Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Pissarro outstayed the two opponents in the field to win the 3200 metres Suresh Mahindra Trophy, a race for horses rated 80 and above, the feature event of races held at Pune on Saturday. Pissarro clocked a new record timing of three minutes 25.652 seconds in a three-horse race. Pissarro who can stay still cows come home was overhauled in the straight by Euphoric before the former regained his momentum in the final furlong and won going away. In the mood that he was in Pissarro may not have bothered about going one full round yet again. Such was his stamina as against the other two horses who found the trip beyond their compass. For the record, Pissarro was two lengths adrift of Euphoric while the third placed Taimur wss a distance behind in the third position.

The 3200 metres race has lost its relevance in the context of Indian racing catering mostly to races over sprints. As such, the Suresh Mahindra Trophy can never hope attract a big field as there are only handful of horses capable of tackling the gruelling trip which is also more on sufferenace. Pissarro was known to be a horse who would assert his supremacy only if it came to a question of stamina and this is his third win of his career in which he has partivipated in 19 outings.

Jockey Trevor Patel who has just recovered from a bout of fever looked tired but not the horse he was riding. Pissarro led the field from the start but rounding the final turn, Euphoric who showed some speed, overhauled the front-runner and gave hopes of a possible upset. However, down the final furlong, Euphoric tired out. Pissarro again gained supremacy and won going away in the end. Pissarro was winning after a wait of 428 days, his last win coming in Bangalore over 2400 metreas in the Governor`s Cup.

The Derby week end is generally well planned in every centre with a surfeit of competitive races offering rich stake money. As such, it was difficult to understand how such a poor card of only six events was formed by RWITC which generally is a step ahead of other clubs when it comes to planning. The day`s racing was lacklustre and it did not look like a race day preceding the Derby Day. There was no attempt to build the excitement leading to the Derby Day.

Be that as it may, the day`s opener, the 1400 metres Rodeo Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 66, saw M K Jadhav trained Miss American Pie complete a hat-trick of wins with a great deal of ease. Jockey N S Parmar was confident personified on Miss American Pie as he sat off the pace till turning for home before getting active in the straight. The daughter of Gleneagles came home with a big flourishing run in the final furlong to sail past the seven-year-old Majestic Warrior to win in impressive fashion. Cipher was third. The heavily supported Lord And Master was not sighted at the busy end. In the form that she is in, Miss American Pie can be expected to maintain her winning streak.

The first race for two-year-olds in the country saw Malesh Narredu trained Dash win the 1000 metres Prudential Trophy in taking style. The well-prepared son of Phoenix Tower Dash led all the way and checked in well clear of his opponents in the hands of jockey Yash Narredu. Filed of Dreams was second ahead of the heavily backed Mysore challenger Zarqawi.

The Bezan Chenoy trained Koenig had been well prepared to have a bold show in the 1000 metres M K Padumjee Trophy, a race for maiden three-year-olds. Jockey Srinath kept Koenig a handy third before getting busy in the homestretch. The progeny of Excellent Art quickened well when asked for an effort to win going away from Moonlight Kiss and Tee Tee Dee.

Noshir Cama trained Scaramanga had recorded an impressive win over a shorter trip. The progeny of Quasar recorded an encore with a great deal of ease in the 1600 metres Sir Sultan Chenoy Trophy, a race for horses rated 20 to 46. Ridden way off the pace, Scaramanga produced a scintillating burst of speed in the homestretch to win the race by a margin of over two lengths. Cordelia who was travelling well into the straight, took the turn wide but nevertheless finished on well to take the second spot despite a poor quality of ride offered by jockey Umesh. The horse should make amends before long. Kinzal edged out Kimiko to save place money.

Karthik Ganapathy trained Trinkets brought off a big upset in the1000 metres K Raghunath Plate, a race for horses rated 4 to 30. Trinket who raced up with the field, shot into a comfortable lead in the final furlong. The lead established held the front-runner in good stead as the late dash of Dowsabel went in vain narrowly. Dowsabel`s chances were hurt by a poor get away. Slam Dunk raced prominently in front till overhauled by the eventually winner. Slam Dunk weakened close to home to finish a suggestive third.