Three-year-old Zacharias (Western Aristocrat - WatchMyScript), a strapping dark bay colt trained by Pesi Shroff, galloped into the history books on Sunday at the Pune racetrack, leaving rivals practically gasping for breath. Bred at Broadacres Stud and owned by Mr & Mrs Vijay Shirke, Jay Shirke, Martand Singh Mahindra, Rina Mahindra and Neville H Bilpodiwala, the winner was piloted to perfection by jockey Vivek, who celebrated his first ever Pune Derby victory by rising in the saddle and throwing his fist into the air even before passing the winning post.

Backstory

Ram Shroff, steward of the race club, revealed at the trophy presentation ceremony that he had overheard Vivek swearing to his trainer he’d settle scores after last month’s heartbreaking photo-finish loss to Baychimo in the SA Poonawalla Million. And settle he did, with an absolutely faultless ride! Vivek was all business, breaking clean from the gates, staying close to the rails--even recovering instantly from a minor stumble near the mile marker, and then angling out to make his move in the center of the track, emerging from the pack like a leopard who spotted his prey at the distant winning post. It was a commanding display that had the crowd roaring.