Mr Greedy ( Placerville – Angel Heights ) carried the back-breaking impost of 63kg on his back and also overcame the mile distance, which was a tad sharp for his liking, to lift the Odds On Trophy in a close finish from Misschevious Trot. Apprentice Trevor Patel kept the Mansingh Jadhav trainee in close attendance of Pepe Junior at the start of the race though the latter increased the lead as the race progressed. Into the final two furlongs Pepe Junior had shot his bolt making way for the hard-ridden Mr Greedy who held off the tenacious bid of Misschevious Trot at the wire. The close verdict may flatter the runner-up but the weight conceded by the winner has its own story to tell.

Another horse that ran true to form was the Pesi Shroff trained filly Strelitzia (Razeen – Hablitzia), the full sister to the Bangalore Derby winner of 2003 and who failed to emulate his brother in the same race this year, who claimed the Rajaram Chhatrapati Trophy. The filly came on with a big gallop in the home straight after no-hoper Taanush set the early pace for the field of five. Heavily fancied Oh Calcutta tried to assert herself at the bend but was clearly outclassed by the winner and even the experienced mare Doi Moi, who inched closer as the winning post came in sight. Oh Calcutta showed that she is cut out for middle distance races while Doi Moi should be taken note of when she is asked to tackle a longer trip.

Superior Quest (Diffident – Days of Glory) proved that he had not fluked Serenity when they last met at Mahalaxmi and in fact inflicted defeat on his rival by a bigger margin on this occasion. A. Imran Khan seized the initiative early in the race atop the Karthik Ganapathy trained Superior Quest and brush aside the challenge which Serenity sought to throw at him. Imran while exulting over his success made some gestures at Prakash while passing the winning post but it was difficult to guess what message he was trying to convey to Ramaswamy`s former employee. As the final outcome of the day`s races suggest, Superior Quest was the only Ramaswamy horse who was genuinely out on a mission unlike his stable-partners who seemed to be out for an airing.

The strange misgivings about the chances of Beyond Stars (Stardan – Naivement), the conqueror of Beautiful Stranger on debut and who later went down fighting to Dear Henry on Invitation Cup weekend, caused her odds to drift alarmingly in the betting ring. But the C. D. Katrak trained filly made all those who doubted her ability pay a heavy price as Suraj Narredu took her on a successful start-to-finish mission and had something in reserve when passing the winning post ahead of Deep Purple, Snow Queen and Aristocratic. Noble Salute was never in the hunt.

Star Empire and Moon Farer, the two C. Rajendra-ridden firm favourites from Katrak`s yard, however failed to oblige. Star Empire went down to the Magansingh Jodha saddled Zaracha (Hymn – Zeisha) in the same manner when he was beaten by Bullet earlier. The favourite took charge from Petra in the straight but failed to sustain as Malesh Narredu drove Zaracha to gain advantage close home. Delphi ran thereabouts to be third ahead of Petra , who should do better over a scurry.

The Imtiaz Sait trainee Starrer (Senure – Anmol) was powerfully driven by Y. S. Srinath to subdue Moon Farer, who adopted waiting tactics till the final furlong. Earlier Jalsa showed the way to the field for the first five furlongs and then Super King did the running before fading out to be third. Jalsa it seems is being prepared for a sprint event.

The last outing winner Bullet too disappointed his followers when being outwitted by Always Smile (Bee`s Prospector – Rustle of Spring) in a tight finish in which Bright Future too was involved. N. S. Parmar ridden Bright Future took charge of the running after a furlong from the start but not before harming the chances of Bullet. The latter joined the issue with the leader but both horses jostled with each other while fighting for supremacy and in the meanwhile Imran Chisty brought Always Smile with a resolute run to steal the thunder. Blazing Spectacle figured in the list of ‘also ran`.

There seemed to be no end in sight for B. Prakash`s misery as he failed to deliver the goods on favourite Blue Knight. Srinath powered Royal Highness ( Royal Kingdom – Romantic Heights ) to raise a fluent gallop when entering the straight and soon overtook River Gem in a trice. The Altaf Hussain schooled filly then stretched out keep Midsummer Knight at bay while Blue Knight finished third.

The Faisal Abbas trained National Ikon (Warrshan – Tempering) was also ridden to victory by Chisty at the start of the day where Stephane Ladjadj astride the Narendra Lagad trained favourite Emerald Valley ran like someone who has lost his way. Lord of Killarney took a smart jump on this occasion and led merrily till National Ikon divested him of his responsibilities. Aston Martin failed to quicken and ran third ahead of Emerald Valley , whose poor performance was inexplicable.

Stephane however was his usual self atop Showstopper (Namid – La Pieta), the Lagad trained filly who showed a clean pair of heels to her rivals including favourite Royal Porthcawl and Ocean of Faith . Walk of Life came with a long stretched run to finish fourth and will be heard of soon after some fine tuning.

Flying Jewel (Flitch – Heavenly Sound) landed a successful coup for her connections in the hands of J. Pradeep. The Hosidar Daji saddled Flying Jewel was ridden off the pace as Scintillating Star and Enchanted took turns to lead the field till the distance post. The filly put in a strong run to sailing clear for an effortless win over Frost Fairy, who arrived on the scene when the race was all over bar the shouting. Pound Foolish and Black Phantom followed them home.