Juliette had reeled off five victories after losing to Adjudicate in the Indian Turf Invitation as a four-year-old in March 2020 only to go down to Alluring Silver in same event held belatedly in December 2021. She bounced back to win two races back to back. Juliette first tamed Forest Flame in the Eclipse Stake and later Zuccarelli in the 2022 edition of the Invitation Cup. On both occasions she recorded facile victories.

The Karthik Ganapathy trained mare returned to compete at Pune in October last and blotted her illustrious career when tasting defeat at the hands Forest Flame in two consecutive races. Pesi Shroff’s pupil Zuccarelli on the other hand was in rousing form as he completed a hat-trick three weeks ago. Meanwhile, Juliette’s versatility and her impressive career record was ironically forgotten and she was all but written off. Not surprisingly, Zuccarelli was installed as the odds on favourite in the six horse field including Juliette competing for the Maharaja Jiwajirao Scindia Trophy (Gr.3) run over a mile and quarter.

The running of the main event was not according to the script expected by the race-goers as Blazing Bay, the lowest rated horse in the race and Juliette’s stable-mate, denied Northern Lights the opportunity to set a favourable pace for Zuccarelli. Amyn Merchant astride Blazing Bay executed Karthik’s plan to perfection as he stormed ahead and established a long lead, which lasted till the last two furlongs. The field was strung out with Northern Lights, Truly Epic, Juliette, Caprisca and Zuccarelli all chasing Blazing Bay in a single line. With little over two furlongs for the wire, Northern Lights tried to grab the lead but Juliette made swift progress when CS Jodha shifted gears. Unlike her response at Pune, Juliette found her rhythm and went clear of her rivals for a facile win. After biding time his time in the rear atop Zuccarelli till Blazing Bay brought the field into the straight, Trevor Patel asked his mount for an effort. Zuccarelli failed to produce the turn of foot expected by Trevor and couldn’t stop Juliette from redeeming her honour. Northern Lights ended third ahead of Truly Epic. Zuccarelli reportedly bled through his nostrils which might explain the poor show given by Shroff’s ward but takes nothing away from Juliette’s remarkable comeback performance.

Karthik had earlier led in the fluke winner Justin in the day’s curtain raiser. No-hoper Harriet showed plenty of initial speed to go surging into the lead with on-money favourite Daulat Mai in close attendance. As Harriet called it a day in the straight, Mustakim Alam ridden Daulat Mai took charge of the running. The Narendra Lagad trained filly appeared to be in sight of her second victory but it turned to be a case of so near yet so far. Bhawani Singh ridden debutant Justin appeared on the scene out of nowhere but drifted out alarmingly to race on the outer track. Justin, though full of running, was simply out of control and made Bhawani look like a rodeo boy in the saddle. However, Justin managed to topple Daulat Mai and was adjudged a length and half clear of the hot favourite. Attained ran a fair third ahead of Tarzan. Mysticism ended dead last after racing prominently with the front pack till the distance post. Favourite Silver Steps was never in the hunt and ran below par.

Shazaan Shah schooled Rambler (Leitir Mor - Stravella) also scored a surprise victory in a blanket finish. In the most open race of the day, NS Parmar ridden temperamental filly Dragoness made rapid progress after a slow start and came into contention as leader Desert Fire was about to be overtaken by Multistarrer. With a furlong left in balance, Dragoness slipped into the lead and was being hailed as winner when Empower and Rambler moved menacingly close. S Mosin ridden Empower had just put his neck ahead when S Zervan powered Rambler pipped them both with a late surge. Majestic Warrior ended fourth a length behind and had Treasure Gold and Pure in close tow. Lord And Master was denied a clear run after running into a wall of horses at a crucial juncture and finished off the board. Sunrise and Arabian Phoenix also failed to make their presence felt at the finish.

Portofino Bay from Dallas Todywalla’s string claimed the Kheem Singh Gold Cup, the last event reserved for two-year-old juveniles at Mahalaxmi this year. Backed to the exclusion of her rivals, Portofino Bay (Roderic O’Connor – Star Of Venus) was tuned to the moment by her master and she gave A Sandesh an armchair ride to victory as he took her on a successful wire-to-wire mission. Dream Alliance and ran on from the rear to finish runner up with Azrinaz edging out Maysara for the third berth.

Hosidar Daji nurtured Chat (Kingda Ka – Yellow Diamond) shed her maiden status in the Maharashtra, Gujarat & Goa Area Trophy run over the Derby distance of mile and half in her eighth attempt. The grey filly with Parmar in saddle raced within striking distance of Hooves Of Thunder who headed the four-horse procession. Parmar launched his assault when the field had straightened for home and Chat soon overhauled the leader. Bottom-weighted Chat snatched the lead and kept going to win from Beyond Measure who had to change course when caught between Chat and stable-mate Hooves Of Thunder while making his bid. Hot favourite Kirkines was ridden off the pace but the filly failed miserably when Neeraj Rawal asked her the question and eventually ended up in the rut.

A race earlier, Daji had led in another winner through Mysterious Girl (Roderic O’Connor – Aviette) who was slow to begin with but covered good ground with every stride in the mile event. Apprentice Kirtish Bhagat drove her confidently to take charge from leader Shadows opposite the stands and the chestnut kicked on to achieve her second career success. She’s On Fire finished runner up while Shadows held on to the third berth ahead of Tasman.

Nazzak Chenoy nursed Sovereign Master (Strong Suit – Sky High) snatched the lead from Excellent Star and Alpine Star after travelling some distance from the gates and shocked his rivals with a stubborn performance in the hands of apprentice Praveen Shinde. The 15 to 1 longshot lasted out to win by staving off the spirited challenge of Excellent Star, who was hard-ridden by Sandesh. Alpine Star failed to quicken and ended third ahead of Midsummer Star, who showed some zest and will surely benefit from this run.

Dallas completed a double when Intense Belief (David Livingstone – Dahaab) made amends for her previous failure. Running over a shorter trip, Intense Belief once again went cruising into the lead shortly after the start and Trevor had the race in control throughout. Despite being ridden vigorously by Zervan, favourite Spirit Bay was unable to catch the winner. Demetrius, though veering out briefly under pressure in the straight, ended third with Rhythm Of Nature finishing close behind.