With the five-year old mare Geographique having tamed Touch of Grey and Dyf during the monsoon season at Hyderabad and then returning to Pune to overshadow Evaldo last month, the AC Ardeshir Trophy (Gr. 3) appeared to be at her mercy. For, Imtiaz Sait-trained Geographique was the highest rated contestant in the field of five and yet the handicap was tilted in her favour, or so it seemed. On paper, Geographique towered over her opponents and the only form horse in the set of five was the four-year old Zuccaro from the yards of Pesi Shroff. However, in his last appearance, Zuccaro had trounced none other than his owner-mate El Greco, a winner at the start of the day but lesser fancied than Christofle and Dream Alliance in the clash for a Class II event. Regardless, the odds against Zuccaro in the betting ring suggested that Geographique certainly had a fight on her hands. Coeur De Lion was pushed to seize the initiative shortly after the mile-long event was flagged off with Suraj Narredu settling Geographique on the heels of the leader. Mojito and Once You Go Black raced close behind with Zuccaro ridden well off the pace by G. Vivek. Once the field crossed the final bend, Suraj eased Geographique into the lead whilst G. Vivek also set alight Zuccaro. The dark bay son of Kingda Ka out of Mahali came motoring alongside Geographique inside the last furlong and headed his rival in a trice. Zuccaro then cruised away for an emphatic win, easier than the official verdict reflects. Runner-up Geographique was not disgraced in this defeat and probably found the mile trip too short for her liking. Once You Go Black finished a length behind the runner-up with Mojito and Coeur De Lion following them home. Bred at the Nanoli Stud Farm, Zuccaro is co-owned by Messrs Khushroo N. Dhunjibhoy, Zahir K. Dhunjibhoy, Vispi R. Patel, AS Narielwala, Eruch Adi Mody, DP Adenwalla, Ms Anousha Meyers, Ms Anita Captain and Mrs DP Adenwalla.
 
Only a race earlier Shroff had led in his first winner when Celestial made every post of the seven-furlong trip for the Jehangir P. Dubash Trophy a winning one. Vivek aboard Celestial decided to take matters into his hands no sooner had the field of ten jumped out of the gates and had an uncontested lead throughout except for a fleeting moment when runner-up Fontana showed some aggression opposite the stands. It was as if Celestial had a spring in his stride at this stage as he shrugged off Fontana to register a comfortable victory. Pride Prince recovered from his habitual sluggish start and finished third ahead of Believe, who ran thereabouts all the way.
 
Shroff’s ward Christofle, who is on his comeback trail after a setback last season, was installed as the favourite in anticipation of a better performance following a sort of lung-opener he had on the opening day of the current season. Christofle, however, ran far below expectations and it was his former stable-mate El Greco, who succeeded in earning a bracket in his third attempt under PS Chouhan’s care. Alpine Star did the initial running with El Greco hot on his heels and Christofle, Dream Alliance and Flaming Lamborghini following the front-runners in a single file. As Alpine Star started to falter whilst El Greco got stronger with every stride and eventually seized control of the running after a brief scuffle. Soon C. Umesh and CS Jodha too applied pressure on Christofle and Dream Alliance and tried to intimidate El Greco. Both the fancied runners failed to quicken and made no impression on El Greco (Multidimensional – Alice Springs), who stretched out well when R. Ajinkya gave his mount a couple of cracks with his whip to reach his goal. Dream Alliance ended second, less than two lengths behind the winner but well ahead of Christofle, who had reportedly bled internally during the race. Alpine Star faded out to be fourth.
 
The well-bred juvenile Gordon, who had shown a lot of promise when finishing second behind stable-mate Odysseus on debut a fortnight back, was expected to improve further in the JSK1 Gaming Trophy run over a mile and quarter. Ajinkya astride Gordon overtook Seeking Alpha shortly after the start and embarked on a start-to-finish mission, which looked all right till the heads turned for home. But Gordon looked to be in trouble inside the final two furlongs as Ajinkya went for his whip and Seeking Alpha ranged alongside and Lo Dolce Vita also making headway. Just when Vivek-ridden Seeking Alpha managed to gain the upper hand over Gordon, young A. Prakash-partnered La Dolce Vita put in a menacing run to range alongside the former. Both Seeking Alpha and La Dolce Vita (Speaking of Which – Xisca) went stride for stride in the last furlong and it was the handicap advantage enjoyed by the latter which saw the Bezan Chenoy trainee put the issue to rest in the last few strides. Kimiko made a strong bid in the final furlong but the A. Sandesh-partnered mare warmed up a bit late and found the winning post coming a bit too soon for her comfort. The blanket finish saw a neck separating each of the first three finishers on the judges’ board. Gordon, though beaten, battled on till the end before Endurance edged out both him and Ataturk for the fourth place.
 
Narendra Lagad-saddled House of Lords, a recent demotee, had apparently not forgotten his galloping shoes at the stables on this occasion as he sprinted ahead from the innermost draw to seize the initiative and held on gallantly over the five-furlong scurry. Jockey A. Prakash’s resilience astride House of Lords (Excellent Art – Mufradat) helped the gelding keep both Majestic Warrior and Mojo at bay and also provide him his second winner of the day. Goomah ended an eye-catching fourth.
 
Otello, who had been knocking at the doors of success recently, had his call answered in the concluding event. HJ Antia-groomed Otello (Roderic O’Connor – Blackjack) was taken to the front by jockey SG Prasad and was ridden flat out to prevail by half-length over Milli, who tried hard to catch him in the closing stages of the race. Sorrento Secret ran on late to finish third ahead of Precioso, who had sneaked through the shortest route home after being the last one to enter the home stretch.