With the compulsion it carries to conduct racing on a regular basis, the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) rolled out a bland fare that only served the purpose of fulfilling its primary aim. No wonder the mile and half long Homi Mody Trophy, supposed to be an event for horses in the highest class, had three “elderly” horses in the fray not to mention the other long distance event, the Grand Passion Plate run over a mile and quarter, contested by a six-horse low quality field. Regardless, Regal Command, who was in the fray for the Homi Mody Trophy had never succeeded in Class II but, unlike his two rivals Rasputin and Golden Kingdom, both his career successes had been over the Derby distance. The fact that seven-year old Regal Command from Karthik Ganapathy’s yard, entrusted to Nikhil Parmar on this occasion, was carrying featherweight on his back which proved to be crucial in the outcome of the feature event. CS Jodha-ridden favourite Golden Kingdom set a moderate pace as he dictated the terms from the word go and was joined by Regal Command just before the three horses entered the straight. Golden Kingdom and Regal Command (Saamidd – Reina De Mexico) were locked in a fierce battle as they went stride for stride from the two-furlong marker and the handicap factor finally came into play as the latter eventually gained the upper hand in the last hundred metres and went on to win by three-parts of a length.
 
The outcome of the PD Bolton Trophy, the day’s curtain raiser with a field of four vying for honours, was also influenced by the handicap advantage which was in favour of Pesi Shroff-saddled Celestial, who proved too good for his rivals. G. Vivek hit the front with Celestial and controlled the pace at every stage of the seven furlong trip. First it was Singer Sargent and later Splendido, who tried to intimidate the half-money favourite but that didn’t bother Celestial (Roderic O’Connor – Sweeping Star) as he stretched out to notch a four length victory. Splendido edged out Singer Sargent to claim the runner-up spot whilst Rambler ended last.
 
Both the divisions of the MD Mehta Trophy for maiden juveniles were claimed by horses which were neglected in the betting ring. The upper division was claimed by the Narendra Lagad-groomed debutant Western Star, who was taken on a successful wire-to-wire mission over the five-furlong scurry by Mustakim Alam. The speedy son of Dali out of Lucky, seized the initiative early into the race and stayed beyond the reach of his rivals despite drifting out slightly in the closing stages of the race. The Yash Narredu-partnered favourite Among The Stars disappointed her supporters for the third time in succession as she failed to match strides with the winner and could only finish second. Don Julio finished in the money ahead of the Trevor Patel-piloted debutant Rosalia, who was outpaced throughout.
 
The bay filly Bee Magical, who was fractious at the gates and finished dead last on debut a fortnight ago, behaved well this time which saw her graduate from the maiden ranks in the lower division. Imtiaz Sait-schooled Bee Magical (Moonlight Magic – Bee Quick) took a smart jump from the gates and Neeraj Rawal quickly brought her to race in close attendance of leader Beat The Heat. Neeraj gave Bee Magical her head shortly after entering the home stretch and the filly was never in any danger of being caught by her rivals. Santana Row ended runner-up, neck ahead of Noorie with Nyanza and Zephyr finishing close behind. Favourite Ministry of Time, ridden by A. Sandesh, ran far below expectations as he ran a poor sixth after being outpaced.
 
Rookie rider Ramswarup, who donned the silks for the first time on Derby day, achieved his first success in only his third career assignment which was aboard Shazaan Shah-groomed Esperanza, who gave a speedy display to vanquish her nine rivals in the Amateurs Riders’ Club Trophy. Esperanza let Fast Approach enjoy the lead in the initial stages of the scurry but tackled him inside the last two furlongs and took control of the running. Esperanza (Phoenix Tower – Anacapri) drifted out in the final furlong and half yet she managed to trounce her opponents as whipless Ramswarup did well to guide her hands and heels towards the winning post in a record timing. Misty came from far back to take the second berth, a head in front of Quicker with Aperol finishing half-length behind.
 
Adhirajsingh Jodha-trained Ghirardelli responded with alacrity to Trevor’s call in the last furlong of the Municipal Commissioner’s Trophy and his sustained run put paid to the hopes of Wind Dancer and favourite Toscana. Earlier, Manor House snatched the lead from Untitled at the top of the home stretch but could not shrug off Wind Dancer. As the field closed in, Sandesh found himself caught between Ocean and Ghirardelli forcing him to switch lanes and take the route towards the inner rails. Toscana joined Wind Dancer but Ghirardelli (Fiero – Bernice) swooped down on them both and kicked away for a comfortable win. Wind Dancer held on grimly to the second place from Toscana while Manor House ended a game fourth. Well-fancied Ocean failed to make an impression and finished fifth.
 
Walter justified his favouritism and tasted his first under the care of Pradeep Chouhan in the concluding race. Sandesh settled Walter behind leaders Talking Point and Operation Finale till they brought the field into the straight and then got busy astride the favourite. Walter (Leitir Mor – Retained) quickened well to take charge and stretched out well under the whip to ward off the threat posed by Trevor-partnered Remy Red close home. Between Friends put his nose ahead of owner and stable-mate Dagger’s Strike to wrest the third plane.
 
The 10 to 6 on favourite Uzi ran true to the expectations of the market as she struck immediately on relegation to the lowest class. R. Ajinkya-ridden Northbound set the pace for his owner-mate Uzi but caved in after a token resistance as the Behram Cama-nursed mare tracked him down in the straight. TS Jodha gave Uzi (Quasar – Ace Two Three) a couple of handers before she picked up pace and drew away for an easy victory. Northbound managed to finish second ahead of hard-ridden Daianne and Willy Wonka.