Silk Cut (Diffident – Sensuality) finally moved out of the shadow of some of the impressive juveniles to record his maiden victory in great style packing off a fairly large field that included hot favourite Besame Mucho in the ranks. Having felt the agony of returning second in each of his three previous essays, Silk Cut produced the winning effort with a run as smooth as silk. Besame Mucho, who garnered maximum support in the betting ring, shot ahead to open a widening lead and was well clear of the rest entering the straight. Zervan kept the filly in check until past the 400 m and thereafter egged her on. Silk Cut gradually improved position from around sixth before the bend to third past the 400.

Be Cool was in second at that stage but when Silk Cut came alongside, Be Cool could do little and watched Silk Cut sail past and eventually overhaul Besame Mucho with an impressive gallop. Suryaveer ran on to finish second, pegging back Besame Mucho and a good late burst saw Fortune Hunter grab a place in the frame. For Silk Cut, this was a much-needed victory for his consistency and he was duly rewarded. Trainer Vinayak was the lone professional to score a double. His Star Prince (Noverre – Ring Of Kerry), the four-year-old big-made gelding flexed his muscles as he forced his way to the front – literally. It all began as soon as they entered the straight.

Ocean Of Faith was struggling to maintain his lead, with Jen’s Glory pushing hard to gain the upper hand. Freany was stuck on the rails behind these two and got hemmed badly for room and had to duck out of the competition. Meanwhile, not too far behind, Star Prince too was looking for galloping room as he had Golden Spurs and Blue Mellon right alongside and the other horses in front. A slight manoeuvre from jockey TS Jodha ticked an erratic response from Star Prince on his first mission. The gelding threw his weight (no pun intended) and shoved his way past Golden Spurs to soon jostle with the horses in front, poking through Jen’s Glory and warding off Blue Mellon who was a serious threat lurking. Star Prince finished on well and that perhaps was what saved him in the end. Jockeys S Sunil (Blue Mellon) and A Sandesh (Jen’s Glory) promptly lodged an objection against TS Jodha.

The stewards had a long discussion and also questioned the jockeys concerned before deciding to overrule both objections. The fact that Star Prince was moving the best at the finish, coupled with the view that the horses in question had a fair chance to win perhaps tilted the decision to stick to the judge’s placing. However, Star Prince did enjoy the benefit of doubt and it was indeed a close call. Ocean Fairy (Ontario – Miss Peregrine) provided the Wadhawan colours their third winner of the day. Hitting the front soon on start, Ocean Fairy galloped at a nippy pace with Wild Imagination and Swiss Belle in close attendance. In the straight, Ocean Fairy, ridden by apprentice jockey Akshay, utilised the five-kilo allowance to the hilt and just managed to ward off a serious challenge from Wild Imagination. The latter has been consistent this season and has done well time and again. Here too, he ended a good second, just half length behind the winner.

Swiss Belle managed to earn place money ending third just ahead of Silver Screen. Earlier, River Star (Warrshan – Precieux Act) reproduced his mock race effort which was enough to humble his three rivals. Alexus led the charge with River Star quick to be in close touch. Midsummer Knight and Silver Sands raced together close behind. On entering the straight, Alexus never looked convincing and soon made way for River Star to take the lead.

Midsummer Knight tried hard to make a race of it, but was not quick enough. Silver Sands got momentarily caught behind horses and Sandesh chose to switch his mount to the outside of Midsummer Knight. In doing so, he lost precious time and a little ground too, but he was catching up fast towards the finish. However, River Star was fluent in his victory and considering this was his first run this season, River Star had done exceptionally well. Lago Medio (Royal Kingdom – Gumbaru Etsu) won a hard-fought battle with some younger horses and this was a well-achieved victory for this fact alone. With no recent form to go by, there weren’t many takers for Lago Medio in the ring and most of the market money was wagered on Sea Warrior and to an extent on Lakhadema and Steely Dan.

The front runners were closely huddled with Lakhadema enjoying a slender advantage over Sea Warrior, Marine Zone and Floods Of Fortune with Lago Medio close on the fence. Lakhadema quickened nicely to shoot away from the rest. Sea Warrior and Marine Zone matched strides for a while but were getting nowhere. Lago Medio made steady progress under the whip to come into contention past the distance post. Around the same time, Steely Dan also got going, but his slightly erratic gallop cost him dearly. Lakhadema galloped on with the winning post in focus but was overwhelmed by the last ditch effort of Lago Medio who quickened further to have his head in front at the wire and notch up a narrow win. Pound Foolish (Kalanisi – Moneypenny) kept her date with victory and duly compiled a ‘no-fuss’ win.

Houdini tried the start-to-finish tactics and did well to finish earning the place money. Pound Foolish, ridden by apprentice jockey Shrikant Kamble, after leading for a brief while let Houdini take over until into the straight. No sooner they straightened for home, Pound Foolish surged ahead with ease and stretched out nicely to add turf at a brisk rate and looking in no danger. She won with a lot left in the saddle ending the season on a winning note. Sweet Nothings ran on to take the runner-up berth. Bemisaal (Major Impact – Priceless Moments) was the most consistent of the lot and had placed in most of his attempts thus far and rightly earned his first victory of the season. Taking no time in hitting the front, Bemisaal increased his lead and the margin once into the homestretch. Sun Glory, the firm favourite, was in futile chase all through the straight and ended a faraway second without troubling the winner. Ucandoit was withdrawn at the gates.