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The lower division of the day's feature was won by Arjun Mangalorkar's Valid Expectation. The Spartan ,who was attempting to make it three-in-a-row, was backed enthusiastically. Wayne Smith had a tight grip on the favourite, and he was seen travelling nicely behind Panchakshari and Calming Influence as the runners took the rising ground and charged for home. The Spartan came alongside the leaders, and spurted away from them. He was clear at the distance post, before he began to shorten his strides. The Spartan was soon passed by Valid Expectation,Silken Thomas and Carabinieri. Suraj Narredu raised an objection against John on the grounds of interference near the 700 metre marker. He alleged that Valid Expectation had bumped Silken Thomas at that stage of the race. With the camera angles being poor ,and rear view footage being unavailable, the stewards could not find any merit in the objection. The placings remained unaltered.
The Southern Regent Trophy, a seven furlong race for maidens, was the other attraction in the eight event card. Well performed youngsters like Bruckner, Systematic and Fleet Indian had accepted to face the starter. Their winter form was encouraging, and the betting centered around the three of them. Padmanbhan's got abroad colt Polish Patriot was making his debut in this race. He had reportedly suffered a setback in training, but for which, he may have appeared earlier on a race track. The big made dark bay was looking a picture ,but was seen sporting bandages. This dampened the spirits of his supporters. Jockey Rajendra was riding in his first race after a fall during the Mumbai season. Polish Patriot tracked front running Fleet Indian till well into the straight, before assuming charge of the proceedings. He responded brilliantly to Rajendra's urgings, and sped away from a late finishing Systematic. Fleet Indian plodded on to be third, while even-money favourite Bruckner found himself to be out of depth in this company. The winner has a lot of scope to improve from his present mark.
A sprint race for horses in class III was split into two divisions.The upper division produced a thrilling finish. Neil Darashah's Celestial Son was racing after almost a year. L Marshall held the advantage with this four year old, before Ryan Marshall and Marcegalia came alongside. The two horses raced abreast for almost two hundred metres, before flashing past the winning post. It took a long while for the judge to pronounce Celestial Son as the winner, only a nose separating him from Marcegalia. Easy came menacingly close at the end to finish a neck behind in third place.
The other division was won by Ganapathy's Lunar Lust. The filly signalled her return to old form, when she responded to Prakash's guidance. She quickened from fourth position, and sped away from Movie Queen to record a popular victory. Dark Horse ended a faraway third. Prakash and Ganapathy had already won the day's opener with Fair Option. The stable was obviously confident about the staying abilities of this three year old. Fair Option was never off the bit while overtaking early leaders Dante's Peak and Going For Gold. The ease with which she carried the heavy impost augurs well for her future. Fair Option can be supported confidently over a staying trip in the future.
