With not much of a potential threat emanating from the set of his five rivals in the Sundarban Plate, Donald Netto’s ward Ashoka rightly went into the seven-furlong event as the prime favourite. The five-year old bay horse kept his date with success and had no big hurdles to tackle as Suraj Narredu fashioned a workman-like victory in the Class I event. Best Buddy quickly assumed his front-running role as none of the other contestants were really interested in that job with Malaala racing up with the leader and Ashoka settled comfortably behind. As the field skirted the false rails and approached the final turn, Malaala went slightly wide allowing Ashoka to move up and challenge Best Buddy. Suraj Narredu gave Ashoka his head just after passing the two-furlong marker to wrest the lead even as Malaala got her act together. Ashoka (Gusto – Epsilon Orionis) stretched out, though under the whip, and kept going to claim the honours ahead of Malaala. Strauss found his galloping shoes in the final stages of the race and came with a big run from the last position to finish third, half-length behind runner-up Malaala. Best Buddy ended fourth whilst second favourite Ashwa Morocco ended a poor fifth and it seemed he was done in by the heavy impost he was asked to carry on his back.

Trainer Imran Khan got the first fancied winner of his career when Armstrong made amends for his defeat at the hand of D Minchu last month. Armstrong took off smartly from the barriers to hit the front and was never headed by any of his nine rivals over the seven-furlong trip. Armstrong came under pressure from his main adversary Brooklyn Beauty in the final run-in forcing Suraj to ply his whip when asking the favourite to keep focus on his task. Armstrong (Air Support – Stromboli) soon gathered momentum and drew away from Brooklyn Beauty, who was forced to play second fiddle. Wallop And Gallop made a late appearance on the scene as usual to grab the third slot from Fortunatus.

Had the winning post not come to the rescue of Gatiman in the day’s opening event, Suraj astride joint-favourite Verrazzano would have returned home with three winners. Magan Singh Parmar-trained Gatiman, who had advertised his fitness when finishing third on debut earlier, was swiftly off from blocks and established a sizeable lead as he brought the field into the home stretch. Verrazzano, who lacked initial pace and dropped back after a level jump, was a distance behind Gatiman, who came all alone in the home stretch. Suraj stirred Verrazzano into action just after crossing the halfway mark of the six-furlong sprint and the bay gelding from Bangalore came with a devouring run towards his rival. Gatiman (Dali – Real Queen), though shortening his strides, was ridden powerfully by K. Mukesh Kumar in the last half furlong and won warding off Verrazzano’s threat by half-length. There was nothing to write home about the rest who finished a distance behind the runner-up with N R I Northpower leading the procession.

The betting trend in the B. Marideshwara Rao Memorial Cup, the only trophy event in the day’s card, suggested that it was a two-horse between Imperia and Glorious Power and the prediction turned out to be accurate, though not surprisingly. Glorious Power, who was the lesser fancied of the two frontline contenders, was taken on a start-to-finish by Afroz Khan whilst Imperia chose not to cut pace with the leaders and was settled close behind. On entering the home stretch jockey Ajeeth Kumar thought of taking the shortest route home but, realising that there was no room ahead, he switched lanes and pulled Imperia out before going after Glorious Power and Santa Barbara. The Ananth Vatsalya-nursed filly Imperia (Declaration Of War – Azurite) soon picked up pace and collared Glorious Power, who succumbed rather meekly, and went on to claim the B. Marideshwara Rao Memorial Cup. Apart from runner-up Glorious Power, there were five more runners saddled by Leo D’Silva who finished in a procession behind the winner. Santa Barbara and Worcester ran third and fourth respectively.

Despite being a maiden and entrusted in the hands of a less-accomplished rider like G. Naresh, Flying Fury was a half-money favourite in the Silver Phantom Plate, which was a clear indication of the less than moderate opposition he was up against. Nevertheless, Robin Reddy-groomed Flying Fury raced unconcerned till Opera Queen led the field into the straight. Soon after Opera Queen surrendered her lead, Normui and Diablo flattered briefly before Naresh set alight Flying Fury (Smuggler’s Cove – Fiorelle), who soon tackled them both. The last furlong or so belonged to Flying Fury as he won untroubled all the way. Freedom Touch, Diablo and Bellingham followed him home.

Last-outing winner Carnival Lady made it two in a row with a convincing win on promotion to Class III. Apprentice Shivansh gradually improved Carnival Lady from the rear and was up in the firing line when leader Classical Music was on her way out. Afroz Khan-steered well-fancied Shah Of Iran, who was waiting to pounce on the leader, surged ahead and led for a while before Carnival Lady came all guns blazing. Ravinder Singh-saddled Carnival Lady (Sedgefield – Translation) overwhelmed Shah Of Iran in the last furlong and had the race sewn up there and then. Shah Of Iran ended second whilst D Yes Boss ran in the money ahead of True Icon.

Ravinder, standing in for RH Sequeira, led in another winner N R I Ultrapower, who justified the favouritism in the last race. The Akshay Kumar-ridden mare caused some trepidation to her supporters as she was lethargic at the start but joined the pack swiftly after travelling about a furlong from the start. Exclusive Spark showed the way to the field over the mile trip and brought them into the straight where Indian Temple took charge. Voice Of A Dream was about to overpower Indian Temple when Akshay brought N R I Ultrapower with a brilliant run on the outside. See My Attitude also joined the fray but N R I Ultrapower (Saamidd – Captain’s Lover), under the strong urgings of Akshay, succeeded in keeping them both at bay. See My Attitude edged out Voice Of A Dream for the second place. Indian Temple faded out to be fourth.