Showing scant respect towards his three rivals and the handicapping analysis as well, Narendra Lagad-nurtured Son Of A Gun sped away for a magnificent victory in the Rajpipla Trophy on Thursday. Considering their individual performances when they previously clashed, the scales seemed tilted in favour of Cellini, Amazonia and Baby Bazooka, which got reflected in the bookmakers odds. Surprisingly, Son Of A Gun ended up being the least fancied horse in the four-horse field. However, Son Of A Gun (Top Class - Indian Serenade) made his rivals chase the shadows once he was off to a brilliant start from the barriers. Mustakim Alam controlled the initial pace superbly astride Son Of A Gun and then drew a resilient response from his mount when his rivals tried to intimidate him. Amazonia and Cellini went after Son Of A Gun in earnest soon after entering the straight only to meet disappointment on the way. Like in her previous essay, it appeared that Amazonia would have her say on this occasion. But the Deepesh Narredu-nursed and Neeraj Rawal ridden mare failed to overtake the winner as Mustakim packed solid power in his finishing effort which enabled Son Of A Gun to assert his superiority once again. Amazonia, Baby Bazooka and Cellini followed the winner home in that order.

Pesi Shroff-schooled colt Santissimo registered an encore with an emphatic victory over his four opponents in the AFS Talyarkhan Trophy. Santissimo lay an unconcerned third as Raise The Stakes went storming  into the lead and tried to outpace the field. Pradeep Chouhan released his grip on Santissimo as soon as they entered the home stretch and went sailing past Raise The Stakes and Redouble. Santissimo (Gusto - Beldon Hill) won without raising a sweat and was a distance ahead of Redouble, who ended runner-up after Raise The Stakes was a spent force more than a furlong away from home. Escape Velocity and Evgenia ran hopelessly throughout. 

Chouhan had three assignments during the day and he achieved a cent percent result having partnered two winners for trainer Hosidar Daji. His first success came astride the grey mare Chat, who justified her favouritism with a fluent win over the mile and half trip for the MH Ahmedbhoy Cup. The two frontline contenders Chat and Alpha Domino disputed the early lead with the former succeeding in calling the shots till the mile-marker where the latter hit the front. Neeraj-piloted Alpha Domino had a sizeable lead when she brought the five-horse into the straight while Chat looked to be in trouble as Midas Touch made his presence felt. But Chouhan pulled out his whip and it took a couple of cracks to get Chat going. With Alpha Domino shortening her strides, Chat (Kingda Ka - Yellow Diamond) gained the upper hand inside the last furlong and was home and dry soon. Alpha Domino took the second spot ahead of Willy Wonka and Midas Touch. 

After being dodged by the winning post for nearly a year, Hosidar's ward Misty finally entered the winner's enclosure with a narrow win in the TM Goculdas Plate. Waikiki led for the first two furlongs before Lord And Master bounded forth and dictated the terms till after coming into the final stretch. Meanwhile, Chouhan spurred Misty to snatch the lead from Lord And Master and was ridden flat out to stay beyond the reach of her adversaries. Akshay Kumar- ridden favourite Elpenor was under pressure much before the race came to a boil and took a long time warming up to his task. Misty (Cougar Mountain - Smoke Ring) stretched out well to win by just under a length from Elpenor, who pegged back Waikiki, who was going nowhere despite NS Parmar's desperate bid to collar Misty. Waikiki ended half-length behind Elpenor and had Kariena a length away.

Going bare-back in the hands of apprentice Haridas Gore, Rehanullah Khan-saddled Arbitrage tasted his second career success. Favourite Fiery Red made a pillar-to-post dash once again with Mirae in hot pursuit but to no avail as the field closed in on her in the last lap of the five-furlong scurry. Arbitrage (Surfrider - Silken Eyes) produced a sparkling run when Haridas showed him the daylight to surge ahead and tackle Mirae close home. Queens Pride ran on late to be third, a nose ahead of Adonis.

Zacapa from Lagad's yard was also helped by the feather weight on his back which saw him earn his maiden bracket as a six-year old. Zacapa, who raced prominently with the front-runners from the start, improved with a flourish in the straight to spring a surprise on his young fancied rivals. Operation Finale took off on a start-to-finish mission from the gates and despite spurning both Dagger's Strike and Neilina in the last furlong, the R. Ajinkya-partnered favourite was overwhelmed by both Zacapa and Zip Along. Apprentice S. Saba rode Zacapa (Ampere - Zazou) confidently to gain the second winner of his career. Zip Along took the runner-up slot whilst Operation Finale and Red Dust ended in a dead heat for the third place.

Young Behram Cama-schooled filly Ricochet claimed the concluding event with a facile victory in the hands of CS Jodha. The four-year old filly was pitted against a mediocre lot and was the piping hot favourite to win. Ricochet (Quasar - Venezia) made short work of her rivals when Jodha asked her for an effort. She burst past the front-runners opposite the stands and left her rivals fighting for the minor places. Good Deeds finished second whilst She's A Teaser and Tanhaiyaan ran third and fourth respectively.