With Queen of Kings bowing out of the contest at the gates, the two-mile adventure for the Suresh Mahindra Trophy between Evaldo and Golden Kingdom turned out to be a test of temperament rather than stamina required for traversing the gruelling distance. On this front, it was Adhirajsingh Jodha’s ward Golden Kingdom who held his nerve and outsmarted Evaldo, who became too keen at the start and was unwilling to settle down behind his rival until Trevor Patel allowed him to hit the front. Saddled for the first time by Aman Hussain, Evaldo bowled along merrily in the front much to the delight of Antony Raj astride Golden Kingdom and the real contest started only in the last quarter of the journey. Golden Kingdom inched closer to Evaldo as the two horses galloped towards the Turf Club House and joined him when turning for home. As both horses went off the bridle, Golden Kingdom put his neck in front and though Evaldo fought gallantly to spurn the attack, it was all in vain as he was a spent force in the final furlong. Antony, meanwhile, steered Golden Kingdom (Kingda Ka – Albeed) effectively to a six-length victory as Trevor virtually gave up on Evaldo in the last hundred metres. Six-year old Golden Kingdom, who was foaled at the Jai-Govind Stud, is owned jointly by Mr Kishore P. Rungta, Sudhendu Shah, Mrs Pooja S. Shah, Mrs Hiral Shah, Dr Rahul Shah, Mrs Preeti C. Shah, Mr KM Shah & Mr Tanmay V. Mathurawala.
 
Jockey A. Sandesh continued his winning form in the saddle and booted home a treble which included the Panchshil Million astride Foxy from trainer Behram Cama’s yard. Sandesh started his day with Magical Star, the recent addition to trainer Pradeep Chouhan’s string and who was running on relegation to the lowest class. Magical Star (Saamidd – Stage of Dreams) hit the front quickly after jumping out of the gates and kicked on gamely, staving off the threat posed initially by Lord Murphy and then Taabir close home. Taabir got beat by just under a length and had Exotic Star, Baleno and Lord Murphy following him home in that order.
 
Sandesh and Chouhan both achieved a back-to-back double when The Milenium Force, the shortest priced runner of the day, defied the 8kgs penalty incurred for his previous runaway win to claim the NK Pudumjee Salver. Fortunate Son headed the field shortly after the start with Alpine Star, The Milenium Force and Christofle in pursuit. As the field of eight turned for home, Sandesh gave The Milenium Force (Air Support – Sovetskaya) his head following which the bay gelding scampered home to register his fourth straight win. Christofle went hard at the winner in the straight but failed to collar him and ended in the runner-up position ahead of Kimiko and Bubbly Boy.
 
The bay filly Foxy, who had placed in all her three starts this season, disputed the lead with joint-favourite All For Love in the early stages of the five-furlong scurry before gaining the upper hand just before the heads turned for home. Sandesh then forcefully kept Foxy (Surfrider – Lorraine) in control of the lead right till the end, denying All For Love any chance to catch her. Like the runner-up, Don Julio too was ridden hard before finishing third ahead of Majesticus.
 
Earlier, the Aman Hussain-nursed mare Goddes of Dawn registered an upset victory in the Pissarro Plate. Elusive Art, the Adhirajsingh-trained filly who was running after nearly four months, shot into the lead from the widest draw but had no steam left in her in the last fifty metres of the scurry. Goddes of Dawn raced behind Azure and Aperol, who went in chase of the favourite, and gathered momentum in the last furlong when alerted to her task by jockey K. Mukesh Kumar. The mare swooped down on the front-running horses and caught up with Elusive Art close home. Goddes of Dawn (Win Legend – Flying Show) scraped through by a half a length and kept Trevor-partnered Lord Eric, who was badly placed in the initial stages of the race, at bay. Elusive Art ended in the third spot with Aperol in tow.
 
Mansingh Jadhav-schooled filly Dreamer relished the nine-furlong trip and graduated from the maiden ranks in the Sir Sultan Chinoy Trophy, a handicap event for horses in Class IV. Jockey NS Parmar eased off Dreamer after a fluent jump as Azalea showed the way to her rivals headed by Abhyankar, Dedication and Dexterity. Soon after entering the final stretch, Dreamer manoeuvred her way through the herd of horses running ahead to swoop down on Dedication, who led briefly after taking charge from Azalea at the top of the straight. Dreamer (Dreamfield – Practicallyperfect) assumed command a little over a furlong away from home and sailed away for a comfortable win over Little John, who came with a late charge after lying at the rear till the field had reached the final bend. Brasilier ran a game third ahead of Dedication, who was probably in need of this run. Well-fancied Juracan, hailing from Chouhan’s barns and partnered in the saddle by Sandesh, gave a disappointing show when finishing sixth.