Despite the fact that the 20 to one long shot Royal Baron from B Suresh's yard stunned the followers of form in the plum event, the Equinox Cup run over a sprint and later the lesser fancied Gold Fame from the stables of Ramanathan floored the top two fancies Empire Of Dreams and Aurora Borealis in the concluding event, the Own Opinion Handicap, punters returned home satisfied, four firm favourites justifying their top billing in the postponed six-event card held on Monday. 

The Sebastian-trained  Diamond And Pearls and the two Surah Shaw trainees Red Falcon partnered by Umesh and Sensibility piloted by Hindu Singh topped the betting board in the feature event. The Krishna schooled Dazzling Princess too cornered good support at end, but the six-year-old mare, it is learnt broke down during the race and failed to finish in the plum event. Red Falcon back after his disappointing effort in his last essay failed again to make his presence felt and finished a tame fourth behind Groovin, another Suraj Shaw ward, who to the surprise of most followers of form performed better than his two well fancied stablemates. Royal Baron, who was gracing the wrong end of the field for most part of the sprint trip covered acres of ground to zip past Groovin and the runner-up Cynosure to the delight of his pilot Ram Nandan Manji, who registered his maiden success this season. Sensibility and Diamond Of Pearls, much to the chagrin of their supporters produced below par efforts.

On the strength of his impressive second behind Saintly Star in his last effort, Aviothic from Sebastian's yard garnered the maximum support in the opening event, the Track Lightning Handicap and the overwhelming favourite in the hands of promising apprentice N Darshan produced his best to earn his winning bracket. Royal Exemplar from Robert Foley's yard partnered by Farid Ansari followed the winner home ahead of Forest Lake, who has improved most and it will pay to keep an eye on this Uthaiah ward when saddled next.

Next it was Crown Angel's turn to keep the favourite flag flying, the B Suresh ward strongly fancied to score in the Everynsky Handicap run over a sprint. The winner piloted in copybook fashion by Shah Alam edged out rank outsider Aquila from the stables of Mandanna by the shortest of margins, much to the relief and joy of all the big bettors, who punted big on the Suresh ward after his satisfactory showing in the opening event of the season. It is clear that the winner had benefited most from that run under his belt and the first-day, first-show exercise helped him to gain the verdict in this pulse-pounding finish.

Shah Alam astride Gold Fame from Ramanathan's yard chose to make every post a winning one in the concluding event and he did it with aplomb to the delight of his supporters, edging out the joint favourite Aurora Borealis who flashed home late on the scene. The topweighted Offshore Breeze caught the eye while finishing a creditable third and is one for the notebook. Empire Of Dreams was one another fancied contestant from the stables of Suraj Shaw who bit the dust, shockingly out of contention even before the race came on a boil.

Golden Warrior from the stables of Deepesh Narredu and the Zulqarnain-trained King's Battalion garnered the maximum support in the Squanderer Handicap run over a mile and the former confidently piloted by Peter made every post a winning one to the delight of the Deepesh camp. The lesser fancied Loch Lomond who produced a heartwarming effort on the opening day tracked the winner for most part of the mile long journey and in fact posed a definite threat a furlong from home, but Peter unperturbed guided Golden Warrior home with panache. King's Battalion's patchy effort while finishing third only confirmed that this Zulqarnain ward needed this run and will prove to be a different proposition next time out.

Deepesh Narredu earlier led in the public rage Enchanting, who proved too good for her five rivals in the Manitou Handicap run over a sprint. The smart winner on the strength of this performance is set to provide an encore. Basilus from Sebastian's yard, who lost a couple pf lengths at the start caught the eye while finishing second behind Enchanting and it will surprise all the knowledgeable and many old hats in the game if Basilus fails to make it to the winning podium, when saddled next.