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Hi Heineken got a flyer and settled into a marginal lead ahead of Rasili. The two of them went five lengths clear of Behram and the others as they took the rising ground and turned for home. While John kept urging the leader to hold her position, Madhu Babu and Rasili were cruising on the outside and it was only a matter of time before the favourite would go ahead. It happened near the final bend. Rasili put her neck in front and was ridden hands and heels thereafter. She wasn't unduly pressed to keep a heavily whipped Behram at bay. Hi Heineken shortened her strides and faded from the scene. The others struggled to finish the race. The runner-up shall certainly improve after this run and should win his next start. He looked a trifle gross in the paddock today, and this outing should do Behram a world of good.
The other two winners for Madhu Babu came in the form of Veda Priya and Final Frontier. Monappa's Veda Priya stood tall amongst a group of non-performers and was accordingly installed as an even-money favourite. She allowed Royal Flynn and Berkley Square to lead till the bend, before the boy showed her daylight. The blinkered filly surged ahead and powered away from Royal Flynn. Three year-old Vibhuti ran an improved race to finish a fair third. Final Frontier set a scorching pace in a mile race for horses in Class IV. All Round tried to match strides with the leader but got tired at the bend. Final Frontier maintained his momentum and had little to do thereafter. He retired as an easy winner of this race. A hard ridden Jericho made up ground from the rear and got up on the last stride to put his nose in front of All Round at the wire. Well-fancied Secret Fury was prominent till the bend before the top weighted horse got tired with his efforts.
The rest of the day's card was dominated by unfancied runners, who shocked the followers of form with their performances. Darashah's Anoosheek started the trend in the day's opener. This mare has been backed on numerous occasions but has disappointed repeatedly. It was a different story this afternoon. Just as unfancied Splendid Glory went past the favourite High Fortune in the final furlong of this race, Anoosheek arrived on the scene. Gnaneshwar rode powerfully to win near the final post. A late burst from Al Qamar saw him taking the third spot. Al Qamar is known to like it longer, and it would be worth following his fortunes over a galloping trip.
Gnaneshwar completed his double with another exciting win astride Monappa's Time Speed. This victory enabled the trainer to complete saddling a brace for the afternoon. The sprint race looked a wide open affair with many runners competing with a good chance. A late surge of betting on John ridden Looking To Lead saw this four year old starting as a marginal favourite ahead of Sword Of Power, Time Speed and Snap Dragon. The speedy Youremylov set a real fast pace and in the process ran the others off their feet. In order to seek advantageous positions, there was a bit of jostling at the start, which saw the favourite Looking To Lead losing his position on the rails and dropping to the rear of the bunch. Afsar continued to push Youremylov in front and the horse kept responding. The duo led in the final furlong and looked set to shock the punters. Gnaneshwar and Time Speed were their closest challengers. They began to gain ground with each stride and were lucky to catch up with Youremylov near the finishing line. Looking To Lead made up a lot of ground in the straight and finished strongly on the wide outside to take the third spot.
Nine year-old Demanding has been running some good races this season. A couple of runner-up berths in his first two starts were creditable performances. He was a rank outsider in a mile race today. The speedy horse has never acted over this trip in his entire career. There was no indication that he would do so today. However, a few factors went in his favour. The horse wasn't allowed to go to the front as he found a wall of horses in front of him. He was held back in fourth place on the rails and was forced to save ground for most of the way. The field opened up nicely at the bend and this enabled Demanding to take control of the proceedings. Apprentice Khurshad pushed him into the lead at that stage and retained it till the end. But the most important point that went in his favour was the riding by the jockey of the favourite Super Sha. Tauseef Ahmed rode a peculiar race on the public fancy. He held the horse back in last position, travelled wide all the way, swung widest into the home stretch and despite feeble handling in the straight Super Sha ran on to finish a close second.
A nice little gamble was landed in the last race of the day. Gaurav Sapra ridden Power Of Glory had shown form by running an unextended fourth in his only start this season. Bipin had obviously sharpened him thereafter and pitched him against Mr Hurricane and Skyfleet, both of whom were running with winning penalties in this race. Power Of Glory made full use of his advantageous inner draw and Sapra rode a neat race on him. Khurshad ridden Skyfleet led in the last furlong but was soon joined by Power Of Glory. Sapra's stronger finish with the help of a whip proved to be decisive, as the winner went past Skyfleet and landed the spoils. Favourite Mr Hurricane was outpaced from the beginning and could no better than settle for the third place.
