Pesi Shroff trained Swift who was placed at the bottom of the scales had no problem in taking on horses belonging to higher class as the majority of them had seen better days. Apprentice jockey Bhosale had no problem in bringing Swift on the wide outside with a powerful run down the final furlong to clinch the 1200 metres J E Hughes Trophy, a race for horses rated 60 to 86, the feature event of Sunday`s Pune races held under yielding conditions. The got abroad filly held off the late rally of nine-year-old Gazino who hasn`t seen the winning post ahead of the others for about four years! Followers of form had a rewarding day.

Swift had reeled off two back-to-back wins during the last Mumbai season before losing in a close finish. Swift summered at Bangalore and had finished second best in her only outing. Now racing with better fitness than the rest, Swift made an impression in the higher class with a typical late flourish from the rear group. Cellini and Superlative disputed the lead in front even as Swift was eased some distance away from the pace-setting duo, confident that the favourite had the acceleration to bank on in the home stretch. Cellini marched ahead on turning for home but in the face of a sustained onslaught from Swift, he fell behind. Swift sailed clear inside the final 100 metres and had no problem tackling the late flourish of Gazino. Magileto ran to take the third position while Cellini whose forte could well be over a furlong short weakened to finish fourth.

Dallas Todywalla trained It`s My Time hadn`t lived up to expectations due to a setback after an impressive win during the last Pune season. He showed up at the fag end of the Mumbai season and recorded a smashing win. On the basis of that performance, It`s My Time was expected to maintain its upward progress and was backed to the exclusion of the rest. Jockey Akshay Kumar brought It`s My Time into contention with a well-timed run in the final furlong to collar the front-running Arcana. The favourite then skipped clear to win with a measure of comfort from Lord And Master who necked out Lit to occupy the runner-up berth. Keep an eye on the speedy Arcana over a scurry.

Pesi Shroff trained Sea The Sun had blotted his copybook with some dismal performances. On the last occasion at Bangalore, he had reportedly bled and finished down the field. There was no denying the fact that this got-abroad carried class and was a stout stayer. The price of over three to one offered on him was a steal as Transcend had more takers before the support firmed up for the Pesi trainee in the 1800 metres Bushtops Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 46. Pradeep Chouhan sat still on Sea The Sun as Luminosity set a comfortable pace and disappeared from the scene at the final turn. Sea The Sun easily overhauled the pace-setter and sped away for a smashing win, with the jockey easing up the horse a long way from home. Transcend on from behind to snatch the second position from Alpha Domino who went in earnest chase of the eventual winner.

The well-prepared Miss American Pie from the stables of trainer M K Jadhav lived up to the expectations of her morning workouts when winning the 1000 metres Classic Talk Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds, in taking style. The three-year-old debutant produced a powerful run midway in the straight and zipped past Zafirah. Zafira who was also a debutant held off the late bid of another debutant but favourite Racing Romance by a diminishing margin of a head. Armoury was another who had a good forward run while finishing fourth.



You can always trust Narendra Lagad to be ready to strike when the Pune season comes around. The ten-time champion enjoys the Pune season and has always reaped rich dividends. Alpine Star was one such who had been readied at Mumbai by getting the four-year-old to the required handicap. The strong support for his success in the 1400 metres Ismail Khan Plate (Div I), was well placed. Apprentice jockey Mustakim Alam took the favourite on a start-to-finish mission with the fancied Doc Martin in the chase. At the top of the straight, Alpine Star changed gears as it were and spread away for a win by a widening margin of eight lengths over Doc Martin. Stunning Visual nosed out The Flutist to take the third position, while the well-backed Goldiva disappointed. The good forward run last week for Malesh Narredu-trained Adamas had a big bearing on the result as the fancied runner led all the way and won with a measure of comfort from Zacapa and Fashion Icon who chased the eventual winner without hope.

Lesser fancied Pure, trained by M K Jadhav, made a big rally along the rails and went past the front-running Northern Singer close to home to win the 1200 metres Selfie Star Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 46, at nourishing odds. Spirit Bay came in for a lot of support in the ring but the favourite lacked early speed and did not have the wherewithal to justify favouritism. Though Spirit Bay made a good rally in the end, it was not even good enough to get the runner-up spot as Northern Singer staved off the challenge to retain the second position by a whisker.