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Sole mounts

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Interestingly, Madam Rich was the sole mount on the card accepted by the winning jockey who now has two wins from as many mounts this Pune season after returning from an overseas stint which seems to have served him well.

Two other jockeys to accept only a solitary mount on the Saturday card were Suraj Narredu and Antony Raj in the upper division of the Col KM Bharucha Trophy. Both received good support in the betting ring, but on the racetrack Suraj Narredu's mount Fiorentini flopped badly despite being prominent early, and Antony Raj astride Shambala (Tr: Ms Nazzak Chenoy),took off like a rocket from the mid-bunch to sail away for an impressive victory.

The finish of the Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw Memorial Trophy for class III horses culminated in a thrilling, three-horse photo finish with longshot Brave Beauty (K Nazil up) gaining the day for trainer Hosidar Daji, a neck ahead of Julius (Bhavani Singh up) who, in turn, spared identical distance to the R Ajinkya-ridden Break Point.

Double delight

The Imtiaz Sait-trained three-year-old chestnut colt Inquilab (Planetaire - Sapphire Rose) was backed to the exclusion of all his rivals in the Southern Command Trophy, but his followers skipped a dozen heartbeats when the task looked impossible for him as the field entered the homestretch. However, jockey Akshay Kumar galvanized him into action, and the favourite literally flew in the final yards of the seven-furlong trip to collar Psychic Star (C Umesh up) at the winning post. Akshay Kumar thus ended the day with a double, as did Sandesh who wrapped up the last race, the Capitulate Plate, driving the Faisal Abbas-trained Red Dust to a decisive victory.