Tactical Command – the neglected stablemate of the favourite Delphini from the Aashay Doctor yard upset punters at RCTC on a warm Thursday  afternoon. The five-year-old son of One Lucky Dane out of Vijaysheel lifted the seven-furlong race for the Multitude Cup in a blanket finish involving Delphini, Full Volume, Anastasia and Tigrio who finished in that order in a cluster. About a length away was Dandi Satyagraha in sixth position. He appears to have reached the end of his tether. Monfortino set a fast pace till the distance post before the cavalry charge of half-a-dozen horses came upon him. Ultimately Nikhil Naidu atop Tactical Command pulled it off. 

Trainer Vijay Singh enjoyed a lucrative afternoon as he led in three winners – Mandela, Only You and Atlantica. On-money public choice Mandela (Roderic O’Connor – Attractress) won the Obligado Handicap start-to-finish with Hindu Singh in the saddle. Bottom-weight Magnite was a creditable runner-up. Suraj Narredu piloted Only You (Roderic O’Connor-First and Only One) to a comfortable victory over Romero in the Twilight Lady Handicap. Suraj then completed a brace while astride the light-framed filly Atlantica (Phoenix Tower-Riyasat) as she won the mile race for the Kaizen Handicap from Banksy and Prosperous Prince. The favourite Roka finished a faraway pathetic sixth.

The afternoon commenced with quite a stir as Rutherford Alford’s lesser fancied horse Jinsoku (Speaking Of Which-Abronia) got the better of fancied stablemate Sheer Force in the final furlong of the six-furlong sprint for the Ocean Way Handicap. Following the top-weight till well into the straight, Sujit Kumar Paswan urged Jinsoku to take over the running and he responded well. The favourite Mentalist was a lack-lustre third.

The five-and-half furlong sprint for the Own Ability Handicap saw recent Mumbai import Bundle of Charm installed as the favourite. However, the mare had no answer to the speed of Indian Tiger and Yazh. The pair fought all the way down the straight with the former holding on for a narrow triumph. Bundle Of Charm ended up a close third and will be worth following. Six-year-old winner Indian Tiger from the Vikash Jaiswal stable was ridden to a back-to-back triumph by apprentice Hasib Alam. 

The curtain came down with Suraj Shaw-trained Cold Pursuit (Excellent Art – Grey Allure) winning the mile-and-quarter race for the Setaflame  Handicap in spectacular fashion as Akshay Kumar brought the grey from the rear of the field on the wide outside to get the better of the front-runners Dubai Gold and Sonata. Top-weight favourite Multistarrer was a close fourth and will be worth keeping an eye on.