Although Pesi Shroff did not get the success he desired in the Indian Derby, he achieved a treble and it was Zuccaro who turned out to be his star performer. Zuccaro, the five-year old chestnut whose unbeaten streak of four wins was disrupted in the Maharaja Jiwajirao Scindia Trophy in December last, made a grand comeback in the Thackers Eclipse Stakes of India (Gr.2) on Derby day. Geographique, the giant-killer who had scalped both Juliette and Zuccaro last time out, went on a pillar-to-post mission with her four rivals queued up behind. Oisin Murphy had Zuccaro in a handy fourth position whilst Evaldo bided his time close behind. Galahad and Zuccaro both started to gain ground on Geographique, who apparently slowed down inside the last two furlongs and the moment Murphy asked him the question, Zuccaro responded by unleashing a terrific turn of foot. Zuccaro (Kingda Ka – Mahali) soon raced majestically in the front and had the race sewn up a long way from home. Evaldo ran on well under pressure to divest Galahad of the second spot while Geographique retired to be fourth.
 
In a performance that was similar to that of his stablemate Zuccaro, Constable mowed down his opponents in the six furlong sprint for the Coromandel Gromor Million at the start of the day’s proceedings. Top-weighted Cellini sped into the lead whilst Constable raced in the mid-group as Fast Pace and Hall of Grace chased the leader. In the final run-in, G. Vivek put Constable into top gear and the bay horse made easy meat of Hall of Grace and Fast Pace, who were unable to tackle Cellini who was about to retreat. Constable (Multidimensional – Winds of Fortune) stormed into the lead a furlong and half away from the wire and won authoritatively on promotion. Azrinaz, who was lethargic at the start, improved to finish runner-up ahead of Ataash who too failed to quicken when asked for an effort by Antony Raj. Timeless Vision ran fourth.
 
The bay juvenile filly Fynbos, who is bred as full sister to Zuccaro, graduated from the maiden ranks after producing a sparkling run in the last furlong of the Keki D. Mehta Memorial Million. Fynbos was ignored in the betting as her barnmate Kings Gambit’s chances appeared better if the trend in the bookies arena was anything to go by. Chris Lemaire-partnered Kings Gambit ran well up with the pace as no-hoper Allez L’etoile called the early shots over the mile trip whereas Trevor Patel-piloted Fynbos graced the wrong end of the field till they all turned for home. Just as Kings Gambit was poised to pounce upon Allez L’etoile and Victoria Sermon, Sandesh brought Diego Garcia with some urgency to engage the favourite in a duel. Lemaire was a bit taken aback to find Diego Garcia on his outside following which he pulled out all stops and drove Kings Gambit vigorously but Diego Garcia refused to surrender. Sandesh and Lemaire both fought tooth and nail for a furlong and were still fighting for supremacy as the winning line neared. But before either of them could claim victory, Fynbos literally flew in the last few strides in response to Trevor’s stinging reminders and stunned both Kings Gambit and Diego Garcia in the shadow of the winning post. Fynbos (Kingda Ka – Mahali) checked in over a length clear of Diego Garcia who necked out Kings Gambit on the post for the second berth while debutant Dedication was hard-ridden to finish a close fourth.
 
A superb piece of riding from David Allan saw Once You Go Black put in a sustained run to surprise his main adversaries – El Greco and Siege Courageous, in the final stages of Rusi Patel Trophy, a terms event run over a mile. West Brook went surging into the lead as the field took off from the barriers and stayed in control though strongly challenged by Neeraj Rawal-ridden El Greco in the home stretch. Just when El Greco had managed to snuff out West Brook’s aspirations, Siege Courageous and Mojito joined the fray but Trevor astride the former threw a strong challenge at him. However, before this duo could settle their dispute, Allan inspired Once You Go Black, who was racing in the rear till then, to put his best foot forward following which the James Mckeown-nurtured dark bay horse galloped resolutely to take toll of his rivals one by one and eventually asserted his superiority. El Greco, Siege Courageous and Dream Alliance finished in that order behind the winner and were separated by a neck each.
 
Allan completed a back-to-back double atop the Bangalore challenger Prokofiev in the Sir Homi Mehta Breeders’ Produce Stakes. Prokofiev was a bit keen initially as the field sorted itself out for the seven-furlong trip but Allan held a firm grip on him and let Surrealist do the front-running. When the race came to a boil, Prokofiev was hemmed up towards the rails as Gunsmoke had the favourite covered, but not for long. Prasanna Kumar’s ward was let loose by Allan as soon as he found the opening he was looking for and he went flat out in the last furlong. Prokofiev (Leitir Mor – Balmoral Castle) then skipped away for his maiden win with Sovereign King finishing on well to deprive Gunsmoke the second place. Ice of Fire, the winner’s stablemate, ended a game fourth.
 
Allan narrowly missed his third success as favourite Big Bay lived up to the promise shown in his debut run when he ended runner-up to Elusive Art. Yash Narredu-partnered Big Bay took over the running from Giacomo shortly after the start and went wire to wire over the six-furlong trip for the BK Rattonsey Memorial Maiden Million. Miracle Art lacked initial pace and Allan was required to apply pressure on the filly all the way. She gathered momentum gradually in the straight and came with a strong run but Malesh Narredu-schooled Big Bay had reached the safe precincts of the winning post and won warding off by a length. Merlet also finished on to be third with Charlie Brown in close tow.
 
Trainer HJ Antia, who earned the ire of the Stewards of the Club later in the day for the improved performance of Hagibis earlier last month and was handed a one-month ban plus a monetary fine of Rs 1 lakh, had not one but two Derby anniversary winners. Interestingly, Hagibis registered an encore on promotion. Mustakim Alam-steered Hagibis (Sussex – Bling) chased leaders Rush and Running Star in the early stages of the In the Memory of Enabler Million and took charge with about a furlong and half left for home. CS Jodha-ridden joint favourite The Milenium Force and Vivek-astride King Ke collared Hagibis close home but Mustakim did not let his guard down which gave his mount an edge in the tight finish. Hagibis prevailed over The Milenium Force by a short-head with King Ke just holding on to the third spot from late-finishing Scorcese.
 
Antia’s ward Nelson River received one-sided support in the betting and the vast amount of money that came pouring on him suggested that the Antony Raj-ridden favourite would be hard to toss. Nelson River, who had lost about 8,5kg in handicap after being shifted to Antia’s yard last season, was settled nicely behind leader We Still Believe and both Ekla Cholo and Betsy till the field straightened for home. Nelson River (Planetaire – Midnight Wind) strode out well when alerted to his task by Antony and tackled We Still Believe in the last hundred metres. Betsy tried to intimidate the winner but he held on by just under a length to land the spoils. Prince Igor finished in the money ahead of Ekla Cholo.