Three-year old Imperia continued to scale new heights and annexed the Prince of Berar Trophy (Div-I) enroute her fifth career success. Imperia had run a forgettable fourth as a favourite on the monsoon Derby day but that did not deter punters from fancying her chances yet again. Unlike her previous run, Imperia decided to make a start-to-finish bid, which had previously fetched her three wins. Jockey Ajeeth Kumar hit the front with Ananta Vatsalya's protégé and controlled the pace all the way before driving out Imperia (Declaration of War – Azurite) to a facile win over an opposition which failed to question the winner's supremacy. Decoy, who chased Imperia inside the home stretch, ended second ahead of Lucky Zone and Strauss. 

Before Imperia's impressive performance, jockey K. Mukesh Kumar gave a dominating display in the saddle on Monday. The talented rider rode four winners including a hat-trick atop Magan Singh Parmar's wards – Barbet, Mix The Magic and Tripurari, and capped his feat aboard Hugh Capet, a chance mount which provided Mukesh his fourth straight winner. 

Barbet, who drew a blank in the last two years and was recently sold to a new owner, struck immediately after shifting from the yards of Laxman Singh to Magan Singh. Last-outing winner and first favourite Kings Best showed the way to the field after travelling about two furlongs from the gates and brought them into the straight where he faced a serious threat from Miss Little Angel. Meanwhile, Barbet came through the shortest way home to join the leaders but Mukesh brought the mare wide after fearing that he would not find a clear run ahead. Despite having to skirt both Kings Best and Miss Little Angel, Barbet (Kingda – Veronese) surged ahead with about half furlong left for the destination and won untroubled thereafter as Mukesh didn't have to stretch her further. Miss Little Angel took the second slot while Kings Best faded out to be third ahead of Carnival Lady. 

Mukesh confidently steered Mix The Magic to register an encore in the Recommender Plate (Div-I), the event where the jockeys were not allowed to carry a whip. Top-weighted Mix The Magic (Planetaire – Atmosphere), who was carrying the same weight as she did in her previous outing, exploited her speed to hit the front soon after the gates flew open and Mukesh drove her vigorously in the final furlong to stay beyond the reach of her rivals. Una Paloma Blanca improved steadily to beat Sucker Punch for the second slot while Classy Dame, who followed the winner till entering the home stretch, retired to be fourth. 

Neglected in the betting ring, Tripurari showed remarkable improvement over his recent performances to register a stunning upset. Runlikethwind (formerly named Bangor On Dee) established a narrow lead over Blissful, Only The Brave and Shadow Fax when the field had sorted itself out at the start. It appeared close home that Runlikethewind would succeed when he repelled the onslaught of Only The Brave and Shadow Fax but before he could hit the wire, Tripurari entered the scene. Mukesh applied relentless pressure on Tripurari (Stardan – Lake Huron) as the winning post neared and got his mount to step up the pace. Tripurari (Stardan – Lake Huron) came with a powerful run to swoop down the three runners ahead and posted a narrow win over Runlikethewind, Shadow Fax and Only The Brave. 

G. Sandeep-schooled Hugh Capet lived up to the promise shown in his previous effort and ran true to the market expectations in the Prince of Berar Trophy (Div-II). Mukesh substituted Akshay Kumar in the saddle atop Hugh Capet and gave the favourite a flawless ride before nailing Maverick on the post. Oliver's Mount had a slender lead over Reigning Beauty and Maverick in the last furlong even as Mukesh urged Hugh Capet for an effort. Hugh Capet slowly but surely made progress and put in a late burst to get the better of Maverick, who had gained the upper hand over Reigning Beauty and Oliver's Mount in the final stages of the race. A neck separated Hugh Capet (Planetaire – Win and Enjoy) from Maverick with Fly Tothe Stars rallying late to be third, two lengths away. Reigning Beauty ran close behind to be fourth. 

P. Sai Kumar got a readymade winner in Indian Temple when he replaced Akshay astride the S. Sreekant trainee. Backed enthusiastically in the betting ring alongside City of Blessings, Indian Temple (Saamidd – Jasoora) raced on the haunches of Brooklyn Beauty from the word go and put in a spirited effort in the home stretch to tackle her rival a few metres away from the winning line. Runner-up Brooklyn Beauty was clearly done in by the weight on her back but ended a good second ahead of First Class and True Icon. City of Blessings failed to improve after being a prominent fourth in the straight. 

Ambitious Star from K. Satheesh's yard gave a speedy display in the day's opening event and made every post of the Recommender Plate (Div-II) a winning one. Ekram Alam did well to keep Ambitious Star (David Livingston – Phoenix) going towards the end as favourite Newfound Glory started to warm up. The winning post came to the winner's rescue as Newfound Glory fell short by three parts of a length at the wire. Dream to Fly made it to the third spot ahead of Glimmer of Hope, who weakened close home. 

Despite a lethargic start as usual, KSV Prasad Raju-trained Battle On improved steadily as the race progressed and fought a pitched battle with Muaser in the last furlong in the concluding event. Ajeeth Kumar-ridden Muaser led all the way after jumping out fluently from the barriers but found Battle On breathing hard down on his neck as they approached the winning post. Sai Kumar brought Battle On (Dawn Approach – Fionnuar) with a flourish from the rear and prevailed by a head in a tight finish, which saw the four-year old colt taste his maiden success. Deccan Ranger managed to finish in the money ahead of Exponent.