A sparkling run unleashed by the four-year-old filly Psychic Star in the final stretch of the mile journey helped her lift the AC Ardeshir Trophy (Gr.3), the main event in Sunday’s card. Hailing from trainer Pesi Shroff’s yards, Psychic Star was lesser fancied than stablemate Santissimo and Regina Memorabilis, but she proved to be too good for her five rivals. Santissimo, the failed Indian Derby favourite was making a comeback after a long break of over nine months yet, his morning trials suggested that he could resume his winning ways. Santissimo with Trevor Patel in the driver’s seat was brushed up to take charge of the running and he dictated the terms till shortly after bringing the field into the final run-in. Jockey G. Vivek astride Psychic Star, who raced behind Santissimo and Regina Memorabilis all the way, alerted his mount once the heads turned for home and found the filly devouring ground with each stride. As she stepped up the pace nearing the final furlong, Psychic Star found an easy victim in Santissimo, who succumbed easily for want of fuel. Vivek then just nudged Psychic Star (Multitude – Psychic Light) and the filly simply drew away for an impressive win. Once You Go Black improved after warming up in the straight, but he could only manage to beat the tiring Santissimo for the runner-up spot. Pride’s Prince finished fourth after Regina Memorabilis failed to quicken.
 
Shroff had earlier sent out his first winner of the day in the Sir Rahimtoola Chinoy Trophy, a Class IV handicap event run over a mile. The three-year-old Brasilier was still a maiden after five attempts but the bay colt, running at the bottom of the scale, was installed as the firm favourite in the seven-horse field. Trevor settled Brasilier in the mid-bunch as Majesticus spurted ahead to call the early shots with Running Away and Ekatarina following him. Ekatarina slipped into the lead briefly just when Brasilier was pressed into action by Trevor but the former was held up towards the rails for want of a clear run as the riderless Hagibis raced alongside. In the meanwhile, Brasilier loomed large on the outer flank and took charge of the running as Trevor powered him into the lead. Despite carrying an overweight, Brasilier (Kingda Ka – Clymene) strode out well under the whip to record a convincing victory over Giant Gold, Ekatarina and Majesticus, who followed him home in that order.
 
Malesh Narredu-schooled Big Bay had just Eagle Day to tackle in the Jayant M. Shah & Champak M. Shah Gold Trophy after the originally declared four-horse field was reduced to three after Wind Dancer’s withdrawal on veterinary grounds. Yash Narredu hustled Big Bay to seize the initiative from Eagle Day and Shirsa, who went in chase of the leader, and enjoyed an uncontested lead but for a brief moment when Eagle Day tried to catch up with him on entering the straight.  However, it took only a tap or two from Yash for Big Bay (Speaking of Which – Clementi) to stretch out and score  comfortably over his two rivals.
 
The two-year-old gelding Nebula from Behram Cama’s string had clearly benefitted from the educative run he had on debut at Pune last month as he went on to thrash the eleven debutants in the Prince Karim Aga Khan (IV) Memorial Trophy. Elevate sprinted ahead of favourite Lady Scarlet, who made a swift move to overtake Mystica and then raced abreast of the leader whilst Nebula was eased off by TS Jodha after jumping out smartly from the gates. Sandesh applied pressure on Lady Scarlet to tackle Elevate but she failed to quicken and was soon overshadowed by Nebula, who lengthened her strides when spurred by her rider. Inside the last furlong and half, Nebula (Sanus Per Aquam – Apparition) zipped ahead to win by a wide margin of five lengths over runner-up Lady Scarlet and Mystica. Margaretta, who was the last one to enter the straight, caught the eye after finishing on powerfully to end fourth.
 
At the start of the day’s proceedings, Aman Hussain-groomed Ariyana Star was steered confidently by Trevor to claim the Ibrahim A. Rahimtoola Trophy. The odds against Ariyana Star went sideways as Believe caught the market’s fancy but the latter found his main adversary a hard nut to crack. Maysara seized the initiative at the start and had Believe racing well up in pursuit whilst Majestic Warrior, Red Merlot and Ariyana Star were in close attendance. When the race came to a boil, Trevor powered Ariyana Star through the shortest way home to grab the lead from Maysara whilst Red Merlot and Believe both tried to make headway. Believe soon made an attempt to overpower Ariyana Star (Kingda Ka – Malawi) in the last furlong but the mare was in no mood to relent. Believe was eventually forced to play second fiddle whilst Red Merlot edged out Majestic Warrior to claim the third spot.
 
Top-weighted You also found support for her waning in the betting ring after S. Waheed-saddled We Still Believe had a steady flow of money coming his way, however, the Imtiaz Sait trainee proved to be far too superior for her rivals. The bay filly wrest the initiative from Samson shortly after the start and then shrugged off Impulsive, who tried to intimidate her in the last two furlongs. You (Top Class – Organic) stretched out gamely when given a couple of backhanders by apprentice Aditya Waydande and left behind Samson, Impulsive and Jetfire to fight for the minor places.