Taking a break of over three months following his painful campaign at Pune last monsoon turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Time And Tide when he returned to the Mahalaxmi racetrack on the Derby weekend for the Dr SC Jain Sprinters’ Championship (Gr.2). A. Sandesh settled Time And Tide in the mid-bunch as Magileto was taken on a start to finish mission with Miss American Pie and Dream Seller in close attendance. One into the straight, NS Parmar got busy on Miss American Pie, who improved gradually to join Magileto in the last furlong. The former gained the upper hand briefly but was soon challenged by Adhirajsingh Jodha-schooled Time And Tide (Dali – Starlet), who was in full flow and had the measure of Miss American Pie a few metres before the winning post. Dream Seller was stuck towards the rails and when YS Srinath tried to switch lanes, Time And Tide came alongside leaving no room for the former to navigate further. Dream Seller ended third ahead of Akshay Kumar-steered Snowfall, who raced in the rear till the two-furlong marker and the mare’s late charge fetched her the fourth place, a short-head ahead of Magileto. This six-furlongs terms event was the only bright spot in the otherwise drab racing programme.
 
Pesi Shroff-trained Bluebird, who had dropped jockey S. Saqlain on debut in October at Pune, won quite impressively earlier last month despite a slow start and raising a gallop only after a furlong from the gates. Bluebird once again received maximum support in the betting in anticipation of an encore in the hands of Navnath Bhosale but the bay gelding played truant once again. He swerved to his left when the starter’s flag came down which unseated Bhosale, who was unbalanced. Meanwhile, Suraj Narredu hit the front with Divine Star and almost pulled it off before apprentice Aditya Waydande elicited a superb response from Quicker in the last furlong. The young rookie drove Malesh Narredu’s ward confidently and wore down Divine Star to secure a three-part length verdict close home. Eloquent moved closer with every stride when Trevor urged him for an effort but the Shazaan Shah trainee failed to raise the gallop that could get the better of his rivals. He finished third, a neck behind Divine Star but well clear of Cinderella’s Dream, whose warming up was painfully slow.

Reaching the lowest class after a string of failures, Ataturk was entrusted in the hands of Chris Lemaire on this occasion and it was widely expected that Shroff’s ward would give an improved performance as he was running with the aid of blinkers now. He was backed with enthusiasm yet again but the punters were left dazed when they saw Ataturk refusing to gallop after walking out of the gates. Gimme took charge of the running with Stalin and Madison in pursuit but, soon after turning for home, Antony Raj spurred Imtiaz Sait-trained Stalin (Phoenix Tower – Winter Renaissance) into the lead and steered him to a comfortable maiden win over Red Dust, Continental Drift and Precioso.
 
The chances of Angelo looked quite promising as he raced on the haunches of top-weighted Ardakan with favourite Expedite not too far away. However, disaster struck when jockey G. Vivek gave a left-handed crack with his whip to get his mount to pick up speed but Angelo veered out and fell back. With Expedite not responding positively to Antony’s call, Sandesh went into an overdrive astride Ardakan and got the best out of Pradeep Chouhan’s ward. Chagall came with a good run in the closing stages of the mile trip but Ardakan (Excellent Art – Desert Lightning) proved a hard nut to crack and the former was forced to settle for the runner-up slot. Angelo failed to race on an even keel and gradually moved towards the outer rails. His late gallop couldn’t topple the front-runners and he finished third just ahead of Treat, who took a long time warming up to her task.
 
Three-year old maiden Rafael proved far too speedy for his rivals in the Tattersalls Million run over a five-furlong scurry. Rafael (Leitir Mor – Elena) jumped out smartly from the barriers to seize the initiative and CS Jodha didn’t have much trouble in keeping him on course to victory till the end. Eastern Monarch tried hard to catch the winner but Trevor’s effort didn’t pay off as the winner stayed beyond his reach. Exciting came from way back to finish third ahead of favourite Treat, who ran like a snail till turning for home.
 
Adhirajsingh-groomed on-money favourite Amadeo also scared the punters out of their wits when losing considerable ground at the start. However, Amadeo proved far too superior in the set as he made rapid to progress to recover lost ground by the time the leaders had reached the two-furlong marker. Amadeo (Cougar Mountain – Oomph) was soon racing within striking distance of leader Storm Cloud and Flashman and tackled them with a swift turn of foot a furlong away from home to give Adhirajsingh his third winner of the day. Flashman ran second with Daulat Mai denying Storm Cloud the third spot on the post.
 
Narendra Lagad-saddled Moonlight Kiss, who was racing on demotion, flopped and flopped badly in the first race. The speedy mare who had finished second to Midnight Express in the higher class receded after reaching the haunches of Untitled, whose stablemate Collateral led the field in the five-furlong sprint. Untitled took charge of the running inside the last furlong but caved in when challenged by hard-ridden Adonis. Vijay Kasbekar-saddled and Bhawani Singh-ridden Adonis (Shifting Power – Ainra), who had last won a year ago, got his second career success beating Milli by nearly two lengths whilst Untitled and Talking Point followed them home. Moonlight Kiss gave a dismal show and beat only one home, Sim Sim.
 
In the next event, Alpha Gene from veteran Ivor Fernandes’s yard was being hailed as a winner close home but was overwhelmed by the on-money favourite Esconido on the post. Earlier, Marlboro Man took a long lead from the gates and appeared to have been ridden into the ground by TS Jodha as apprentice S. Saba-partnered Alpha Gene tackled him with ease and appeared on course for an upset win. However, S. Zervan-driven Esconido Leitir Mor – Pure Allure) soon joined the issue and in the ensuing duel, trainer S. Waheed’s ward prevailed in a tight finish. The strong handling of Zervan tilted the scales in grey filly’s favour and helped her emerge out of the maiden ranks. Mohsin ran third while Yuletide finished fourth.