Padmanabhan trained Sir Cecil who is nicknamed ``the beast`` by many of his admirers made it eight for eight when he easily tackled his only worthwhile adversary Star Superior to clinch the Gr 1 Villoo Poonawalla Indian 2000 Guineas, the second classic of the season on Sunday. Sir Cecil is perhaps the only horse in recent times to have won this race enjoying imposing credentials and having the aura of a superstar. What is unique is that barring one win, all his other wins have been in graded races and this was the fourth Grade 1 race that he was winning.

``I am extremely satisfied with the performance of Sir Cecil. He has been one of the amazing horses that I have trained in my career. He treats the opposition with disdain. He has an excellent temperament and has a hunger for killing the opposition with his sheer athleticism. Sir Cecil is undoubtedly the champion of champions,`` Padmanabhan said.

David Allan who is the most successful foreign jockey to have ridden in India said that Sir Cecil was the best horse he has ridden in India. ``He can be compared to Becket who however was a fragile horse. Sir Cecil is a sturdy horse. I call him the beast. He can win on any surface. I was toying with the opposition and the verdict doesn`t reflect the superiority of Sir Cecil as I wanted him to win without having to go all out.`` When asked how he would compare Sir Cecil with Desert God, he said: ``Desert God was a different sort of a horse. He was a small made champion with a big heart. Sir Cecil is in a league of his own.``

The RWITC had succeeded in creating a hype about the race which perhaps saw a bigger turnout. Star Superior had run Sir Cecil close in a mile-long race and thus his only opportunity was over this trip. Still, the bookmakers were not prepared to take any chances and offered Sir Cecil at a miserly price. They were justified because Sir Cecil was not required to extend himself to keep his unbeaten record.

The pace of the race was slow as Excellent who was also a serious contender in the race. David Allan did not hesitate to move up with Sir Cecil, with Sacred Roman for the company while Suraj Narredu preferred to chase the favourite. ```I expected the pace to be slow and that was the reason why I moved up. Passing the 400 metres marker, I knew I had a ton in hand and Star Superior had no ghost of a chance to beat me. There is no problem settling Sir Cecil as he is an easy horse to ride. I expect him to be more mature when we come here the next time out. He is a horse with an attitude,`` said David Allan.

Sir Cecil cruised past Excellent on turning for home and skipped ahead. Suraj alerted Star Superior to go in hot pursuit and the progeny of Excellent Art gave his heart out when finishing a shade more than a length behind the champion. ``My horse gave all that he had. It is unfortunate that Star Superior is in the same generation as Sir Cecil,`` said Suraj Narredu. Sacred Roman was third more than six lengths adrift of Star Superior. The race which was billed as the clash of two titans lived up to the billing.

Imtiaz Sait trained New England ended the winless sequence with a strong performance in the 1600 metres Ranjit V Bhat Memorial Gold Trophy, a race for horses rated 80 and above. Pesi Shroff-trained Costa Brava who had reeled off a series of wins, was made the favourite though he was taking on a seasoned horse in New England who had the experience of running in graded race company. Robert Downey chose to ride New England up with the pace keeping him a handy second behind B Fifty Two. Zervan preferred to relax Costa Brava in the third position ahead of Grand Accord. Rounding the final turn, New England quickly gained the lead and surged ahead. Costa Brava went in chase. Every time Downey asked for something extra from New England, the game performer responded and held off the strong challenge of Costa Brava by a length. Downey rode a brilliant race on the winner who had time and again fallen short. Grand Accord easily beat B Fifty-Two to take the third position. New England clocked a modest time of one minute 39.09 seconds compared to the three seconds faster timing clocked in the classic.

Pesi Shroff-trained Riquewihr maintained the winning form with an easy win in the 1000 metres P M Rungta Golden Sprint Stakes, a race for horses rated 40 to 66. The presence of apprentice jockey P S Kaviraj was perhaps the reason why Riquewihr commanded a good price in the betting ring. Poker Face was widely reckoned to be a big threat to the prospects of the favourite. Colombianaprincess led from the start with Kaviraj managing to bring Riquewihr into a handy second position from the wide outside draw. Inside the final furlong, Riquewihr assumed commanded and stretched away to win by a margin of four lengths over Colombianaprincess who stayed on to take the runner-up berth. Fine Tune and Poker Face finished in close order.

Vishal Gaikwad trained Kariega made an impressive debut in the 1200 metres Faiz Jasdanwalla Trophy, a race for maiden two-year-olds. Kariega who was at the tail end at the final turn, moved briskly on the inside and covered the leeway in a remarkable manner and then stormed away from the rest to win by a widening margin of three lengths over Starringo and Princess Scarlet. Favourite Peerless ran a disappointing race.

Dallas Todywalla trained Flaming Martini looked imposing in the 1200 metres Cole Gold Trophy (Div I), a race for horses rated 4 to 30 after her impressive second behind La Rondine. Flaming Martini was the overwhelming favourite to win and the favourite quickly seized the initiative in the straight to provide an arm-chair ride to victory for David Allan. Findlerhof suggested her readiness to strike next time out finishing a leisurely second. Brave was third. The lower division of the race was won in equally emphatic fashion by Altaf Hussain trained El Commandant who had the field stranded in the final furlong. Myrcella gave a chase without any hope. Sharareh was third.

The 1400 metres Stylecracker Borough Stakes, a race for horses rated 40 to 66, produced the season`s first dead-heat. Favourite Hyannis had the lead in the final stages of the race with Grand Tenton responding well to the urgings of Leigh Roche and finishing with a rattle. The two went past the post locked together. The judge took a long time before announcing a dead-heat. Sassy Lass held off Safdar to save place money.

Karthik Ganapathy trained Mighty Warrior brought off a big upset in the 1000 metres Satinello Trophy, a race for horses rated 20 to 46. The heavily backed Chosen One appeared to be on course when he shot ahead in the final furlong but he had no answer when Mighty Warrior swooped on him on the wide outside. Mighty Warrior won with great ease.