Pesi Shroff as a jockey has ridden numerous Indian classic winners and each one has been special to him. Ever since he switched professions two years ago he would have certainly been waiting for the moment when a protégé of his would bring him classic glory as a trainer. Pesi had his moment in the sun when Blue Ribbon (Alnasr Alwasheek-Endorsement) produced a top notch performance to outclass the favourite Guest Connections in the Dheeraj Indian Oaks (Gr.1) on Sunday. This was only the fourth career start of Blue Ribbon and it is indeed to the credit of both Pesi and her rider Niall McCullagh that the bay filly responded to the task of bringing their 'Operation Indian Oaks' to its triumphant conclusion. Rated far below Guest Connections in the handicap and with just two victories, the last one in Class IV, to her credit, Blue Ribbon still attracted better support than Rain Splasher and Real Excellence. Laying bare the scheme of the Pesi camp, Dreaming made the early running over the 2400m trip followed by stablemate Royal Princess and the Hyderabad Oaks winner Rain Splasher. Settled back a little further were Blue Ribbons and Guest Connections. Dreaming had done her bit as the final turn approached after which the lead changed hands briefly between Rain Splasher and Royal Princess. Here B. Prakash switched lanes and put Guest Connections in top gear. Timing his challenge to perfection, Niall too got busy on Blue Ribbons a fraction of a second later. S. Ganapathy's charge unleashed her trademark gallop but she would've hardly guessed that Blue Ribbons was sturdier than her bandaged legs depicted. Niall initially just nursed Blue Ribbons to stand up to the challenge of her more experienced rival and then powered her to gain a slender lead. Prakash was momentarily taken aback by the tenacity shown by Blue Ribbon but he kept up the pressure on Guest Connections. Yet she could not match the strides of Blue Ribbons and a furlong away from home it was apparent to all that the favourite was waging a lost battle. Blue Ribbon's performance was akin to that of David against Goliath. She had overcome all adversities to give her master Pesi Shroff his first Indian classic as a trainer and her Irish rider his third. Before this momentous occasion could arrive for Pesi, another classic performer flourishing in his yard had his sprinting prowess on display. C. Ruzaan driven Diego Riviera (Diffident-Rahy's Serenade) let Hidden Dragon and Jubilation make merry in the front but mowed them down ruthlessly in the home stretch to win the 1200m P.D.Avasia Trophy. Torque expectedly ran second while Dedication surprised many by stretching out in final stages of the race to deny Dynamical a chance to be in the money. For Dedication this was a just a rehearsal before he is pitched over a longer distance which suits him best. Winding up the special day on a happy note, Pesi kind of handed a wedding gift to jockey R. Rupesh, who recently tied the knot, by sending out Salazaar (Burden of Proof-Summer Dust) to his maiden victory. The bay gelding had no difficulty in overpowering leader Thunder Zone in the last furlong and stayed on course despite Hisham's late flurry. Sea Sand endured the severe belting of Jerry Pereira before she could end third. She is slowly but surely getting into shape. Pesi achieved a treble in the end but had some hiccups at the start of the day. Deeleecious, a piping hot debutant, flopped miserably. It was Mansingh Jadhav's Sea Gull (Placerville-Silver Academy) that delivered a surprise package. Vikram Walkar urged the grey filly to grab the lead early in the race and was never headed at any stage of the race. Bu Attifel, sporting a winter coat, finished second followed by Mercedes with Deeleecious ending an inexplicable fourth. In the very next race Obelinna, another debutant from Pesi's yard, also ran below expectations which could be attributed to her inexperience. Ganapathy trained Assert The Right (Razeen-Altitude) escaped the clutches of Chevron, who failed to raise a fluent gallop towards the end of the race, to graduate from the maiden ranks. Flashing Flame ran on to be third. Clearly outpaced by the nimble-footed Star Girl, Lago Medio suffered the vagaries of the game experienced by countless favourites like him before. The Dominator (Diffident-Diamonds Forever) enjoyed the feather-weight on his back and stopped Star Girl in her tracks nearer home to the annoyance of many punters. Bezan Chenoy saddled Taanush also benefited from the allowance claimed by D. K. Ashish to go surging clear of top-weighted Asiatique in the last two furlongs of the mile journey. Taanush's cause was further aided, not as much by the interference suffered by Queen Victoria from the runner-up as her refusal to put her best foot forward. Malesh Narredu delighted the moneybags by giving the confident ride deserved by Mansoor Shah's ward Take On (Tirol-Takwim). The mare ran true to form and won decisively from the late finishing Maybach. Ruben Star was up to his tricks once again and reared up when the start was given though mercifully Prakash was not hurt or dislodged in the process. Ruben Star had every chance to win the race despite his roguish behaviour but was reluctant to spoil the party of Orpheus. The C. D. Katrak trained Orpheus (Razeen-Adored) lay third behind Sail Away but improved steadily as the race progressed. Zameer Sayyed alerted him opposite the stands and Orpheus was back on his way to the winner's circle.