After bagging two group races at Hyderabad, Geographique returned to her home base and the Imtiaz Sait-nursed mare capped her monsoon campaign by lifting the Teena Katrak Memorial RWITC Ltd. Trophy (Gr.2) on Sunday. With Geographique pitted against Evaldo, who had put both Jamari and Dyf in the shade at Pune, the big event on the concluding day of the season looked poised for a tantalising finish. However, Geographique brooked no opposition from her rivals and won as she liked over the mile and quarter trip. With no pace-maker in the fray, Suraj Narredu-ridden Geographique went straight down to business when the starter’s flag came down and registered a bloodless victory as the three contestants including Evaldo could do nothing but pray for the mare slow down, even if abruptly, which she didn’t. Mojito travelled close on the haunches of Geographique till the distance post and made way for Trevor Patel to try his luck with Evaldo. But Geographique (Golden Horn – Island Dreams) remained undaunted as Suraj steered her to the eighth career success. Evaldo clearly came across one better on this occasion and finished runner-up with Ramiel and Mojito following him home.
 
Young S. Saqlain was in his element and went on to partner three winners including two maidens from Pesi Shroff’s yard – Psychic Star and Mighty Sparrow. Saqlain started his winning spree with the speedster Dream Seller in the Delhi Race Club Trophy, a six-furlong sprint for Class I horses. Dream Seller tested Saqlain with a cheeky attempt to drift out soon after jumping out of the starting stalls. However, Saqlain had a firm grip on Dream Seller and brought him towards the rails as the field moved out of the chute. Nimble-footed Dream Seller (Phoenix Tiger – Maluku) from PS Chouhan’s string then went thundering ahead at a pace which none in the contest could match and posted the most fluent win of his career. Magileto, despite conceding chunks of weight to the winner, ended a good second ahead of Dexa and Irish Gold.
 
The next two winners steered by Saqlain were brought in fine fettle for their latest showdown by Shroff and although the young rider had very little to contribute in Psychic Star’s success, his riding proved to be a compliment to the talent displayed by Mighty Sparrow in the concluding race of the season. Psychic Star had caught a tartar in Pride’s Prince and Inquilab in her previous two outings but she was fighting fit on this occasion and steamrolled her opponents when graduating from the maiden ranks. Psychic Star came well from the wide draw to race close behind the leaders Star Impact, Sands of Dubai and Crystal Clear. Sands of Dubai collared Star Impact just inside the last furlong and half but found Psychic Star ranging alongside. Saqlain had just loosened his hold on the bay filly’s reins and found her cantering past the leaders without raising a sweat. Bred as half-sister to both Supernatural and Immortality, Psychic Star (Multitude – Psychic Light) raced in solitary splendour after overtaking the pair ahead to claim the PK Sardeshmukh Maharaj Trophy. Eagle Day, the winner’s stablemate, warmed up late to be a notable second. Sands of Dubai and Star Impact ended close behind.
 
Saqlain had to toil hard atop Mighty Sparrow when outsmarting Amadeo in the Dangerous Plate run over a mile. Both these fancied runners were settled in the rear after jumping out from the outermost draw as Desert Classic and Storm Cloud went on a fuel-spending spree and brought the field into the home stretch. As the two front-runners packed up, Floyd and Rush headed the field before Amadeo came with a blazing run to steal a march even as Mighty Sparrow, who did not allow his main adversary to slip away from his radar throughout, was just beginning to get into his stride. Amadeo with Trevor astride was being hailed as a winner close home when Saqlain went into an overdrive on his mount. Mighty Sparrow (Multitude – Transformation) gained ground with every stride and got the better of Amadeo in a thrilling finish. Odysseus, also saddled by Shroff, ran on leisurely to end third ahead of Little Minister.
 
Adhirajsingh Jodha-saddled Timeless Vision gave a speedy display when providing A. Sandesh the solitary winner of the weekend. Sandesh hustled Timeless Vision to grab the lead soon after coming out from the wide draw and increased the tempo immediately on entering the straight. Timeless Vision (Cougar Mountain – Timeless Love) then drew away to win comfortably from runner-up My Princess, who raced with some intent while the only attempt the other runners made was to avoid the limelight. Mojo and Walter ran third and fourth respectively.
 
Trevor had a winning brace right at the start of the day through Demetrius and Singer Sargent. Subhag Singh-nurtured Demetrius got to earn his cornbill thanks to Trevor’s perseverance in the final stages of the race. Trevor brought Demetrius (Sussex – Double or Quits) through the shortest way to tackle leaders Reciprocity, Operation Finale and Fidato inside the last furlong. Vishal Bunde-piloted Between Friends improved gradually from the mid-bunch and threw a strong challenge at Demetrius only to find the winning post coming to the latter’s rescue. Sorrento Secret rallied late to finish in the money ahead of Fidato.
 
Opus Dei from Sait’s yard tracked leader Believe soon after the start and looked poised to overhaul him in the home stretch when he veered out alarmingly. Antony Raj desperately tried to control Opus Dei’s drift but failed to get Opus Dei to race on an even keel and bumped Trevor-ridden Singer Sargent before hitting the wire first. The last named was gaining ground on Opus Dei and lost his stride in the process as also the race. Trevor raised an objection against the winner and his plea found favour with stewards, who decided to reverse the placings. Faisal Abbas’s ward Singer Sargent (Kingda Ka – Proserpine) was promoted to the first spot with Opus Dei being relegated to the second position. Treasure Gold finished third ahead of Believe. Favourite Cache from Shroff’s yard had the field wide open ahead for her to capitalize on when Opus Dei shifted out however she failed to quicken and ended fifth.
 
Abbas led in his second winner of the day when Dulari dashed favourite Maysara’s hopes close home. HJ Antia-trained Maysara had a steady flow of money coming her way as Quicker lost favour in the betting ring. A. Prakash-partnered Maysara ran erratic before taking over the running over the six furlong sprint and once again failed to keep a straight course in the home stretch. Meanwhile, Amyn Merchant-steered Dulari (Tenth Star – Radical Attraction) slipped through the shortest route to gain the upper hand over Maysara and beat the favourite fair and square. Toscana met interference from Maysara close home and finished third ahead of Quicker.
 
Adhirajsingh Jodha earned his first championship title as the Pune season’s leading trainer with 19 wins. Jockey A. Sandesh headed the jockey’s winning tally with 27 winners while Mustakim Alam and Navnath Bhosale became the leading apprentice and leading apprentice claiming allowance with 7 and 4 winners respectively.

Champion Stud farm for Pune Season Manjri Stud with 48 points.