Pesi Shroff trained Alluring Silver won the Gr 1 Zavaray S Poonawalla Indian Turf Invitation Cup against the run of expectations at the Mumbai racecourse on Sunday. The overwhelming favourite to win the race Juliette was done in by rank bad riding by Sandesh who allowed Alluring Silver to establish what turned out to be a winning lead.

Suraj Narredu who got a chance ride could not have asked for a better win after being side-lined from action for five months because of a suspension. Suraj made the best of both the chance rides he got because of the non-arrival of David Egan due to Covid related issues at Dubai by winning also on another chance ride Ashwa Bravo.

The universal opinion was that Karthik Ganapathy trained Juliette had the best credentials having done everything right leading up to this race. She was stoutly bred to stay besides being blessed with an amazing turn of foot as well. She was a cut above the rest. This was reflected in the betting trend as well. The second most favoured horse was Parisian who had shown vast improvement since last year. This perception perhaps also affected the way Sandesh rode his race.

Alluring Silver who had finished third in the Indian Derby this year made good the opportunity that presented itself by having the race sewn up well before Sandesh realised the dangerous trap that he had fallen to. Though Juliette covered a lot of ground, Juliette was left with the impossible task of covering up the leeway especially since Alluring Silver was not hard-pressed to get the decisive winning lead. Alluring Silver who had run a listless race on the Pune track appeared in a much better shape to emerge as the champion of champions. The four-year-olds have always dominated the race with the odd exception being Adjudicate in the last year`s edition. In the absence of Immortality and Forest Flame who were not in the fray, logically Alluring Silver should have been considered as a serious challenger but for her lack of zest in recent efforts.

Successor did the job of the pacemaker with Lagarde racing in a handy second position with the rest spread out behind. Parisian was kept in the rear as a tailed off last and Sandesh on Juliette chose to track what was considered the main threat. Whether this was a ploy planned by trainer Pesi Shroff or not, if it was planned, this was a well-disguised one. The wrong `un had Sandesh and trainer Karthik Ganapathy lose a golden opportunity. Sandesh may get another ride to win the Invitation Cup but for trainer Karthik Ganapathy, the opportunities don`t come every other day.

It was clear when the horses took the final bend, Sandesh had lost the plot. Though he swung into action, Suraj Narredu who had Alluring Silver in the mid-group had made the move at the right time and spurted ahead of the field and won with a measure of comfort from late rallying Juliette who was a good thing beat because of tragic human error. Bangalore challenger Lagarde who had all the chances having led the field at the top of the straight weakened to finish third.

Many racegoers were highly critical of Sandesh`s tactics and felt that it was difficult to fathom his intention. Punters were robbed of their rightful money by what could be considered a rank bad riding which bordered on the questionable.

Trainer Pesi Shroff who is on a rampage sweeping every big race that he is targeting has a potential Indian Derby winner in Miracle. The daughter of Multidimensional who is already a multi-classic winner, won the Gr 1 Villoo Poonawalla Indian 1000 Guineas in taking style, with jockey Pradeep Chouhan hardly having to move a muscle. There appears to be no horse on the horizon who can change the filly in the Indian Derby. Petronia continued to show improvement when staving off Teresita to take the runner-up berth.

Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Cosmic Ray swamped the opposition in the Gr 1 Major P K Mehra Super Mile, the other highlight of the day which saw seven Group races being run. Born Queen was expected to be a potential threat but the way the price drifted in the betting ring and the one-sided support came for Cosmic Ray, it was clear that the latter would be the one to watch out for. Born Queen was ridden more as a pacemaker and the filly weakened in the straight to eventually finish last. Possibly something was bothering the filly. Sandesh kept Cosmic Ray in a handy third position before assuming command inside the final 350 metres. The Kunigal Stud Farm produce bounced clear to win the race with ease from Taimur and Northern Alliance.

The best-performed horse in the fray, Suresh trained My Opinion had everything going for him as he survived barely to win the Gr 1 M A M Ramaswamy Memorial Stayers Cup in the hands of jockey Akshay Kumar. Pesi Shroff trained Theon who was the most inexperienced horse in the fray was full of running when losing by a short neck. Salazaar showed promise at the top of the straight by cruising into the lead by slackened close home. Sandesh perhaps wanted to make amends for his delayed effort on Juliette by making his run a wee bit early which went against the prospects of Salazaar.

Darius Byramji trained Multifaceted who had let down as a short-priced favourite in the last year`s edition, made amends winning the Gr 1 Spartan Poker Sprinters Cup in a record time. Suraj Narredu drove out the favourite to stave the late bid of last year`s winner Corfe Castle by a fast diminishing margin. Enigma showed improvement when finishing third ahead of many seasoned horses. The experience of Suraj made a critical difference to the outcome of the race. The progeny of Multidimensional has been a prolific performer on the domestic circuit in the South.

Hyderabad based trainer Srinivas Reddy had a moment to cherish when his ward Ashwa Bravo trounced the opposition in the Gr 2 Suresh Mahindra Multi-Million, a race for four-year-olds and over. Sultan Suleiman and Victorious Sermon fought for the minor spoils.

Mysore trainer Rakesh had a big winner of his career when two-year-old O Hansini managed to keep the favourite Mehr at bay in the 1200 metres Gool S Pooawalla Million, a race for maiden two-year-olds. Though O Hansini took runner-up Mehr with her in the final stages of the race, the objection by jockey Pradeep Chouhan against Prashanth Dhebe who rode the winner was rightly overruled as it made no material difference.