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Lady Duff had so far won all her races in an identical manner. She was known to show immense speed in the initial stages, and further acceleration in the straight. In a curious turn of events, it was all missing today. Lady Duff led by a narrow margin till the bend, began slowing down in the straight, got passed by most of the runners in the final furlong and ultimately finished off the frame. All this can only be attributed to an "Off Day", as the filly looked well in the paddock. Chouhan ridden Diamond Hunter tracked her for most of the way, before he assumed command in the straight. Diamond Hunter's lead began to diminish as the runners entered the final furlong. Atlantus made a steady move from the rear and all but caught Diamond Hunter at the wire. The final verdict of a short head signals the difference between the two runners. Originality and Aurelian came from the back and sailed past a stopping Lady Duff. The first four finishers are likely to get the nominations from this centre.
The Smt Saraswati Sajnani Memorial Trophy was the other important race of the day. The mile event had a strong favourite in Arjun Mangalorkar's Lush Lashes. The four year-old filly was known to relish the trip and was well handicapped. She received one-sided support to start as a 70/100 favourite. There was a roar of anguish from the stands as the runners got flagged off at the start. Lush Lashes had lost precious ground by missing the kick. John had no choice but to sit off the pace and bide his time with the favourite. Marie Curie, Glitterato and Noble Sacrifice shared the lead before shooting their bolt. Lush Lashes was put in top gear in the straight, and the filly sailed into the lead. Suraj Narredu and Tuthmosis looked like her only challengers. Tuthmosis responded gamely to Suraj's call, came with giant strides on the wide outside and managed to beat the favourite on the post. Glitterato stayed-on to take the third spot.
A couple of good youngsters were seen in action this afternoon. Dhariwal's Siachen and Faraz Arshad's Sunny's Secret impressed racegoers with their fluent acceleration. Siachen was available at unbackable odds, and her performance vindicated the opinion of the bookmakers. Chris Hayes rode an overconfident race on the filly. Siachen was kept totally off the pace, and raced more than ten lengths behind the front group as the dozen juveniles took the final bend. The magnificent acceleration shown by this filly thereafter was really worth watching. She came on the wide outside and tore away from Rezoom and Sun So Beautiful. The winning margin of a distance and the smart timing clocked in this race, auger well for Siachen's future.
Sunny's Secret floored the punters by winning as a rank outsider. The betting was restricted to Sky Light and Valahak. While Valahak had run a good third in his previous start, Sky Light was the first choice of the track reporters. She was considered to be quite speedy for this opposition. Imran Chisty pushed Sky Light from a wide draw to make the early running and led into the straight. Valahak was always second while the rest of the pack was seen racing many lengths behind the two of them. The first horse beaten in this race was Valahak. He began to feel the pressure and stopped in his tracks. Sky Light was clear at the distance post before Samuel Fargeat and Sunny's Secret began to move forward. The horse lengthened his strides and covered the leeway in a matter of seconds. He sailed past Sky Light with a minimum of fuss. Sun Dawn ran erratically, before getting up to save place money for his connections.
Rashid Byramji's Lowndes Square defied the handicapper while posting his second successive victory this season. What was more impressive was the manner in which it was achieved. With Chisty astride, Lowndes Square raced at the tail end of the group till the runners were well into the straight. Alpha Baby, Star Wave and Brigade's Pride were at the helm of affairs till that stage. None of them were able to match the eventual acceleration displayed by Lowndes Square. He seemed to love the lighter weight on his back today. He won by a widening margin from a heavily punished Star Wave and Alpha Baby. The favourite Brigade's Pride returned lame to the paddock.
The most exciting finish in the day's card was witnessed in a class III sprint. Just about one length covered the first five finishers. It was finally the strong urgings of Harish that tilted the balance in favour of Puttanna's Great Chieftain. The seven year-old got up in the nick of time to get his nose in front of Your Destiny and Poetic. A further neck behind was Royal Player. The last named was an unlucky loser as he suffered a check in this race. A riderless horse interfered with his progress at a crucial juncture and Gaurav Sapra had no option other than to stop riding him for a short period of time. He will be too good to miss in his next start.
Trainer Satish Narredu completed a double by winning the last race of the day. After Tuthmosis in an earlier event, he led-in Best Time who spurted away from Gustavo and the others to record a facile victory. The allowance claimed by apprentice Khurshad tilted the balance in favour of this well-bred filly. She stole a march at the top of the straight and managed to keep Gustavo at bay. The heavily bandaged Gustavo floundered under the heavy impost, and should be persisted with when campaigned at a lower weight in the higher class. Sandalwood Star managed to drag his rider into third place.
Imran Chisty was another professional to score more than once today. He managed to steer Darius Byramji's Hampton Court ahead of fancied Tirolino and land one of the successful gambles of the day. Jockey Paswan took Tirolino to the front, but was found wanting when challenged by Hampton Court. Imran brought him with a flourish to nail the leader near the winning post. Man Down Under ran like a one-paced horse while taking the third spot.
