Vishal Gaekwad trained Yellow Diamond justified the short price quoted on her success in the 1000 meters Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy (VI Bart) Cup, a race for maiden three-year-olds, the feature event of evening races held at Mumbai on Thursday. Yellow Diamond led from the start and comfortably held off the challenge of Beneficial and late finishing Snowy Peaks.

Yellow Diamond had narrowly lost to Cyclone. Classicus who had finished third on that occasion had earlier in the day scored capably. As such, the credentials of Yellow Diamond were quite strong and expectedly, she was quoted at a very short price to land the spoils. Jockey Trevor Patel did not hesitate to push the favourite to take charge from the start and the daughter of Dark Angel led all the way and was in no danger of being caught up with by Beneficial who gave her chase all through the race. Snowy Peaks had a useful outing when finishing a suggestive third.

Altaf Hussain trained Shaoqing had all the chances to win the 1200 metres Bourbon King Plate (Div I), a race for rated 20 to 46 and restricted to three-year-olds only. Shaoqing had won once at Pune besides finishing fourth in her next outing. However, the onus of being the favorite fell on Furious N Fast who was troublesome while being loaded into the gate. In the race itself, the filly showed no interest in the race, graced the wrong end of the field and made no show. Warlock moved up furiously to take over the running from the wide outside within the first furlong with Shaoqing in the second position ahead of Irish Bailey. Shaoqing took over the running from the front-runner swiftly in the straight and despite drifting out slightly under pressure, was too good for the field and won with a measure of comfort in the hands of apprentice Akshay Gaikwad. Makino nosed out Irish Bailey to snatch the runner-up berth. Long shot Bounty Queen from the stables of A Jodha measured the front-running Grey Flannel inside the final furlong and swept clear to win the lower division of the race. Grey Flannel stayed on to take the second place ahead of Salvatore Mundi.

Zadmal Singh trained Classicus had finished an eye-catching third over five furlongs in the first run of his life despite the trip being sharp for his breeding. Now running over a more suitable trip of seven furlongs, Classicus was the overwhelming favorite to win the 1400 meters Kusumben Dhirubhai Shah Trophy, a race for horses rated 20 to 46. Classicus took a while to warm up in the straight but once he got into his rhythm, there was no stopping his march to victory. Classicus measured Spiridon with about 100 meters left in the race and bounced clear to win easily. Fringe Benefit ran on well from behind to save place money. The style of running of Classicus suggested that he would be better off tackling longer trips.

Lesser fancied Dusk N Dawn let Amazon Cat and There She Goes to expend their energy in front before charging home in the final furlong to win the 1000 meters Sprint Star Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category, quite easily from Super Ikon. Super Bolt was like a dummy in the betting ring but the well-backed runner could do no better than finish third as perhaps the designated horse from the stable, Dusk N Dawn won easily at nourishing odds.

It was difficult to pick any horse with conviction to win the 1000 meters White Metal Plate, a race for two-year-olds. The track work alone was not of much help. Elysee led well into the straight before favorite Lincoln flattered to deceive in the straight. In the end, it was Imtiaz Sait trained Miss Moneypenny who had the last laugh with a successful charge from behind to win the race at big odds.

It was surprising to see the odds on Pesi Shroff trained Nutcracker shoot up dramatically in the 2000 meters Autumn Blue Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category. The well-bred three-year-old daughter of Holy Roman Emperor was running in the lowest class and had a forward run to boost her credentials. Mastermarksman led the field for a long while and the front-runner kept the lead till jockey Neeraj Rawal got busy on the favorite. Nutcracker cruised past the front-runner with the minimum of effort and stretched away for a facile win over Royal Sapphire. It was a total mismatch as Nutcracker proved infinitely superior.