B Prakash trained Severus pounced on Commodore in the final furlong and the aggressive finish of the four-year-old gelding enabled the lesser fancied runner to beat the favourite with a measure of comfort in the 2000 metres Homi Mody Trophy, a race for horses rated 80 and above, the feature event of Thursday`s evening races held at Mumbai. Sandesh was at his best also on Vulcan while claiming the race in a four-horse finish.

Commodore was strongly supported to bounce back after a poor performance in a better company. Severus and Magnificence were the others who were expected to make their presence felt in the small field of six runners. Magnificence who is generally sluggish at the start and makes a belated challenge was this time sharp at the jump out and took over the running within the first furlong followed by Phenomenal Memory, Commodore, Severus, Rodeo and Al Shamsheer in that order. Commodore took a while to overtake Magnificence and Phenomenal Memory and by the time, the favourite could get the better of them, Severus came up with his patented burst of speed. The two fought for a while before Severus asserted his supremacy in emphatic fashion. Magnificence stayed on to take the third spot.

Sandesh had to drive out Vulcan with all the resources at his command to get a narrow verdict in an absorbing finish of the 2000 metres Marinsky Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 66. Vulcan who had gone down narrowly to Frosty was once again reposed faith in by the punters to make amends. But the price on him did not justify the degree of difficulty that was required to achieve a hard-fought win. June led from the start with Vulcan in second position ahead of Flying Dragon, Frosty and Eiger`s Tiger. Inside the final furlong, all these horses were in a line, with Vulcan gutsily holding on to a narrow lead. It looked like anybody`s race till the final moments of the race. Vulcan saved the day for his supporters by winning by a short neck over Flying Dragon, with Frosty and Eiger`s Tiger not far behind. It was one of the best finishes that has one has seen for a long time.

Lady In Red was the hot favourite to deliver the goods in the 1400 metres Smart Chieftan Trophy (Div I), a race for three-year-olds. The filly had run a forward race at Pune when finishing second best. However, Lady In Red flopped miserably, finishing a tame fourth. Lesser fancied Dark Gold produced a brilliant burst of speed on the wide outside to get the better of front-running Sporto to land the spoils. Wild Jack also finished with a flourish to snatch the runner-up berth from Sporto. Favourite Lady In Red did not show the spark at any stage of the race and finished a poor fourth. Karthik Ganapathy trained Star Comrade had a good lung opener over a shorter trip and that run benefit stood him in good stead in the lower division of the race over the extended trip as he battled resolutely with favourite Sovereignsky all the way in the final furlong before getting the nod close home at lucrative odds. Brothersofthewind was third.

After three unplaced efforts at Pune, Mansoor Shah trained Beach Game had a mandatory forward run and looked ready to win the 1200 metres Secret Star Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 66. The right money came on the horse as indicated by the shortening of odds. Beach Game produced a strong effort in the final furlong to go storming clear of Wind Craft to record an easy win. Dazzling Dancer was third. Free Speech played up at the gates before the jump out and thereafter ran listlessly to finish last.

Pollyana was expected to be a double for owner Haresh Mehta who also owned Beach Game who was a winner earlier in the day. Accordingly, Pollyana got more support than Charming or Captain who were also winners of their previous races. In the event, the Noshir Cama trained Charming who is blessed with tremendous initial speed, led from the start and the uncontested lead helped the second favourite to kick clear in the final furlong to record an easy win over Captain. Pollyana found foot late and was third. Jockey Dashrath Singh on Voulez Vous was pretty content in giving a good lung opener for his horse.

Altaf Hussain trained Imperial Princess was quietly fancied and the speedy daughter of Mull of Kintyre, in the hands of A Gaikwad led from the start and won untroubled, the 1000 metres Snow Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category. Pure Sin and Synchronicity occupied the next slots on the frame without showing any urgency to catch up with the front-runner who looked too good on the day.