Trainer Magan Singh Parmar saddled mare Lady Danger improved on her previous two runs to lift the Mirza Zunnur Ahmed Memorial Cup in her third appearance this season. Vittal Deshmukh schooled Trishul, who was bidding for a hat-trick, seemed to be on the right track when leading all the way from the gates but succumbed meekly to the onslaught of winner Lady Danger and Divine Destiny in the final furlong of the mile event. In a surprising change of tactics, P. Ajeeth Kumar ridden Trishul adopted runaway tactics on this occasion, which may have cost him the race. In stark contrast to Trishul’s attempt, Lady Danger was ridden well off the pace by Mohit Singh and made steady progress to close in on the favourite in the last furlong. With Trishul faltering despite Ajeeth’s antics in the saddle, Lady Danger (Stardan – Almarada) zoomed ahead for her third career success against a pliable set of opponents. Divine Destiny, who was on the heels of Lady Danger when overtaking stable-mate Trishul, ended up playing second fiddle to the winner. Trishul finished a poor third ahead of Wallop And Gallop.

Leo D’Silva started his campaign from where he had left a day earlier and claimed both divisions of the Charon Plate to get a firm grip on the trainer’s championship title. Debutant Calistoga was tuned to the moment by D’silva and the colt obliged with a start-to-finish dash over the six furlong journey. Afroz Khan-ridden Calistoga (Dali – Abdicate) hit the front after taking over the running from Linda, who was eased off by Ajeeth after travelling a short distance from the barriers. Calistoga, who shared the favouritism with Valencia, won untroubled thereafter as his main rival chased him without making any impression. Linda came to the fore once again to take the second berth after Valencia was done with her chasing business. Anemoi ended a distant fourth.

After a narrow defeat at the hands of White Pearl earlier, Oliver’s Mount finally shed the maiden ranks in his third attempt with utmost ease. Lacking initial speed, Oliver’s Mount was settled towards the rails behind leader Lady Jane, who seized the initiative early into the race and led her rivals into the straight. Oliver’s Mount ranged alongside the front-runners following Lady Jane at the top of the home stretch and started to gain ground with every stride. Afroz exerted a lot of pressure on his mount and slowly but surely got the measure of Lady Jane in the last furlong. Oliver’s Mount (Oiseau De Feu – Nefertiti) kicked on to win convincingly ahead of runner-up Lady Jane, who ended in front of well-fancied River Deep, who was punished heavily by Kuldeep Singh (Sr.) but could do no better than finish third. Mikimoto ran fourth whilst Bellingham packed after running prominently with the winner and runner-up till the last furlong.

Despite being away from competitive racing for nearly three months, the four-year old filly Golden Gazelle showed no signs of rustiness when she was steered to a comfortable victory by jockey G. Vivek. Golden Gazelle (Authorized – Deauville Diva), though a bit keen initially, raced behind Quality Warrior and First Class till approaching the final turn and was soon given her head by Vivek following which the M. Srinivas Reddy-nursed filly cruised ahead and sped away for a gratifying victory. Favourite Decoy tried to challenge Golden Gazelle in the straight but found the filly too good. Rising Tycoon warmed up late to his task and came with a good run towards the end but could only deprive Decoy the runner-up berth. First Class ended fourth after her forward run when Worcester failed to make any headway in the final stages of the race.

The seven-year old mare Beauty Flame registered a quick encore and easily accounted for the weak opposition she encountered on this occasion. Neelesh Rawal-nurtured Beauty Flame (Whatsthescript – Jack In The Cat) raced handy behind Silver Lining and Sucker Punch till entering the straight where Mohit Singh asked the mare for an effort. Beauty Flame responded well but hesitated initially to take the gap between Silver Lining and Sucker Punch. Mohit persisted with his effort and urged the mare to poke through which she did in the last hundred metres. Beauty Flame then skipped away to victory leaving Sucker Punch and Silver Lining to fight for the minor places. Like the other contestants who finished behind them, Carnival Lady and Indian King ran on to take the minor places on sufferance.

Showing steady improvement in his form this season, Ampere’s Touch justified the support he received in the betting ring. Held on the leash by Neeraj Rawal in the initial stage of the race, Ampere’s Touch travelled smoothly behind Dream Jewel and Canterbury, who brought the field into the straight. Neeraj drove Ampere’s Touch vigorously to take over the running after tackling Dream Jewel in the last furlong and half. Neeraj kept Ampere’s Touch (Ampere – Pinacotheque) going under the whip and won warding off the threat posed by Sundance Kid, who drifted out in the straight as usual and raced close to the outer rails. Despite finishing on fast along with Sadiya, Sundance Kid could not topple the winner. He finished second, a length and quarter away from Ampere’s Touch with Sadiya and Sweet Whisper not far behind.

The punitive action taken by the HRC stewards against jockey Ashhad Asbar for the tender handling of Federer a week ago appeared to have had a salutary effect on his riding ability. Ananth Vatsalya-saddled Federer followed Stoli, Protocol and Glimmer Of Hope into the straight and soon made his move. As Stoli and Protocol bowed out, Federer (Dandified – Let There Be Light) unleashed a powerful run to grab the lead and Asbar then handled his mount quite well to help him earn his maiden win while his main adversary, Glimmer Of Hope, finished second. Good Tidings ran on well in the closing stages of the race to finish third whilst Protocol ended fourth.

Apprentice Kuldeep Singh-ridden favourite Setastar ran like a scalded cat after taking off smartly from the gates for the six-furlong race but that scorching run proved to be suicidal as he had burnt all his fuel when four runners swooped down on him in the last furlong. Reining Queen was the first to tackle Setastar and had Riffa close on his tail even as both It’s My Life and Desert Sultan gathered momentum in the meantime and this quartet made a desperate dash towards the winning line at the same time. The camera verdict went in favour of apprentice Ekram Alam-ridden and B. Mukesh Kumar-trained It’s My Life (Green Coast – Opulence) who had stretched her neck to outwit Riffa, who was a nose ahead of Desert Sultan whilst Reining Queen half-length away. Arba Waheed Arba ran on leisurely to finish an unextended fifth.