Portrush, trained by young Nazak Chenoy, may`ve been the oldest horse in the fray for the Fortune Jewels Million, a terms race for horses four-years old and over. But like matured wine which gets better as it ages, Portrush did something similar when beating some younger horses over the seven-furlong trip. Portrush, who is by Razeen out of Husun and co-owned by Dilip Thomas and Jaydev Mody, was in demand only after Eloise, Sprint Star and Violetta despite the terms being in his favour.

	Portrush (R Hughes up) winner of the Fortune Jewels Million, being led in by trainer Nazak B Chenoy

As the race was flagged off, Hughes settled Portrush behind Palazzo Grazioli and Beyond Belief but he found Native Knight barging on to the scene at the turn to take the taking the pole position. None would have guessed at that stage that Native Knight was only flattering to deceive as was proved later when Hughes timed his challenge to perfection and released the brakes on Portrush opposite the stands. The bay gelding overpowered Native Knight with a fluent run before recording a facile win. Eloise made a valiant attempt to catch the leaders in the straight but the weight told on her efforts. She was not disgraced in her attempt to do the near impossible. Violetta ended a tame fourth while Sprint Star gave a pathetic show and ended down the field.

Hughes recorded a hat-trick in the day and guiding Portrush had partnered Ocean Yarrman (Alnasr Alwasheek – La Unique) to his maiden win and then rode a superb race atop Lake Superior (Ontario –Extreme Contact) on whom the connections had a sweet touch slamming the horse down to 3 to1 from 7s.

Shiraz Sunderji trained Ocean Yarrman received a virtual gift from the RWITC, who have started reserving races for horses who haven`t tasted success even at the age of four. Who knows tomorrow the turf club might even extend this “facility” as the horses get older. Regardless, Ocean Yarrman made mincemeat of the favourite Lionwoods who meekly chased the winner in futile hope. DaughterofDestiny and Ananda followed them home.

Lake Superior from the yards of Ivor Fernandes however had to fight a grim battle for survival with Y. S. Srinath driven Pronto Pronto and a neck verdict saved the day for the former. Earlier Miss Starlight, whose drift in the odds never enthused confidence in the minds of the punters, made a shabby attempt of showing her winning intent and was only too delighted concede the lead to Lake Superior. Afsoon ran a fair fourth. If you were wondering what happened to the winner`s owner-mate and second ante post favourite Lake Beauty, well, Imran Chisty travelled wide on the Dallas Todywalla trained got-abroad filly probably to let her have a good feel of the entire width of the Mahalaxmi stretch if not for anything else. The odds on Lake Beauty climbed in the betting ring as dramatically as the decline witnessed in Lake Superior`s odds. She ran last if you don`t take into consideration the participation of the last three horses who trailed the field from the start and ended thus.

Except for Iqbal Nathani and a few friendly racing-enthusiasts like him, trainer Rehanullah Khan never really got the patronage he deserved from other race-horse owners. This after having been one of the few trainers to have saddled a winner both in the Sprinters` and the Super Mile event with his old warhorse StrengthToStrength at Bangalore during the Indian Invitation Cup weekend in 2002! This genteel professional carries out his duties nonetheless and it was a pleasant surprise to see a horse migrating to his yard from master trainer Rashid Byramji`s yard from Bangalore. What`s more, Rehanullah sent him out for the first and led him back as a winner in the Royal Calcutta Turf Club Trophy. Co-owned by Janak Ram Jethmalani, Mohit Lalwani and Zahir Dhunjibhoy, Desert Rule (Desert Style – Zauberwelt) fought stride for stride with Mighty Crusader till the winning post where S Zervan finally managed to assert his superiority over the B. Prakash steered runner-up. El Tropico found weight a stopper and ended a game third ahead of favourite Flaming Arrow, whose abilities were not in sync with the faith reposed by the punters.

The other races in the day had hardly any charm but for those for whom gambling is the only criteria and the results didn`t throw up any major surprises. The grey filly Frost Fairy (Placerville – Frost Queen) left the maiden ranks with a comfortable win over Thunder Strike and other two runners. The success of the Karthik Ganapathy schooled filly was a forgone conclusion and the race was run according to the script written for the half-money favourite. Owner-mate Admirals Quest set the pace for Frost Fairy and gave up the mantle at the turn. It was plain sailing for the winner thereafter.

Rajasthan Royals (Hymn – Jukebox) was powered to victory by Srinath after having played second fiddle four times in a row earlier. The odds for the Adhirajsingh Jodha`s candidate were a cause of worry before the race as money come pouring on Red Dragon. But the Malesh Narredu trainee proved to be a big flop and the waiting tactics played by Srinath paid rich dividends as he wore down Forward Charge in the final furlong and registered a convincing win. Belligerent struggled to finish third ahead of Catalyst.

Grand Warrior`s run was probably a hint of what was in store for his owner-mates later in the day. He ran a lacklustre race and finished in the rut.

Narendra Lagad trained even-money favourite Sterling Silver (Inhabitant – Fathing) drifted out alarmingly and allowed Gamba to have the upper hand for a while. But the last surge of the Paul Mulrennan ridden grey filly prevented a disaster in the making for her owner Khushro Jalnawala. River Gem retired after a forward run to finish in the money while Sweet Symphony showed that she is surely coming of age.

Trevor Patel ridden and Jayantilal Gor trained Born Destiny (Steinbeck – Oiseau De Guerre) came with a flourishing run to land the spoils for his connections. He pounced on the front runners Top Action, River Tern and Again Gallop after being set alight in the straight. Bemisaal had saved his best for some other day and ran aimlessly throughout and the “services” of Imran Chisty were well utilised by Lagad on this ante post favourite.

Cape Ferrat (Hurricane State – Royal Divine) won the concluding race in a workmanlike fashion in the hands of Prakash. Shyam Habbu schooled Cape Ferrat wrested the initiative at the start and built the lead as the race came to a boil. Second in demand Aston Martin overcame the wide draw but failed to intimidate the winner. Prince of Troy edged out Ocean Power to be in the money.