The meteorologists were right: Though the sun would be shining bright yet the cold wave would overshadow it. There was a dramatic change in the weather overnight in Delhi. The turf was covered fully by the morning dew but the rays coming from the east swept it away by the time try-outs come to end. However, the chilly wind continued to blow throughout the proceedings of six races on Tuesday.

When the gathering at the racecourse was braving out against the cold weather, jockey Rajinder gave some relief with his elegant and flashy riding on Godavari in the Kanhaiya Lal Sharma And Company Cup, which was earmarked for the Class III horses. She ran against all odds like carrying a massive weight of 60.5 kilos, a heavy penalty for the last victory, a furlong less to travel and standing in the 12th draw over the seven furlongs. As the gate swung open, Godavari found no better place than to run ninth in the field of 14 horses till the race came to a head. She angled for a run and made a fluent gallop like her name Godavari - named after one of the seven sacred rivers in India which flows from Maharashtra to Andhra Pradesh before merging into the Bay of Bengal, to pull out a definite victory from the jaws of Sam Aldo and Hero's Power with a couple of yards away from the winning post.

"Oh my god! What A run," many racegoers were heard shouting. “It was really a terrific victory for me," Rajinder told me. "Though I was confident about her victory, yet I worried a bit when I was trying hard to get out of the wall of horses in the straight and when she started devouring the ground from the stand side, it was sh who made the things possible," Rajinder said. "Receipt of weight was not the problem for my charge and once again she proved that she has something extraordinary," Aleem Khan told me. "What one can expect more from a filly who has already become one of the few horses from mine stable to complete a hat-trick in such an impressive manner," he said.

The glittering turn of foot of Godavari can enable her to extend her winning streak till beaten. A handicap advantage did not work out for the gray Sam Aldo, who once again found Godavari one step better. It is quite interesting to note that in the similar consequence, Godavari had defeated the gray with the identical verdict in the very previous outing. He is definitely knocking at the door. Power of Hero's Power, the favourite, was cut by Gandiva. The duo fought for the head from the bend and that really cost the public fancied race. They finished in a close order.

A three-year-old colt, Black Chetak, ran true to his name while making every post a winning one in an impressive style, though he slightly changed the lane in the straight in the upper division of the Infantary Plate. He should repeat. The lower division of the plate went in favour of Gin And Tonic, who showed a great zest of racing after regaining the lead in the straight from Faurties, who even lost the runner-up slot in the battle of objection lodged by Cross Ways, whose ways were hampered by him in the last furlong. The trio has a good future ahead.

A long overdue win came for Basra in the Southern Command Plate. Garden Of Hope seemed to have come a lot after finishing second behind the winner. Timeless Majesty bears watching. City Swinger, a gelding from the western India, shed the maiden status under the guidance of substitute jockey Ram Parvesh, who replaced the injured Ramandeep. However, the triumphant was made to sweat by the stablemate Cute N Cool in a close call. Meanwhile, yet another fierce battle was seen between Velvet Claws and Manjhale Nawab. The former prevailed narrowly by upsetting the calculations of the heavily backed latter.          

Notable runners included More Than A Woman, Little Cut, Choice Own, Bakhtawar, Vagabond, Consulate, Ready To Win, Santorini, Striving Higher, Lizzy Arden, Real Diamond and Sheer Excellence.