With only three contestants lining up at the gates for the Homi Mody Trophy, according to the overall expectations from the punters as well as the bookmakers, a close fight between Evaldo and Regina Memorabilis was imminent. In an anti-climax, however, Evaldo won without raising a sweat. Bhawani Singh-ridden Shubankar went streaking ahead when the gates opened for the mile and a half journey and he had Regina Memorabilis and Evaldo in pursuit till they all came into the straight. Neeraj Rawal-piloted Regina Memorabilis tried to accost Shubankar at the two-furlong marker but remained flat-footed. Aman Hussain-saddled Evaldo (Gusto – Farfesheena), when alerted by Akshay Kumar, unleashed a powerful run to go past Shubankar and Regina Memorabilis for an easier than expected victory. Shubankar ended second after Regina Memorabilis could not improve.
 
There was a long card of nine races on offer for the evening races, but none expected any fireworks on the racetrack. The odds against the horses that appeared to have a good chance of winning were so ludicrous that most spectators gave a miss to Sunday’s race meeting at the Mahalaxmi, which recorded a sharp drop in attendance and wore a deserted look.
 
The first four events saw the public fancied runners oblige but whether the average punter gained anything from it is very doubtful. Regardless, Pesi Shroff-nursed filly Angelisa (Win Legend – Angelique) went straight down to business when the gates opened for the mile trip and gave jockey G. Vivek an armchair ride in the Madras Race Club Trophy. The other four runners were left fighting for the minor places and it was Alpha Strike, who took the runner-up spot ahead of Lorenzo and Caspian.
 
Miracle of Hanukah was also the odds-on choice to win the Amateur Riders’ Club Trophy albeit in a close finish. Trevor Patel took Miracle of Hanukah to the front and guided him skilfully to evade second-favourite Don Julio’s assault towards the fag end of the mile endeavour. Miracle of Hanukah (French Navy – Grenadine) prevailed by a neck to give Aman his second winner of the day. Land of Plenty and Flaming Lamborgini trailed behind in the third and fourth spot.
 
Malesh Narredu-saddled Gunfire achieved an encore when she sprinted away to glory in the Roman Rose Plate, run over six-furlongs. Yash Narredu was quick to get Gunfire (Leitir Mor – Belliflore) ahead of her rivals when the starter’s flag came down and faced no hardships enroute to victory except for the late challenge from Zayyan. Europe managed to take the third place from Phantom Strike, who faded out after being prominent till entering the home stretch.
 
Disaster struck for punters in the next two events and the winners came from the stables of Shroff. The four-year-old filly Azalea, who was exploited as a pacemaker till recently, was ridden well off the pace by Vivek as Thundering Blaze spurted ahead to establish a long lead over Golden Heart, Silver Braid, Marlboro Man and Beyond Stars, who were strung out in single file till entering the straight. Azalea put in a sustained run when shown the daylight and came ranging alongside Silver Braid, who slipped ahead of Golden Heart in the last furlong. After a brief struggle, Azalea (Leitir Mor – Aviette) snuffed out Silver Braid’s resistance in the last hundred metres and cantered home for her maiden success. Trevor-partnered favourite Tajiri laboured hard inside the last furlong and half but could only manage to finish a nose behind runner-up Silver Braid but well ahead of Beyond Stars.

The second shocker from Shroff’s yard came in the form of the filly Charisse, who too found her way to the winner’s enclosure for the first time, giving her master his third winner of the day. Charisse raced close behind the front-runners headed by Antony Raj-piloted Marcus, who made a start-to-finish bid, whilst Lord And Master, Machiavellian, and Jaisalmer chased him. Jockey A. Prakash brought Charisse (Deauville – Gift of Grace) through the shortest way and drove the filly vigorously to wear down Marcus close home. Undercover, the prime favourite saddled by Faisal Abbas and partnered by Trevor in the saddle, suffered the same fate as his stablemate Tajiri. Undercover rallied late and could only gain the third slot ahead of the David Allan-ridden joint favourite Juracan, who put in a flourishing run after racing in the rear till the field straightened for home. Juracan travelled wide in the straight before ending fourth and is reported to have broken a blood vessel. 
 
Esperanza, the shortest price runner of the day bit dust and fell victim to the brilliant effort of Your Unforgettable, who had migrated to Western India after starting her career with SS Attaollahi at Bangalore. Esperanza, with Aditya Waydande in the saddle, sprinted ahead but found Your Unforgettable racing on her haunches after the field took off from the barriers for the TM Goculdas Plate, a five-furlong scurry for horses in Class II. Your Unforgettable, ridden by Neeraj and now saddled by PS Chouhan, collared Esperanza, who succumbed easily inside the last furlong and half. Your Unforgettable (Excellent Art – Unforgettable You) scored an authoritative win, sparing nearly two-lengths to Esperanza, who is also reported to have burst a blood vessel. Liban and Cellini followed them home.   
 
Narendra Lagad-groomed El Moran (Dali – Daily Edition), who had a string of failures including expensive one in his previous essay this season, jumped out smartly from the gates and made every post of the six-furlong trip for the Ahmed I. Rahimtoola Trophy a winning one in the hands of Trevor, who achieved a brace. Favourite Money Fair failed to quicken when trying to tackle the winner and finished a tame third behind Lucio. Surrealist, after running prominently in the front bunch, ended fourth.
 
The on-money favourite Viennoise, saddled by Bezan Chenoy, made amends for her narrow defeat last week in the day’s concluding event. The filly came well from the outside draw to join Sky Full of Stars at the front and skipped away for an easy win when given her head in the home stretch by apprentice A. Omkar. Viennoise (Roderic O’Connor – Eyes For You) won by a widening margin of over four lengths with Arbitrage taking the second berth ahead of Regal Galleria and Sky Full of Stars.