Five-year old Irish Gold came across one better twice in both Dream Seller and Bazooka Babe when trying to find his mark in the highest class following his previous success in August last. However, on Thursday, he faced no such hurdles. Pitted against only two opponents including stablemate Portofino Bay, Dallas Todywalla-nurtured Irish Gold had an easy passage to victory in the Mathradas Goculdas Trophy, the day’s feature event. Portofino Bay, carrying feather-weight on her back, tried to repeat her recent runaway act but found Irish Gold (Roderic O’Connor – Irish Bailey) in an unrelenting mood. A. Sandesh made his move soon after they had taken the final turn and rode the winner aggressively to douse the mare’s hopes in the final furlong. Bazooka Babe was outpaced throughout and trailed behind the leaders.
 
Sandesh was in the spotlight as he started the day on a winning note and had a total of four winners by the end of the day. Barring the exception of Floyd and Goodfellow, Kimiko was taking on a bunch of maiden youngsters of which Pesi Shroff-trained Ataturk once again caught the punters fancy. But the G. Vivek-ridden favourite failed to live up to the expectations. Floyd took charge of the running over the nine-furlong trip with the maidens headed by Sands of Dubai in chase initially while the fancied duo of Ataturk and Kimiko raced in the rear. Floyd was still in command after bringing his rivals into the home stretch with Nostalgia, Sands of Dubai and Ataturk trying to put pressure on him. Meanwhile, Sandesh brought Kimiko into contention and gained ground with every stride before toppling Floyd with little over a furlong left for the wire. Nostalgia was hard-ridden to finish runner-up, well ahead of Floyd and Applause. Ataturk threw in his towel even as Karthik Ganapathy-saddled Kimiko (Win Legend – Hauhaiwunai) was trying to gain the upper hand.
 
An inspiring effort from Sandesh astride Charlie enabled the aged horse nursed by trainer Vinesh to carve a narrow win in the Aziz H. Ahmedbhoy Trophy. Favourite Pride’s Prince took a smart jump from the gates but was eased off by Neeraj Rawal and allowed Splendido to make the running with Waikiki, after being slow at the start, brushed up by NS Parmar to race in close attendance of the leader. Sandesh did not give too much of a leeway to the frontrunners and kept Charlie on the haunches of Pride’s Prince. Timing his challenge to perfection, Sandesh pressed the accelerator to swiftly take charge from Splendido and Waikiki, who were both struggling to remain in the hunt. The break of over two lengths that Charlie (Planetaire – Miracle of Love) had when overtaking the pair ahead kept him in good stead as Sandesh powered him towards the winning post. Pride’s Prince came up strongly towards the end but could not catch Charlie, who stayed half-length clear. Singer Sargent ran third while Regal Command ended fourth.
 
Sandesh’s decision not to cut pace with Esperanza in the early phase of the six-furlong sprint and some vigorous riding atop Art Collector helped the Aman Hussain trainee to land the spoils in the Royal Barbershop Trophy (Div-I). P. Vinod-piloted Esperanza had a good lead over Art Collector when the field straightened for home but the mare found the trip beyond her grasp. She veered out under pressure after feeling her legs in the last hundred metres and caved in when Art Collector (Roderic O’Connor – First and Only One) confronted her. The fact that The General and favourite Liam were unable to beat Esperanza was a clear indication that both were outpaced during the race.
 
The punters were so impressed by the winning debut of Nazzak Chenoy-schooled five-year old mare Mila that it led them to believe that the Royal Barbershop Trophy (Div-II) was hers for the taking. But the half-money favourite left her followers disappointed. Mila was brushed up in the early stages by Vivek to take over the running from Jetfire and Milli soon after the field had sorted itself out. Mila failed to keep a straight course shortly after crossing the two-furlong marker and veered out taking Jetfire and Milli along. Demetrius tried to cash in on the opportunity that presented itself but SS Shah-saddled Jetfire gave a rousing performance to get back into the reckoning after being inconvenienced by Mila. Prashant Dhebe tasted his first success this season when Jetfire (Total Gallery – Daffodils) necked out Demetrius in the last couple of strides. Milli finished in the money about a length away while Mila was a head behind.
 
Hosidar Daji-mentored Johnny Mac turned out to be the best among the six debutants in the field of seven competing for the Nadia Mary Homi Wadia Trophy. Johnny Mac fell back after jumping out smartly from the gates as Saseka sprinted ahead and had favourite Jackson in hot pursuit. Sandesh-partnered Jackson faced little resistance from Neeraj-steered Saseka when he challenged her soon after the heads turned for home and surged ahead. Jackson started to shorten his strides in the last furlong and, despite Sandesh’s desperate attempt, failed to repel the onslaught unleashed by Johnny Mac. Vivek-driven Johnny Mac (Fiero – Siyabonga) put in a sustained run when alerted to his task in the straight before collaring Jackson in the last half-furlong and went on to make a winning debut. Tyrannus ran on to be third while Exciting finished fourth.
 
Little Minister was one of the three runners saddled by Faisal Abbas in the last race and many eyebrows were raised when smart money started flowing the way of the five-year old maiden in the betting ring. Amyn Merchant=ridden Little Minister’s improved performance was indeed a revelation as he had finished over a distance behind the winner in a five-furlong sprint just a week ago. Little Minister raced in the  mid-bunch as Golden Rule sped into the lead with Talking Point, favourite Otello and Samson close behind. Merchant brought Little Minister into contention as the field entered the home stretch and within a couple of seconds swooped down on the front-runners. Little Minister (Kingda Ka – Mekong Delta) stormed ahead with about a furlong and half left for the destination and such was his domination that Merchant not only had the luxury of peeping over his shoulders at least twice, he even eased up his mount close home. The near seven-length victory registered by Little Minister left his rivals stranded and the followers of form stunned. Luminosity and Otello finished second and third while Anoushka, the winner’s stablemate, ended fourth.