Trainer Ravinder Singh-saddled colt True Icon scored a stunning victory beating Rising Tycoon and Alabama on the post to claim the Nawab Mehdi Jung Bahadur Memorial Cup on Monday. Rising Tycoon, lesser fancied than only Golden Gazelle and Alabama, was taken to the front by apprentice Ajay Kumar and was being hailed as a winner close home when apprentice RS Jodha triggered a terrific response from True Icon (Sedgefield – Saporelli). Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar-piloted Alabama, ridden way off the pace till the final bend, also came with a devouring run to get involved in a thrilling finish with Rising Tycoon and True Icon. Jodha’s power-packed effort was instrumental in True Icon snatching victory in virtually the last stride. Alabama had travelled wide into the straight which proved to be her undoing as she went down by a head to True Icon but was a nose ahead of Rising Tycoon, who had done all the hard work till the dying moments of the mile event. Favourite Golden Gazelle was prominent till after entering the home stretch but faded out to beat just two home in the ten-horse contest.

Trainer K. Satheesh hogged the limelight on the concluding day of the monsoon racing season with a well-fancied successful treble, which helped him equal the winning tally of LVR Deshmukh and share the leading trainer’s title. The first winner led in by Satheesh was Candy Girl, who went surging into the lead as is her wont and was a winner all the way barring a couple of furlongs when Shazam took charge allowing Akshay to settle the filly, who was very keen initially. Candy Girl (Net Whizz - Frizbee) cruised ahead of Shazam past the half-way mark and cantered home to end her season’s campaign with a hat-trick. The two fancied youngsters, Huntingdon and High Command, were no match for the winner and followed her meekly in that order past the post. Morior Invictus completed the frame.

There was one-way betting in favour of Satheesh's second winner Ambitious Star so much so that the ante post favourite Fly Me ended up being second in demand. Ambitious Star raced in close attendance of Star Cruise and Urgent till the heads turned for home where apprentice Ekram Alam alerted him to his task and joined the issue with the former. After a brief tussle, Star Cruise surrendered the lead without much ado. Fly Me, who was ridden by Akshay, took off sluggishly from the gates and appeared late on the scene when the race was wrapped by Satheesh’s ward. Only The Brave and Pontefract were expected to be in hunt but they ran like aimless wanderers and ended off the judge’s board. It was left to Bien Pensant to add some excitement towards the end. Bien Pensant rallied from the rear and covered much ground in the straight but Ambitious Star kicked on to win by a length and quarter. Star Cruise and Fly Me ended a close third and fourth respectively.

The victory of Best Buddy (Planetaire- Change Tack) was kind of an icing on the cake for Satheesh. The grey horse was swiftly off from the gates and made every post of six-furlong trip for the Dr Harish Chandra Memorial Cup a winning one in the hands of RS Jodha. Best Buddy’s rivals were left chasing his shadow once he brought them into the straight. Doe A Deer and See My Spark, both sent out by Leo D'silva, ended runner-up and third respectively. City of Blessing and It’s On, the first two favourites, seemed in no mood to make a serious effort and gave a listless show to end fourth and fifth respectively.

Satheesh’s enthusiastically backed maiden Toffee failed to live up to the expectations earlier in the day. Racing for the first time in an open Class IV company, Toffee was entrusted to jockey Abhay Singh, who had not ridden a winner this season. Yet the filly, in an attempted coup, was backed down to favouritism. Toffee’s performance left the punters disenchanted as she was outpaced by the well-fancied Santa Barbara, who showed plenty of early speed to seize the initiative and had a sizeable lead in the straight. Ante post favourite Tripurari (Stardan - Lake Huron), meanwhile, made steady progress in the home stretch and was powerfully driven by G. Vivek to overwhelm Santa Barbara in the last 100m. The MS Parmar-trained bay gelding Tripurari won sparing three part of a length to Santa Barbara, who ended a length ahead of the late-finishing Thunder Knight. Toffee ran fourth.

After Tripurari, it was First Class’s turn to unravel her talent and achieve a back-to back double for Parmar. The five-year old mare, who had been playing hide and seek with the winning post since recording her maiden success in February last, raced within striking distance of leaders Challenger and Ok Boss and made her move when the former ran out of fuel in the last furlong or so. Ok Boss led briefly before First Class (Stardan - Anassa) gathered momentum and wore him down. First Class soon came under attack from Forever Bond but the former survived the assault to score a narrow win. Master Touch ended third with D Yes Boss finishing on late to be fourth. Favourite Aerial Combat took a tardy start and finished dead last after toiling hard in the rear throughout. Aerial Combat reportedly burst his blood vessels.

A field of six was declared to start for the Bold Venture Plate, a mile event for horses in the highest class of which four came from Deshmukh’s yard probably to prevent the event from going void for the paucity of enough contestants. Top-weighted Mysterious Angel had the best credentials followed by Satheesh’s candidate, Akido. The on-money favourite, who was entrusted to 3.5kg-claimer Kuldeep Singh, found her nemesis in her stable-mate Lucky Zone, who pulled a fast one over rivals and the punters too by adopting ‘catch me if you can’ tactics. Jockey Surya Prakash astride Lucky Zone (One Lucky Dane - Lady Sergeant) hustled his mount to take charge of the running soon after the start and had no difficulty in dictating the pace throughout the mile journey. Mysterious Angel played the waiting game and lay at the rear end even as Yesterday, Akido and Watch My Stride went in pursuit of the winner. Mysterious Angel came with a scintillating run when Kuldeep put her in top gear at the bend and ranged alongside Lucky Zone inside the last furlong. For a moment it appeared that she would go sailing clear but Lucky Zone stretched out well to ward off Mysterious Angel’s threat and prevailed by a length at the wire. Strangely, Kuldeep chose not to use the whip during his battle for supremacy with Lucky Zone and rode Mysterious Angel plain hands and heels. Watch My Stride, Yesterday and Akido, who ran far below par, followed them home.

Deshmukh achieved a double in the last race through Terenga. The 5 to 4 favourite gave no anxious moments to his supporters as jockey Anthony Raj took the son of Akeed Champion out of Sun Moon and Stars on a pillar to post mission and left his rivals stranded in the last furlong of the mile trip. Role Model was the only horse that came near Terenga just before the final run-in but she veered out and lost all her chances. Sacred Bond meanwhile moved up behind Terenga to be in futile chase as the winner was sighted a long way from home. The bay rig drew clear in the last furlong and half whilst Sacred Bond took the runner-up berth ahead of Blazing Gun, who ran a tame third ahead of Hoping Sky. Young Diana once again planted and took off late from the gates.

Trainer Laxman Singh-groomed filly Ruby Red, who shed her maiden status last month, achieved an encore in the day’s curtain raiser. Ruby Red (Roderic O’Connor - Black Magic Woman) was the hot favourite and she duly obliged but not before being hard-ridden by Akshay to keep Kenna at bay. Ruby Red allowed Golden Forza to show the way to the field in the early stages of the 1100m sprint but closed the gap after Sound Echo and Subha shifted out at the turn. Ruby Red surged ahead in the last furlong and half only to encounter a serious threat from Kenna, who looked menacing close home. Akshay’s inspiring effort astride Ruby Red, however, enabled the filly to slip from Kenna’s grasp. Plethora ended in the money, way behind the runner-up. Golden Forza and Subha both retired to finish fourth and fifth respectively.