Imtiaz Sait trained Flaming Lamborgini recorded a hard-fought win in a three-horse finish in the 1600 metres Western India Race Horse Owners Association Trophy, a race for horses rated 60 to 86, the feature event of Saturday`s Pune races. After the high of Independence Week racing, the card that was formed was lacklustre and the form fluctuations made things worse for the punters who were at the wits end as not a single favourite went past the post ahead of the rest. The Pune season is known as a graveyard for punters and despite not a single lowest category race being scheduled, the form still took a toss in most events.

Great Guns who had finished an eye-catching second behind Place Vendome was the first favourite with muted support for Flaming Lamborgini and Cour De Lion who appeared to have been ready with this race in mind. Cour De Lion would possibly have obliged but for the fact that Giant Star who finished last, cut pace with the front-runner and acted as a spoiler, causing jockey Mustakim Alam to use up the horse in keeping the lead from the start. To the credit of Cour De Lion, he fought all the way in the straight but was beaten in the closing strides of the race by Flaming Lamborgini and Great Guns. The three horses mentioned went past the post locked together with a short neck and head separating the first three runners. Forever who had an imposing record at Chennai was among the fancied horses but the four-year-old filly failed to keep pace with the field for the most part though she ran on well towards the end to be a suggestive fourth.

Whenever two horses from the same stable are in the fray, invariably the one with the higher odds wins. However, this was averted in the 1000-metre Indian Association of Equine Practitioners Trophy (Div I), a race for maiden three-year-olds when Into The Storm narrowly staved off the strong bid by stablemate Malet Spring to land the spoils. Long shot Wanderlust held sway for most part of the journey, with Srikant Kamble on the eventual winner having a narrow gap along the rails to push his way. He managed to find his way which helped the lesser fancied Into The Storm to prevail. Stablemate Malet Spring came home with a big effort but jockey Akshay was unable to drive out the horse effectively as the horse hung in and was in danger of rolling onto those in front. Wanderlust weakened in the dying moments of the race to finish a close third. Altaf Hussain trained Goddess of Dawn who was backed to the exclusion of the rest, was a disappointing fourth.

The lower division of the race for the maiden three-year-olds saw a long shot Sovereign Grey win at the expense of stablemate and favourite Art Collector. Sovereign Grey is bred to stay and is a full brother to the Indian Turf Invitation Cup-winning Alluring Silver. The horse weighed a whopping 540 kgs as per the trainer who said that he doesn`t expect much from Sovereign Grey from the current race. In the event, Sovereign Grey who raced up with the field, left the rest stranded in the final 100 metres to win by a widening margin of four lengths in the hands of jockey H M Akshay who incidentally had failed to land another long shot in the upper division of the race in the battle of the stablemates. Art Collector got the runner-up berth by a whisker over Scorcese and Street Sense.

The opening race of the day itself was a pointer to the gloomy things that were in store for the punters. Pesi Shroff trained Sea The Sun who had recorded a smashing win last time out, was reckoned to have it easy in the 2400 metres Amorous Knight, a race for horses rated 40 to 66. The short-priced favourite veered out after passing the first furlong taking Zarak along. Jockey Pradeep Chouhan pulled up Sea The Sun who stopped galloping. The favourite appeared to be in distress. Jockey Neeraj Rawal had to go wide and then take charge of the proceedings earlier than he would have wanted. Zarak led the rest of the way with Gangster being the only realistic challenger. In the hands of jockey T S Jodha, Gangster gained ground in the closing stages of the race on a tiring Zarak and got the nod by half a length. Keifer was third more than four lengths adrift.
Faisal Abbas trained Cipher prevailed in the 1200-metre Western India Trainers Association Trophy, a race for horses rated 20 to 46. Himmat Singh trained Ocean of God came in for big betting though the horse had not shown initial speed in almost all his runs. In the event, Ocean of God lost all his chances with a lethargic beginning from the gates. The consistent Cipher produced a powerful burst in the final furlong to get the better of lesser fancied Commandment in the waning yards of the race. Walshy was third. Monarchy who was expected to fare better on his previous noteworthy effort, was never in the hunt.

The concluding race of the day, the 1400 metres Jockeys Association of India Trophy, a race for horses rated 20 to 46, also went the way of long shot Whatisinaname from trainer Asad Siddiqui`s yards. There were a host of horses that were in betting including Lagad trained Tyrone Black. Last start winner Pyrrhus had the lead going to the final furlong. However, the finishing burst of Whatisinaname put paid to the hopes of Pyrrhus recording an encore. Tyrone Black lacked early speed and ran on to finish third.