You got to hand it to champion trainer S Padmanabhan. He loves to be in the classic circle and he enjoys the big picture, be it Pathaan or La Reina, the two big performers on the Republic Day. La Reina reigned supreme in the Wolf 777 Winter Derby and the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Pathaan set the box office on fire. After her impressive effort in the Oaks, second behind Mirra, Padmanabhan, who had told Neeraj Rawal that he would finish 1-2 in the Oaks was confident that the classy daughter of Planetaire will dominate the finish in the blue riband. The filly had improved further after her last classic essay and her master was aware that the mile-and-half Derby journey will suit La Reina the most. The star performer in the showdown at sundown uncorked a champagne effort and galloped to fame. Padmanabhan was immensely pleased and all her young owners were delighted. It simply was a dream come true for the nine-member Queen's Gambit Racing Syndicate. They roped in La Reina for Rs 11.lakh and needed to pay another 11 lakh, the late entry fee to compete in the mega event. Paying up a procurement amount to run in a race, be it the Derby, the syndicate thought defied logic. But after much deliberation and not to miss out on the big chance, the young owners chose to dig deep into their pockets and provide the filly a chance to prove her mettle in the rich plum. The champion filly justified the confidence of her trainer and support of her owners landing the Derby riches in style and soon the bubbly flowed and it was time for song and dance at a designated place on Cunnigham road. 

When asked what next? Padmanabhan made it clear that La Reina will compete next in the Indian Turf Invitation Cup on the first Sunday of March. "She has produced her best in the two classics and she deserves a rest before she competes against the best in the champion event," said Padmanabhan pointing out that he will prefer to wait at home and make most of the home conditions rather than push the filly in the big-ticket event at Mahalaxmi. 

"La Reina has not only made us all proud. She has provided big hope to all the small owners that they too can lead in a Derby winner with a good cheap buy and that provides the sport a new dimension," said P G Belliappa pleased that his son is one of the nine-members of the syndicate. An old hat in the game, Belliappa disclosed that the moment Padmanabhan had a look at La Reina and chose to train her, he knew that the filly had something in her. "That gave us a lot of confidence and when La Reina justified her trainer's confidence in the Oaks, I knew we were in with a big chance on D-day and the rest is simply a run for the roses story", said Belliappa.

La Reina, Padmanabhan and the pilot Neeraj Rawal, who produced an exemplary effort, apart, The Aggarwal brothers, Rajan and Gautam enjoyed the big moment, leading in three winners. It was a superb result taking into account that not many owners get to record a treble on the D-day. The on-money favourite Inyouwebelieve set the ball rolling for the Aggarwals producing a fine turn of foot in the Vidhana Soudha Cup run over a mile. Trevor Patel astride the public rage packed punch on the public choice to snuff out the challenge of the second in demand at the betting ring, Rapidus close home to the delight of the railbirds The topweighted Roudy from Neil Darashah's yard did well to finish third ahead of Only You.

Next, it was Promise Kept, who produced a sterling effort in the hands of John to come out tops in the T B Hanumanthraj Memorial Trophy run over a sprint. The seven to one shot despite not being favourably placed at the top of the straight in the big field of 14 runners covered good ground the moment John reminded her of the task ahead and zipped past rankoutsider Flying Quest to stand tall at the podium. Devils Magic from Neil Devaney's yard who garnered good support at the end finished a game third, while the lesser fancied Smithsonian and Schafenberg in no mood to compete were withdrawn at the starting gates. 

In the concluding event, the speedy Amreli from Pradeep Annaiah's yard despite a long lay-off was fancied most. She surprisingly failed to take a prominent position early in the race and in fact took some time to get into her stride. But the moment she found her galloping shoes there was no stopping Amreli and Srinath, the winner edging out Alcides Energy close home. Archway managed to save money in place, while My Solitaire disappointed her supporters failing to make the board. Now that Amreli is back in the winners' circle, it will pay to follow this speedy customer in her next couple of starts. 

In line for a hat-trick, Isnt She Beautiful from Padmanabhan's yard and the talented Polished Girl garnered the maximum support in the Indian Republic Trophy run over a sprint. The former on the strength of her record debut effort and her facile subsequent win ended firm favourite (14/10), while the price on Polished Girl drifted out (7/2). The favourite partnered by Neeraj Rawal met a tartar in Cool Rider and it was Cool Rider and not Isnt She Beautiful, who completed a hat-trick of wins, pegging back the Padmanabhan ward  close home. Aztec Queen from Kishan Thomas' stable too produced her best to stay in the mix before Cool Rider in the hands of Likith Appu gained the day. Neil Darashah deserves a pat on the back for the solid trust and backing he has provided to Cool Rider. And the talented performer duly rewarded his master with an unbeaten streak so far this season. Neil next day led in Queens Town in Chennai sending out a strong message that he is in the elite brigade. 

Among the trainers, Irfan Ghatala recorded a double through the in-form Tripitaka and the goodtype of youngster Del Pico. The former piloted by apprentice Alex Rozario came up tops in the second division of the Totalizator Cup, while Del Pico in the hands of the talented Saqlain proved too good in the Mysore Race Club Trophy run over a distance of seven furlongs. 

The quietly fancied The Republic Power from Sharath Kumar's yard won the opening event, the third division of the Totalizator Cup and in the next event, Mohd Khan who had led in Kings Speech, winner of the final event on Derby eve, pulled off a good gamble on the Chandre Gowda owned Ooh La La, confidently piloted by P.Mani. Kings Speech too is owned by Chandre Gowda, who it is needless to mention enjoyed a good run on the two big days.