Just a year ago, Salandra had tasted a victory at the Pune Race Course. Ever since, he was languishing at poor form at the Mahalakshmi turf.  Why was he finding it difficult to even come into the frame for most of the races? May be tougher company he faced.

All that is now a thing of past. He has achieved success at the new destination – Delhi, even though he took some time to adapt to the changed circumstances before emerging victorious in the one of feature events - Break of Dawn Plate, earmarked for class III horses - on Monday. The Ishwar Singh-trained gelding was partnered by jockey R. Parvesh. Later, the professional duo, however, succeeded in completing a hat-trick through Silver Girl and Northern Prince. Interestingly, the three victors opted to settle themselves one behind the front-runner before converting it into the victorious lap.

On the other hand, one of the much hyped horses of the previous season Quality Assurance one again failed to end his winning drought. She received a severe setback at the hands of Sun Dancer, who raised a fluent gallop under the guidance of Faiz Ali Khan and that too over six furlongs which, obviously, is not his favourable distance. The similar condition also applies on the beaten filly but considering the fact of the set she was facing she should have at least made its presence felt. She still has plenty of time to overcome the defeat before getting prepared for next show.

The bay gelding Salandra, who had a forward run while finishing third to Catalunya, utilised the benefit of it and hardly made the others bother about his potentials when he got the three-parts-of-a-length better of the speedy Shy Beauty over the pet distance (1,000 m). In fact, the winning margin could have been more. The son of Major Impact and Cymbidium has also the staying capability which may help him to notch up more races even over the longer distances. Shy Beauty should soon make amends.

The professionals’ pair celebrated their second success in the other main event - Acceptable Risk Plate which was also framed for the horses belonging to class three. On this occasion, Silver Girl made them proud with glittering performance over seven furlongs where she had never been able to compete from the last season. The five-year-old mare's victory was made easy by the withdrawal of Sudarshan Chakram. Sitting behind Time Gentlemen, Silver Girl showed no urgency till found the former losing the steam at the top of the homestretch. She is quite capable of wrap up another competition. Trusted Friend, who never came out of the shadow of fourth position, should soon spring a surprise.

The winning combination later brought the curtain down on the first extra day fixture with Northern Prince. The four-year-old gelding was ridden with great patience by Parvesh. Water wave, who was once again seen to be breaking away from the pack, had no answer to reply once the gelding started invading his territory. The performance may help Northern Prince to stick with it in the next venture if he finds any weaker set.

The beginning event (Accademia Plate, Div.I) saw Gallopinggoldmine completing her double by pipping Hello Dolly few yards before the wining post. The latter, who had developed some fitness problem after the last outing, could have turned the table on the former if she had had sufficient time for preparation. Nucleus, who ran close to their haunches, responded late to
the urgings.

Sukhdish singh-saddled Solitary Man registered an emphatic victory in the lower division of the Accademia Plate. Looking cut above the field in the paddock, the three-year-old colt ran true to his form and is expected to gain few more races coming to his way.