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The Indraprastha Cup, a sprint for horses rated 60 and above happened to be the day's feature. The large number of acceptors ensured that it was split into two divisions. Interestingly, both divisions were won by the horses that were handicapped at the bottom of the scales. The ever reliable Tina's Triumph was rewarded for his consistency on Monday. After winning his opening race of this season, Tina's Triumph had moved to the higher class. The eight year-old had managed to figure on the board on all subsequent occasions. His last effort second to Chief De Mission was impressive. The main reason for his win today was the alertness shown by Deep Shanker at the gates. The jockey took a smart jump and pushed Tina's Triumph to take the second spot behind Beau Monde. Realizing that the front-runner was getting tired near the final bend, he moved off the rails and allowed his mount to get a clear passage into the straight. Everything worked out beautifully for this runner, and he powered away to a comfortable victory over a late-finishing Dare Don and a tired Perfect Bond.
The lower division witnessed another superb piece of riding by jockey Stephane. His mount Here Comes The Don had been backed with confidence. This Bipin-trainee was drawn on the inside of an 11-horse field. Since his horse lacked early speed, he could do nothing but watch helplessly as those drawn on the wider outside came inwards. To the dismay of his supporters, Here Comes The Don dropped back to the last position. He did not panic and waited for the right opportunity. Missiszippy, Youremylov, Eona, Red Dawn and Skyfleet formed the leading group as the runners came into the final furlong of this race. Stephane made his move through the pack, and was able to pull his horse towards the wide outside. Here Comes The Don saw daylight and charged for home. He showed blistering acceleration while responding to the jockey’s urgings, and managed to win in a close finish from Red Dawn and Skyfleet. The winner is in great heart and is certain to repeat in his next start.
A couple of Bipin-trained horses that were supported strongly, but failed today were Swiss Queen and Awesome Fighter. A last outing winner, Swiss Quuen was expected to defy the winning penalty, and under the able guidance of Stephane, score an encore. The stout-hearted mare tried her best, but found her top weight a stopper. She was unable to concede eight kilos to the speedy Collateral, and surrendered without a serious fight. Refuse To Bend ended a tame third. On the other hand, Awesome Fighter's performance was quite ordinary. He had won twice for the asking and was attempting to complete a hat-trick today. Stephane tried to take him to the front, but the horse was not interested. He steadily dropped out of contention, and ended off the board. Lyra reproduced her form and gave Vijay Kumar a rare opportunity to score a winner. Hakuna Matata made the early running before settling for the second berth.
The only other race during the afternoon was the day's opener. Feroz Khan's Actor had run a fair second in his last start. He was coming out after a month, and was looking to improve on that effort. The Merchant-ridden horse started as a favourite, but his spiralling odds displaced him from the top of the betting boards. The dickey-legged four year-old tracked Stellar Star till the bend before essaying his charge. Merchant gave him a tap on the right and the horse reacted strongly. He bounded forward but began to veer out under pressure. Merchant was quick to change the whip from right to left, and tried his best to straighten the drift. A left hander at this stage saw him move inwards. Actor galloped alongside the leader and managed to beat him at the post. Hi Heineken ran prominently till the bend before calling it a day. The rider of the second placed Stellar Star tried to reverse the result in the Stewards Room, but that was not to be. The objection lacked merit and was thrown out in quick time.
