Heavy overnight rain made inspection of the track a necessity prior to the start of the races at RCTC on Friday. The track proved to be in excellent condition as was proved by the manner it withstood the pounding of hooves for seven races. The going in fact was ‘good’ for punters as well as thoroughbreds, not to mention a couple of jockey’s.

The lad who stole the thunder was Neeraj Rawal, who brought home a brilliant quadruple. The winners of this Mumbai rider were Indian Quest,  Andrology, Light My Fire and Fort Knox. Punters who followed him had a gala time as, barring the first named, who was at even-money, they were all available at lucrative odds.
Imtiaz Sait-trained Indian Quest bagged the Soviet Song Handicap fairly comfortably but had to stave off a strong challenge from Charulata at the head of the straight. Vijay Singh-trained Andrology made every post of the Moon Emperor Cup a winning one. The favourite Monticello followed the winner all the way but failed to make much impression.

Then came the win of Light My Fire who swept past the favourite Pursuit Of Power under the whip. Rawal rode the top-weight with fine understanding, allowing the front-running favourite to call the shots before taking over from the distance post. The rest of the runners appeared to be outclassed by this pair.

Neeraj brought the curtain down on two days of racing at this centre with a flourish as he guided the 7/4 favourite Fort Knox to a comprehensive triumph over Innovator. The other horse in the betting, Royal County Down, ran like a dud but can not be written off straight away, as being an improving four-year-old he may yet meet the highest class.

The afternoon’s most facile winner was Rutherford Alford-trained Desire Lad, who carried has 62kg impost as if it was a feather on his back. Jockey M.F. Ali Khan found a lovely opening along the rails to shoot the 2/1 public choice clear, for an impressive five-length triumph in the Meg Merrilies Handicap. The lowest class was easy meat for this sprinter.