Forest Flair (Placerville – Tide Of Fortune) fought off the late dual challenge from Amore Mio and Mighty Crusader to score a bravely fought victory in the Kunigal Stud Breeders’ Produce Stakes (Gr3). Bourbon Bay set the ball rolling, Top Kapi and River Minstrel followed closely. Amore Mio and Mighty Crusader were in the rear bunch.

In the straight, Top Kapi joined the leader only to see Forest Flair pass him on the outside. Soon Amore Mio and Mighty Crusader moved past. At the distance post Forest Flair had a handy lead which held him in good stead at the finish. Amore Mio and Mighty Crusader covered good ground but could only manage to reduce the margin to a close finish.

Forest Flair

Spirituall (Black Cash – Rahy’s Serenade) has improved considerably. Red Romeo went start to finish and almost pulled it off. Only Spirituall spoilt his party. Entering the straight, it was soon clear that Red Romeo and Spirituall were the only two who could pick the race as the others were ridden out yet out paced. Red Romeo had a good 2 length lead getting into the final furlong, but a persevering Malesh Narredu did not let him skip away. Malesh had to pull out every trick in the book to narrow in on the favorite and when he sniffed a chance, he got the best out of Spirituall to nail Red Romeo on the last stride. Call To Arms covered a lot of ground from the rear as did Avec Plaisir to finish third and fourth respectively.

IL Divo (Orpen – Porto Elounda) is earning a stready reputation as a decent sprinter. Leading from the start, IL Divo kept the hot pace going and grew even stronger in the straight. Aurora Aurealis who chased him all the way ended up doing so without causing any trouble to the leader. IL Divo looked a winner long way from home and he clocked a fast time too – 58.50. Successor simply could not match stride and fell back early in the straight. Zaraentine faired much better and Premier Queen woke up late to end in the frame.

There was a bad mishap and a near mishap at the fourth and fifth races on Saturday. In the Romanov Trophy, soon on passing the 800 m, Battle Fury simply sank and went down throwing Rajendra off the saddle. Right behind was Hickory who stumbled and sent SN Chavan sprawling to the turf. While Chavan was found to have fractured his hip, Rajendra escaped unhurt. However, he has been advised to be kept under observation.

Speaking to Indiarace from the hospital, Rajendra said “I am fine but terribly disappointed to miss the Derby. This is so very unfortunate and disheartening. Thankfully, I have not injured myself and should be back in action next week. Chavan, however, was not so lucky. I am told he is undergoing a surgery to mend a bone in his hip. I wish him a speedy recovery. It all happened so fast. I was galloping well and suddenly the horse buckled and before I could act, he went down taking me along”.

Meanwhile, oblivious to the accident behind, Whispering Willows led the field home with Smokin Aces in hot pursuit. Still on tight reins, Smokin Aces easily passed Whispering Willows and shot into the lead. The rest were struggling to keep pace and Smokin Aces worked up a nice rhythm and tempo to win easing up, clocking under the minute effortlessly. Cinquecento improved to beat Whispering Willows who still looked a bit immature while surrendering the runner up berth as well. Smokin Aces (Diffident – Credential) impressed and won without working up a sweat.

Champion Jockey Malesh Narredu was fortunate to have escaped a nasty fall too astride Cest Bon in the Royal Challenger Challenge. Following Fire Within soon on settling down, Malesh kept Cest Bon on the rails, Fire Vault was in the middle and Tyumen was on the outside. Tyumen shifted in tightening Fire Vault and Cest bon suddenly reared up awkwardly, nearly dislodging Malesh. The astute jockey showed great presence of mind and miraculously managed to stay put firmly in the saddle, but was certainly shunted out of the competition.

Fire Within (Warrshan – Anodyne) kicked on gamely and built on the lead he enjoyed on entering the straight. Sharp Memory tried to cut the lead but couldn’t quicken enough. Estatica made a late dash to run second.

Solor (Glory of Dancer – Steadfast Love) justified the heavy support he garnered by winning the day’s opener in style. He had shown in his last outing that he was knocking on the door and did not take long to establish his winning credentials convincingly. Sitting confidently in the fifth position, Solor made a huge impact the moment he burst on to the scene early in the straight. He galloped past Devilitto and in a trice, stretched out to post a yawning gap and looked the winner long way from home.

Golden Kingdom went down tamely to Slickkit (Senure – Baloostar) in the second race. Hitting the front soon on start, Golden Kingdom managed to stay ahead only till midway up the straight. Slickkit got a dream opening on the rails, thanks to Golden Kingdom shifting out and Parmar not managing to keep a straight course at the crucial juncture. Slickkit couldn’t have asked for a better script and slipped through to run away from Golden Kingdom. Courage Under Fire did well to get into place money, finishing on from quite a long way back to nose out Real Dream.

Buster (Alnasr Alwasheek – Premier Collection) who produced an impressive burst in the straight won the United Spirits Challenge convincingly. Sitting well off the pace almost in the rear end Buster waited patiently as Mysterious Star and Catalyst led the field into the straight. Gentle Knight who was right with them tried to surge ahead but was clearly overwhelmed. Tsesebe came alongside too, but Grant and Buster dominated the final furlong, Buster was unleashed only past the distance post and he responded brilliantly to the solitary crack that Grant used on him. Tsesebe was a notable second.Blade Runner did well too ending in the place money.

Tromos (Steinbeck – Ammeter) was the universal choice in the last race. Settling in the mid bunch, Tromos waited until they turned for home showing no hurry even as Shanghai Girl had gone to establish a runaway lead. Once in the straight, Tromos galloped resolutely to easily pass the front runners and sailed away to romp home in style. Magical Mantra ran on to finish ahead of Saddlers Rule.

Jockeys M Narredu and YS Srinath scored a double each.