Having played second fiddle twice in the lower class earlier this season, the Vittal Deshmukh schooled gelding Krystallos found his way to the winner’s enclosure when competing in the higher class. Krystallos came well from the widest stall to take charge of the running and showed the way to Dapper Look and Lucky Zone, who were ahead of the horses closely bunched behind. Krystallos entered the home stretch without any meaningful change in the order of running. With about a furlong and a half of the mile journey still to go, P. Sai Kumar tapped Krystallos (Dali – Eternal Spirit) with his whip and got a spectacular response from the grey gelding, who surged clear to claim the day’s main event, leaving his rivals to fight for the minor places. The Trevor Patel-ridden favourite Secret Saint and Afroz Khan-piloted Noble Heart both arrived late on the scene and got a sound beating in return by the winner. Dapper Look finished fourth.
 
Punters were thriving in the betting arena as four favourites had obliged them consecutively before the feature event and after three well fancied runners flopped at the start of the day. Magan Singh Parmar’s ward Shoolin, who had lost narrowly against a superior set in her only outing earlier, jumped out smartly from the gates to seize the initiative in the Nawab Mehdi Jung Bahadur Memorial Trophy (Div-I), a sprint event in which the jockeys were not permitted to carry whips. DS Deora urged Shoolin (Stardan – Suki Suki) once the field was into the home stretch and the mare galloped resolutely to win convincingly. Runner-up Sunny Day and Romantic Grey both chased Shoolin when the field had sorted itself out at the start but failed to catch her. Bold Beauty ran fourth.
 
Trainer Hilton Sequeira, having earlier saddled two winners in Vital Sign and Concordia, completed a treble with NRI Crypto Power in the Nizamabad Plate. Backed to the exclusion of her eleven rivals, Trevor Patel eased NRI Crypto Power (Dreamfield – Suzanna) into the lead and showed a clean pair of heels all the way home. Costa Mesa ran second without making any impression, while Nkalanzinzi ran a distant third ahead of Farsiris, who drifted out badly in the straight and finished on the outer rails.
 
Prince of Wales from Donald Netto’s stables was fit for the fray in the Mirza Zunnur Ahmed Memorial Cup after his lung-opener in the race won by Hanumanmahabala last month. K. Mukesh Kumar settled Prince of Wales behind leader Surrealist and Mystical Dawn in the initial stages of the mile event and improved steadily to challenge the leader in the straight. Driven vigorously by Mukesh, Prince of Wales (Gusto – Daffodils) collared Surrealist inside the final furlong and a half and went on to register his first success at this centre. Surrealist ended second, while Grief and Pole Star finished close behind to be third and fourth.
 
The two youngsters, Yali and French Lieutenant, attracted majority betting in the www.hydraces.com Trophy, a six-furlong sprint for horses in Class III. La Quinta made the initial running and was followed by Dontblockmyway, Yali, and French Lieutenant. Trevor brought Yali (Top Class – Elusive Legend) with a smooth run on the outside to join La Quinta as they turned for home and the Bharath Singh trainee scampered home to win from French Lieutenant. Mix The Magic was hard-ridden to finish third ahead of La Quinta.
 
Robin Reddy-schooled Flying Fury, who went down narrowly to Pole Star in his previous run, was expected to make amends in the Nawab Mehdi Jung Bahadur Memorial Trophy (Div-II). Flying Fury was facing moderate opposition and was the odds-on choice to win the race. Arthisha, Shadow Fax, and Clara disputed the lead in the front, while Vital Sign raced within striking distance behind. G. Naresh-ridden Flying Fury, meanwhile, languished behind, lacking initial pace and later dropping back in the straight for no apparent reason. As the three front-runners were still engaged in a battle for supremacy, apprentice Vikram Singh exhorted Vital Sign to join them and sneaked into the lead in the final hundred metres. Sequeira-trained Vital Sign (Arod – Mirfield) responded well to Vikram’s call and kicked clear to provide the rookie rider with his maiden success. Arthisha and Clara stayed in second and third, while leaden-footed Flying Fury ran a miserable fourth.
 
American Affair and Goddess of Light were joint-favourites to win the Nirmal Plate (Div-II), the day’s curtain-raiser, but both were outclassed by Star Councillor. Gaurav Singh took Goddess of Light on a start-to-finish mission and had Star Councillor racing on her haunches. Goddess of Light held the advantage till the last furlong where Star Councillor moved resolutely to challenge her. DS Deora went all out aboard Laxman Singh-saddled Star Councillor (Arod – Ultimate Desire), who overhauled Goddess of Light in the final furlong and drew clear for an emphatic victory. Runner-up Goddess of Light was followed by American Affair, who ran far below par to be third, and Svalpaviryasaktih, who retired after a forward run to be a distant fourth.
 
Aakarshaka from Neelesh Rawal’s yard was surprisingly backed heavily in anticipation of an improved performance after she ran second to Evansville earlier. Md. Ismail astride Aakarshaka adopted runaway tactics as he propelled the on-money favourite into the lead as the six-horse field started the mile-and-a-quarter journey, while second-in-demand Concordia was ridden off the pace by BR Kumar. Aakarshaka maintained her lead in the straight but Concordia, after biding her time in the rear, made rapid progress when alerted by his rider. Eventually, Sequeira-groomed Concordia (Top Class – Friendship) finished with a strong run to crush Aakarshaka’s bid inside the final hundred metres. Vespucci and Hoping High ran way behind the runner-up.
 
S. Sreekant-trained Queen Dali, a failed favourite on debut earlier this season, was the favourite to win the Nirmal Plate (Div-I), the concluding event. The Ashhad Asbar-ridden favourite chased My Day all the way from the start and flattered to deceive when overtaking the leader about a furlong from the wire. Queen Dali let down her supporters badly when succumbing meekly to the onslaught of Netto-trained Double Bubble (Lord Admiral – Shenliyka), who rallied well when Mukesh pushed her aggressively. The favourite’s performance was nothing short of dismal as she even lost the runner-up berth to Veera’s Lakshmi in the closing stages. Suryavanshi ran fourth.