The honours on Thursday afternoon were shared by three trainers who recorded a brace each. They were Bath, Imtiaz Sait and Javed Khan.

Sait opened his account with Fort Knox who lifted the King's Academy Cup with ridiculous ease. Champion jockey Christopher Alford rode this six-year-old mare with great understanding, keeping her covered up till well into the straight. When Alford released the brakes, Fort Knox sailed past the pair of Havana and Dance Music who were fighting for supremacy. The trainer completed his double with Indian Quest, atop whom Christopher Alford had to pull out all stops to keep at bay the fast finishing Horse Radish, on whom Mumbai apprentice Riyaz Shaikh rode a power-packed finish.

Western India's apprentices Kishore Kadam and Riyaz Shaikh unfortunately drew a blank despite giving it their all. Kadam had to be content with the runner-up berth on two occasions — both times on favourite trained by Aarti Doctor. In the Cupid Handicap run over the metric mile, Apostrophe did all the running before being collared by the bottom-weight Sterling Magic who strode away to a fluent victory.
 
He next bit the dust in the Romantic Notes Cup where his mount Queen Of Hearts finished in the rock after she was out paced by the speedy front-runner Master Coup.

The only runner to win at lucrative odds (6/1) during the afternoon was Javed Khan-trained Dynamic Move who was piloted with great expertise by Md Islam. After letting Acheson do all the running till the distance post, Islam brought Dynamic Move with a fluent run along the rails. The second favourite Golden Chain left all her chances at the gates.

Trainer Deepak Karki was hoping to pull off a daring double during the afternoon. However, while the medium of his first gamble (The Polynesian) obliged his connections in the Falconet Handicap, his effort to secure a 'good double' came to nought when his second gamble came unstuck in the day's final event, The Turf Hawk Handicap.  Karki-trained Pursuit Of Power was beaten fair and square by the 'heavy-weight' Salazaar on whom Mark rode an excellent finish. Keeping him covered up till the bend, he gently urged the well-bred animal (known to be a bleeder) and found a passage along the rails.

Jockey Alford, who went hammer on tongs atop Indian Quest to land the spoils, had no such problem in the curtain-raiser where his mount Eternal Spirit recorded a facile victory, justifying her cramped odds.