Apprentice jockey Pandula Vikram, partnering trainer James McKeown`s youngster, Occitan, clinched the verdict from a seasoned fellow-rider, Srikant Kamble, atop Multivalue, to land the 1,400m Mayor`s Cup, Saturday`s main attraction. The afternoon also witnessed trainer Vijay Singh`s baby, Shivansh (Md Azharuddin), overhauling his better-fancied stable-mate, Sniper (Neeraj Rawal) to win the 1,400m P.C. Lall of Nazargunj Memorial Cup. Vijay, in fact, packed off the day with a priced treble.

Vikram was in his element. The apprentice rode, perhaps, the best race to record his seventh career win. His never-say-die attitude has already won many a friends but this victory was special, and the apprentice also acknowledged it in a brief chat after the race. “The game horse also responded well when I asked for efforts,” said Vikram.

Occitan, was held close behind the early leaders, Rigoletto (B.Mahesh), Gryffindor (C. Alford) and Multivalue who had negotiated to a favourable position from the widest out draw in the 12-horse field.Trainer Arti Doctor`s ward, Multivalue, was right up with Rigoletto 300m from home when Occitan was being nursed along rails, looking for a comfortable galloping room. With Multivalue shooting into a marginal lead and the weakening leader offering the passage, the Win Legend filly responded well inside the final furlong. However, Vikram had to fight for the head and an absorbing battle with Multivalue in the final 150m and it speaks plenty of the apprentice`s character as it was a mere short-neck that separated the two fighting horses.

Gryffindor, who was also under pressure inside the last furlong, managed to edge out Cocoanut (Shezad Khan) while the heavily fancied Vikash Jaiswal-ward, Outrider (P.S. Chauhan) was a belaboured fifth, indicating that he has reached his mark at the handicap scales.

Vijay`s Champagne Cup winner, Sniper, was considered by most as home and dry in the Nazargunj Memorial Cup but the bookmakers, who are normally better informed, thought it otherwise, offering odds 18/10 on the King Da colt. They were, as usual, right. Backed down to 5/4 right before the start of the race, Sniper, too, looked like delivering the goods, leading all the way until the joker-in-the-pack, Shivansh, decided to put his best foot forward. The winner, a Top Class colt was ridden all over the field until 300m from home, and yet proved too good for the opposition, particularly for the favourite as he scored with ease.
For Vijay, the 1,100m Navy Cup, was also a close affair. The champion trainer`s, charge, Celerino (Neeraj) had to fight a hard battle with a quiet-fancy Praise Her Gaze (Hindu Singh), a Manvendra Singh-trained mare who was, however, repeatedly disturbed, by the winner, 300m from the winning-post onwards. She lost the battle, by a neck, on the course, and also in the stewards` room, on stipes` observations that Hindu had not stopped riding the mare during the skirmish that took place.

Vijay`s quietly fancied Wimbledon (Nerraj) scored an easy victory over a sparing raced, Prancing Queen (Kamble), another one from Arti Doctor`s stable, in the 1,100m Crystal Handicap. Chasing the early leader, Super Striker (Vikram) till 300m, the 4/1 shot was taken to the front to score as the Queen came a trifle late on the scene, on the wide out.

Manvendra and Hindu, however, pulled off a win in the concluding event, the 1,100m Burning Desire Handicap; which was claimed by their 4/1 shot, Happy Returns, who was brought with a late run to beat an equally fancied Spallazani (Ashhad Asbar), from trainer Raunak Banjerji`s stable.

Banerji, too, had his share of luck as his last outing failed-favourite, Big Star (C. Alford) went kind for him in the 1,400m INS Hooghly Cup which the 7/1 shot won handsomely from a strongly fancied Jaiswal`s charge, Uncrowned King (Chauhan). It wasn`t Jaiswal`s day. Trainer Robert Gowli`s Arion, an 11/2 chance in the betting had scored a decisive victory over Jaiswal`s Secret Builder (Chauhan) in the day`s opener, the 2,000m Balam Handicap.