Hugo (Greensmith – Mariella) and Romantic Impact were the two least fancied horses in the field of seven contesting for the Rusi Patel Trophy, a race for horses rated above, which was one of the important events of Sunday`s races. Few bothered to look beyond Zadmal Singh saddled Swahili, who had won two races over a mile for the asking. But the bay horse somehow failed to hit the front at the start and met the same fate that he had met on his first visit to the track this season and it was the long-in-tooth Hugo from Imtiaz Sait`s barns who flourished in the hands of C. Rajendra and came with long ranging strides to snub Romantic Impact in the closing stages of the race.

Earlier Priapus set the pace but packed up in the straight where Swahili tried to assert his authority but, try hard as he did, he was unable to avoid a confrontation with his opponents. Romantic Impact meanwhile slipped into the lead but Hugo came with an explosive gallop which not only consumed Romantic Impact but also foiled Equidae`s attempt to foil his party. Swahili even lost the fourth berth to Aquilo close home.

Trainer Shiraz Sunderji may not have succeeded in winning the big event of the day with Ocean and Beyond but he hogged the limelight with a profitable treble for his connections. He first sent out El Tropico (Juniper – Nature`s Miracle) who capitalized on his handicap advantage over his main rival Young Forever and recorded an authoritative win in the hands of S. A. De Sousa.

Sunderji`s decision to give River Knight (Razeen – Set Aside) the aid of blinkers after two failures this season proved to be a masterstroke as Set Alight`s full brother made short work of his six rivals including Cambiasso, Doi Moi, Confiserie and Sea of Kisses over the Derby trip for the Intervalve (India) Ltd Trophy. When the field entered the final run-in, Sea of Kisses gave an impression that he would emerge stronger over his rivals but it was his owner-mate River Knight, ridden by D. K. Ashish, who flashed on to the scene and left the fancied horses in a daze. Cambiasso could only finish second ahead of Angelo while Doi Moi finished fourth with Sea of Kisses and Fire Vault in close tow.

River Memories (China Visit – Santorini Star) won for the third time this season and was partnered by Richard Hughes on this occasion. The well-bred Star Crowned, who was the overwhelming favourite to win the race, got the upper hand of Bright Future opposite the stands but his lead was short-lived as Hughes spurred River Memories to produce an incisive run down the middle and leave Star Crowned stranded. Vibgyor ran on late to finish runner-up while Big Old Man pipped Tudor Regent for the fourth place.

Rehanullah Khan saddled Saints And Sinners (Burden of Proof – Corsicana) overcame the wide draw and proved far too superior for the big field of twenty-one rivals. Niall McCullagh made steady improvement at each furlong and grabbed the lead in the straight to make it two in a row. Alize proved no match for the winner while Marine Zone and Gatravat managed to take the minor places.

Rajendra partnered another Sait trainee Illustrious (Emerald Cat – Splendid) to complete a brace on the day as the filly made every post of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Trophy a winning one. Favourite Awesomeness flopped in the final furlong while Constantina fought a valiant but futile battle with Illustrious. Emerald Valley ran thereabouts in the fourth position throughout.

Asad Siddiqui`s ward Tehrani (Flitch – Share The Spirit) came across a bunch of uninterested rivals in the curtain raiser and which helped him land the spoils much easier than expected. Earlier My Pet Honey showed the way but surrendered meekly when challenged by the C. Ruzaan ridden winner. Nonios, Kimaya and Shaktiman showed up only after the race was in the safe-keeping of Tehrani.