The Diwali was indeed very happy and prosperous from the punters point of view, most fancied contestants galloping home to the delight of the railbirds, who returned home with a spring in their stride before lighting up the diyas and safely bursting the crackers in the night celebrating Indian cricket team's unbeaten run in the league phase of the World Cup. Rohit Sharma and his boys defeated Netherlands in the final league fixture at the Chinnaswamy stadium in the Garden City on Sunday and will now lock horns with the Kiwis in the semi-final on Wednesday, Nov 15 at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.  

An impressive last start winner at the recently concluded Mysore season, Prime Abbess from Imtiaz Khan's yard rightly garnered the maximum support in the Ardent Knight Trophy, the plum event run over a distance of seven furlongs and the in-form filly despite not being favourably placed at the top of the straight produced an astounding gallop in the hands of leading pro Antony Raj to overhaul Impiana and power home in emphatic fashion. Own Legacy from Ganapathy's yard surprised most, gaining the runner-up berth ahead of Impiana who hung on gallantly to save money in place, while the chicken-hearted Armstrong from Faraz Arshad's yard, who again was strongly supported, finished down the field. 

Amreli from Pradeep Annaiah's yard was another public choice, who proved too good in the principal added attraction, the Kabini Cup run over a sprint. The overwhelming favourite confidently piloted by top gun Srinath produced a good turn of foot in the final furlong to outclass her seven rivals including her two owner mates Inyouwebelieve, who gained the runner-up berth ahead of Promise Kept. The 1-2-3 finish delighted the Aggarwal brothers, Rajan and Gautam and this was special on the day of the festival of lights.      

Earlier, the two top fancies Contador from Arjun Manglorkar's yard and Cinco De Mayo from the stables of Neil Devaney dominated the finish of the opening event, the Shimsha Plate run over a sprint, the Arjun ward piloted by John gaining the day in a close finish. Golden Gallery partnered by Darshan was strongly supported in place and the five-year-old mare did well to finish third ahead of Perfect Halo. 

Like in the opening event, two well fancied contestants, Southern Power from Faraz Arshad's yard and Je Ne Sais Quoi from the stables of Azhar Ali topped the betting board in the lower division of the Hebbe Falls Plate run over a distance of seven furlongs before the Azhar Ali ward closed the first favourite. The two front liners were locked in an intense battle for supremacy in the final furlong before Akshay Kumar guiding the fortunes of Southern Power packed punch to settle the issue close home. Altamonte edged out Apollo Light, who in his attempt to make every post a winning one performed favourably to make the frame. 

The upper division of the event produced a shock result, the ten to one shot Memorable Time from Lokanath's yard edging out Dominic-trained Ultimate Chance in a thriller. My Vision finished a creditable third ahead of Southern Dynasty. The favourite Limited Edition from Azhar Ali's yard lost more than five lengths at the start and that raised many eyebrows taking into account that the price quoted on Limited Edition kept going up in the bookmakers' ring.   

Prophecy from Imtiaz Khan's yard looked a picture of fitness at the paddock parade and the public choice in the hands of the talented Saqlain justified the confidence of her supporters in the Black Caviar Plate, powering home to shed her maiden status in style. Second in demand at the betting ring, Crosswater from  Arjun's yard in her bid to make every post a winning one in the hands of leading pro Antony Raj found prophecy too hot to handle and had to settle for the runner-up berth. The Prasanna-trained Palomino finished third ahead of Super Sapphire who appeared a trifle gross and as a result found the going tough to make an impression. Now that Prophecy has broken ice it will pay to again follow this Imtiaz trainee when saddled next. 

After the first three events went in favour of the punters, the 20 to one long shot Aircraft from Warren Singh's yard floored the followers of form in the Hogenakkal Falls Plate run over a mile. The winner powerfully piloted by leading pro Srinath in a thrilling cluster finish beat another rankoutsider Breeze Bluster from Lokanath Gowda's yard by the shortest of margins, while the second in demand at the betting ring, Pharazon from Irfan Ghatala's yard finished on fastest at end to take the third spot, a `neck' separating him from the runner-up Breeze Bluster. The favourite Queen Of Kyiv from Rajesh Narredu's yard disappointed a large following, only managing to complete the frame. Pharazon, it must be mentioned, lost a race which he would have won had his pilot Rozario alerted him early to the task ahead. The Irfan ward covered acres of ground on the wide outside to go down in a humdinger and on the strength of this effort is strongly tipped to score,  when next saddled.