The three-year-old filly Nebula produced yet another solid performance to achieve an encore in the Gool S. Poonawalla Million (Gr.3). A. Sandesh-ridden Lady Scarlet, who is bred as full sister to Time And Tide, almost avenged her defeat at the hands of Nebula on her debut but her conqueror proved to be a hard nut to crack. Adhirajsingh Jodha-saddled Lady Scarlet took off smartly from the barriers to lead from Rambo whilst TS Jodha settled Nebula in the third spot ahead of favourite Starlight Serenade, Admirable, Elevate and Puccini, who raced in that order. Lady Scarlet’s lead was cut down by Nebula, who started to gain ground on the leader in the home stretch and drew alongside her in the last furlong. Sandesh pulled out all stops on Lady Scarlet but Nebula (Sanus Per Aquam – Apparition) moved resolutely with each stride to pin down the filly in the last fifty metres and win by sparing a neck to her rival. The horse that put in an eye-catching effort was Puccini, who came with a late charge to finish a length shy of the runner-up whilst Rambo ran a faraway fourth. Puccini will definitely be a different prospect if and when he is tried over a slightly longer trip. David Allan-steered Starlight Serenade bowed out of the contest soon after entering the straight and ended last.
 
The three events at the start of the day were full of drama with close finishes and an objection the stewards had to deal with in the Pleasure Hunt Trophy won by Esperanza. In the day’s curtain raiser, Allan aboard Fortunate Son allowed Emperor Roderic to show the way to the field while Trevor Patel brushed joint favourite Miracle of Hanukah to get the third position whilst last-outing winner Break Point was also ridden off the pace by R. Ajinkya. Once the field straightened for home, Allan shifted gears on MK Jadhav-nursed Fortunate Son, who responded well to his rider’s call and stole a march over his rivals inside the last furlong and half. Allan then went flat out on Fortunate Son (Roderic O’Connor – Only For Gold), the 15 to 1 longshot who stretched out gallantly to ward off the threat posed by Break Point and Miracle of Hanukah, who finished half-length and three parts of a length behind the winner. Treasure ended a close fourth.
 
Chagall carrying feather weight on his back slipped into the lead as the gates flew open for the Potential Champion Trophy, a mile event for horses in Class I, and bowled along merrily in the front before bringing his three rivals into the straight where he came under pressure from El Greco whilst favourite Pride’s Prince also drew closer. G. Vivek-piloted El Greco and Yash Narredu-driven Pride’s Prince both got the measure of Chagall about a hundred metres from home. It was El Greco who put his neck in front and led briefly before Pride’s Prince (Excellent Art – Polished Chrome) rallied with a strong run to outwit his rival in the shadow of the winning post. Imtiaz Sait’s protégé registered his eighth career win by a short-head. Chagall ended third ahead of Shubhankar, who finished a distant fourth.
 
The Pleasure Hunt Trophy, a sprint event for horses in Class II, saw an enthralling finish with Esperanza scraping through to win by a short-head from Fontana with the two fancied runners, Social Butterfly and Big Bay, finishing a neck abreast of each other. Apprentice Ramswarup-partnered Esperanza sped to the front and hugged the rails as she disputed the lead initially with Fighton and Cellini. Shazaan Shah-saddled Esperanza increased the margin in the straight, which appeared to be a cushion against any possible threat about a hundred metres from home when she began veering out. Showing no presence of his mind, Ramswarup failed to use the whip to correct Esperanza’s drift as the mare went across hampering Fontana, who took out Social Butterfly and Big Bay close home. Esperanza did emerge victorious over Fontana in a tight finish in which Social Butterfly and Big Bay were also involved. As expected, Fontana’s rider R. Ajinkya lodged an objection against the winner whilst Yash Narredu protested against Social Butterfly’s jockey. Following the tricky deliberations, the stewards ruled in favour of PS Chouhan-trained Fontana (Multidimensional – Botswana) while the objection against Social Butterfly was overruled.
 
Jockey TS Jodha, who partnered Nebula, completed a rare treble by guiding the two maidens, Skandha and Appalachian from Nazzak Chenoy’s yard, who picked up both divisions of the Tricumdas Dwarkadas Trophy. Medusa grabbed the lead in the first division, which saw the field of nine being reduced to six, with El Moran and Skandha in hot pursuit. Allan-driven El Moran, who had enthusiastic support in the betting, tried to overwhelm the leader opposite the stands but it was Skandha (Planetaire – Ice Cube Baby), who put in a sustained gallop to tackle the front-runners and then kicked away for a comfortable win over Juracan and Jaisalmer, who were hard-ridden to take the minor places after El Moran weakened in the final stages of the six-furlong sprint.
 
Adhirajsingh’s ward Gold Bar went out as a piping-hot favourite to claim the second division and looked to be home and dry after taking over the running from Sky Full of Stars at the two-furlong marker. G. Santosh-ridden Gold Bar, however, was unable to extend his lead, which allowed Appalachian to bridge the leeway in the final furlong. Appalachian (Planetaire – Surprise Party) wore down Gold Bar to win by half-length whilst Renaissance and Manwar both followed them home.
 
The five-year-mare La Dolce Vita, who had never figured on the judges’ board after her maiden victory over a year ago, struck immediately on relegation. There was a pack of horses in hot chase of Ashwa Ankara, who seized the lead from Ar First Star at the top of the home stretch with Sandesh-partnered Algonquin making a strong bid and inching closer to the leader. La Dolce Vita (Speaking of Which – Xisca), meanwhile, produced a brilliant run when urged by apprentice A. Omkar to seize control of the running and kicked on gamely to stay out of the reach of runner-up Algonquin and late-finishing Ministry of Time, who edged out Shirsa for the third place.