Shub Shubh turned out to be the best sprinter among the four-year-old and over horses competing in the Champion Sprinters Cup at the Delhi races on Thursday. Saddler Ishwar Singh Parmar and reinman Irfan Ali were the prominent professionals to share a brace each.

Even before the event, hardly there was any doubt about the potential of Shub Shubh, even though in the previous outing he had to be content with the runner-up berth against the ownermate Sonic Boom. Another suspense factor was who was going to guide the fortune of the pair on the day as no declaration about the jockeys was made until the final day. Trusting Irfan Ali for the champion sprinter paid off while Nilesh assisted Sonic Boom.

Making no mistake like previous outing, Shub Shubh was kept behind the top-notched filly Gin And Tonic till the crucial stages. Senegal, who met with interference in the last attempt, got into action too late and that saw him finishing on fastest from the mid-bunch for the second prize. "He did the same what I expected," Ishwar Singh Parmar, trainer of Shub Shubh, said. "Actually we (owner) were making a plan to import western Jockey to be quickest for Shub Shubh but we came to conclusion that let’s try with local lad and it clicked," he said. "I am happy that he could do that what he did not do last season after struggling with fitness problem," Sunil Kumar Verma told me. "I would like to race him in Sprinters Cup and he is supposed to leave for Kolkata soon," Sunil said.

It is learnt that the filly Gin And Tonic, who made her reappearance this season, was blazing the track and only lack of run cost her top prize. Ashwa Pratap was the impressive fifth. Mumbai and Kolkata-imported Black Patridge and Firecracker proved their supremacy respectively in the senior and lower division of the Sail Away Plate. Undoubtedly, the duo found the events like a flash in the pan. Brilliancy of DK Ashish on Katmai helped the filly to keep the late challenge of Star Sparakle at bay by half-a-length in the Golden Ascot Plate. Beatrice banged with vengeance under the guidance Amyn Merchant to emerge victor in the William Wallace Plate. Bolstering with confidence after the victory of Shub Shubh, Irfan Ali rode a copy book race on Dream Debut to taste long overdue victory in the Diamond lad Plate.