It is just three weeks since the start of the current monsoon racing here and trainer Prasanna Kumar seems to be on a roll as he collected another bounty when Siege Courageous struck gold in the Yohan Z. Poonawalla sponsored Turf Club Trophy (Gr.3). Prasanna had three solid aspirants including Royal Mysore, Knotty Charmer and Siege Courageous in the line-up of nine runners which also had the Invitation Sprinters’ Trophy winner Time And Tide. Siege Courageous was more mature than his two barn-mates and he claimed the honours which he truly deserved.

Golden Neil made the initial running and kept company with Magileto while Siege Courageous and Time And Tide, who initially fought for his head, raced close on their heels after the field had sorted itself out at the start. Antony Raj and A. Sandesh both made their move when the field swung into the straight and got Siege Courageous and Time And Tide to assume control of the running. The former lost his stride when Antony committed himself in taking the narrow gap between the front-running pair but, thankfully, Antony regained his poise and drove Siege Courageous with enough power to repel Time And Tide’s threat and stay beyond Royal Mysore’s reach both at the same time. Royal Mysore graced the wrong end of the field till the heads turned for home and shifted out under the whip when Akshay Kumar switched lanes to launch his assault thereby inconveniencing Knotty Charmer. Royal Mysore moved resolutely but Siege Courageous (Top Class – Noble Queen) had already sewn up the race. Half a length separated the first two while Time And Tide was third, three-part of a length away. Golden Neil managed to hang on the fourth place. Mojito was squeezed out by Royal Mysore, who shifted in as the field jumped out of the gates, and was under pressure throughout as he finished on Golden Neil's tail. Prasanna deserves credit for keeping his Pune contingent “fit for the fray”. Bred at the Mukteshwar Stud Farms, Siege Courageous is the joint property of Messrs Dean Stephens and Angad Singh, who represents Mukteshwar Racing LLP.

Earlier, Aman Hussain-saddled mare Snowfall (Territories – Markabah) carried an imposing 62kg on her back when lifting the Dancing Prances Trophy in a three-way finish. Top-weighted Son Of A Gun hit the front at the start but soon surrendered the lead to Cellini, who then bowled along merrily in the front till being caught up by Slainte and Snowfall in the last half furlong. Akshay gave a couple of cracks asking Snowfall, who veered out slightly at the turn, to maintain a straight course. As Slainte raced abreast, Akshay put his head down to drive Snowfall with an intensity which encouraged the mare to stretch out in the final furlong and eventually nail Slainte and Cellini. A long neck separated the first three horses at the wire. Son Of A Gun and The Protector followed them home. Snowfall’s success meant a lot for Aman as she was trained by his late father Altaf Hussain till last year and, following his demise, was sent to Bangalore to race under trainer Rajesh Narredu’s care.

Alpine Star from Narendra Lagad’s yard was taken on a wire-to-wire mission by Mustakim Alam and gave a tenacious display when challenged by Sandesh-guided favourite Vincent Van Gogh. Alpine Star dictated the terms over the nine-furlong journey for the Rajaram Chhatrapati Trophy and was joined by Vincent Van Gogh when entering the home stretch. But neither Mustakim nor Alpine Star (Surfrider – Snowing) were in a mood to give up as the grey gelding stretched out under the whip to frustrate Vincent Van Gogh’s attempt to catch him. Flaming Lamborgini finished third, a long way back while King Louis made it to the judges’ frame to be fourth.

Veteran trainer Imtiaz Sait and jockey Neeraj Rawal both tasted their first success of the season and had not one but two winners during the day. They started off with Regina Memorabilis, who claimed the Indian Association of Equine Practitioners Trophy, and completed a double with Christophany in the Western India Race Horse Owners Association Trophy. With the benefit of a run over a sprint under her belt, Regina Memorabilis relished the mile trip and her experience stood her in good stead as she wore down stable-mate Arise And Shine (formerly named Pamchavan) and kept late-finishing Applause at bay. Neeraj had Regina Memorabilis settled behind Arise And Shine, Mysteriousstranger and Ataturk before making gradual progress to be in touch with the front two runners. With Mysteriousstranger finding it difficult to measure Arise And Shine, Regina Memorabilis (Ampere – Ibiza Empress) quickened well to gain the upper hand after quelling her barn-mate’s resistance. Applause, who was racing close behind the winner at the turn, was held up momentarily after Akshay failed to get a clear run until Ataturk fell back. Applause unleashed a big run in the final stages but it proved to be a bit late. Arise And Shine ran third ahead of Mysteriousstranger.

Superimpose was brushed up to take the lead and had Majestic Warrior alongside as Christophany took a smart jump from the barriers but allowed them to show the way to the field. Soon after turning for home, Neeraj pushed Christophany (Planetaire – Nuray) aggressively to force her way in between the leaders and skipped away for her third career success. Runner-up Julius, who lay at the tail end of the field till the final furlong and half, raised a late gallop but all in vain. Earlier, Art Collector, who lacked initial speed, ended third despite being hard-ridden by Sandesh to be in a striking position behind the winner at the bend. NS Parmar-driven Fighton, who ran fourth, did not have the luck of the race as he got interfered at a crucial stage of the race by Art Collector. The latter leaned on to him just when Parmar had committed to making his final bid and was about to gain ground on Majestic Warrior at the turn. Thereafter Art Collector shifted in to close the gap, virtually shutting the door on Fighton’s chances.

Four-year old Zuccaro found his mark in the Western India Trainers’ Association Trophy and won quite impressively following his master Pesi Shroff’s decision to use a hood and an eye-patch on his ward. Zuccaro was ridden well off the pace by G. Vivek and came through the shortest home when launching his bid whilst Whatsinaname tried runaway tactics after the seven-furlong race was flagged off. With the no-hopers running in the front falling back, C. Umesh-ridden Metzinger tackled Whatsinaname as the field came into view in the straight but soon found stable-mate Zuccaro breathing down his neck. Vivek gave Zuccaro (Kingda Ka – Mahali) a flawless ride in driving him out all the way allowing the chestnut to gain momentum when it mattered most. Zuccaro pounced upon Metzinger and sailed away for a comfortable win. Favourite Pride’s Prince was lethargic at the start which proved to be his undoing and his late charge found him finishing a close third, a neck behind Metzinger. Madras Cheque was prominent till the final turn but failed to accelerate and ran fourth.

Nazzak Chenoy’s ward Precioso (Ampere – Gruezi) finally had his say as jockey Vishal Bunde brought him with a sustained run in the home stretch to shock favourite Prince Igor on the post. Earlier, Adonis grabbed the lead from the gates only to surrender when challenged by Prince Igor close home. Red Dust showed some zest for racing when ending a close third with Adonis retiring to the fourth slot.

Rank outsider Brave Beauty from Hosidar Daji’s stables unleashed a brilliant run to flash on to the scene in the straight and was steered by lesser-known rider Shahrukh Khan to an upset win over The General and Galloping Ahead. Endurance and Kinzhal, the two fancied runners, were up in the front till the bend but found the going tough when Brave Beauty (Territories – Bravia) came all guns blazing on the wide outside and had to settle for the minor places.