A small group of five runners will face the starter in The Bangalore St Leger (Grade II) on Sunday. A mere look at the form and results of the Winter Classics would have been enough to say, that the last one at Bangalore would be pocketed by trainer Padmanabhan's all-conquering filly In The Spotlight. After winning a string of Derby's, she had returned to her home centre and waltzed away with The Indian Turf Invitation Cup during the month of March. Since she had beaten the best of her age, it was felt that on the basis of her speed and stamina, there was none who could match strides with her in the country. It was heard that she would soon be moving abroad to further her racing career. However, all that changed after the running of the Maharaja's Cup a fortnight ago. Appearing on a race track after a gap of four months, In The Spotlight put up a below-par performance. After leading for more than nine furlongs, she had literally come to a crawl in the straight. There were many reasons attributed to her failure. A long absence from racing, a faster than normal pace and her own body weight were some of them. The fact remains that she was not herself that day. The St Leger is a much longer race. Would she be able to tackle the extra 600 metres and manage to reverse a huge verdict with Toroloco is something that only time will answer. In my opinion, she has the ability to do all that and more.Fifteen days maybe too short a time to improve dramatically, but then, one must remember her heroics during the winter months. With Martin Dwyer returning to fulfill his duties aboard this champion filly, In The Spotlight gets the first vote in this race.

Toroloco has the distinction of beating In The Spotlight comprehensively. He was ridden with amazing calm by Suraj in The Maharaja's Cup. He literally went to sleep astride this big made horse in the back-stretch and got busy near the three furlong marker. Relishing these new tactics, Toroloco got stronger at the finish and stormed home to a sensational victory. It will be interesting to see how he is ridden in the Leger. Since he is sure to start as a strong second favourite behind In The Spotlight, there is no doubt that in such a small field, he will occupy a prominent position for most of the way. The trip being well within his compass, Toroloco is sure to engage the filly in a stirring duel. With so much interest generated in this last Classic of the summer season, race goers are looking forward to some intense action on Sunday.