After a gap of almost a year and a half, and numerous failed bids across various race courses in the country, Padmanabhan's D'artagnan re-entered the winners enclosure after winning The Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Cup (Grade III) at Bangalore on Sunday. He treated his ten opponents with utter disdain while posting an authentic victory. Being a terms event for horses four years old and over, the runners appeared to be closely matched. Only two-and-a-half kilos separated the 11 of them. D'artagnan and Kyles Of Bute had the best recent form. Both of them had last run on the Mahalakshmi race track. D'artagnan had come charging on the wide outside to finish a very close third behind Weizhou and Eloise. This was considered to be his best run in recent times. On the other hand, Kyles Of Bute had rallied from mid-group to come within striking distance of the ultimate winner Portrush. Since Kyles Of Bute was better suited over seven furlongs, the bookmakers had little hesitation in installing him as a marginal favourite ahead of D'artagnan and the others. However, the punters chose to support D'artagnan with confidence and we soon had a new market leader. In the absence of Srinath, who had met with an accident on Saturday, he was entrusted to B Prakash in the day's feature.

The race turned out to be a procession. Prakash tried to settle his mount in the early stages, but D'artagnan (Placerville – Rapidash) had other ideas. He was quick to grab the lead and raced well within himself while showing the way to Mighty Heart, String Along, Ordained One and Spearhead. The runners were spread across the track as they took the final bend and turned for home. The leader was alerted to the task and given a tap by his rider. The favourite darted forward to saunter away from the others. D'artagnan lengthened his strides in a commendable manner, and comfortably contained the challenge from a late-rushing Spearhead and String Along. Ordained One was heavily punished to finish fourth while Hatsuhana came on the wide outside to take the fifth spot. It was evident that most of the runners were a bit rusty, as they ran listlessly throughout the race. Kyles Of Bute graced the rear before making up some leeway in the straight. The others were there only for an outing.

Prakash wasn't supposed to ride today. He got a couple of chance mounts as a replacement jockey for the injured Srinath. He made full use of both these opportunities. His other winning ride came astride Babu Rao's Astounding Gallop (Gaswar – Slovania). The winner of a Classic at Hyderabad was lucky to find himself racing amongst horses of his own age group in Class II. Even though he was assigned the top weight, he appeared to be a cut above the present class. He confirmed this opinion of his followers, and carried the public purse to an easy victory. Allowing Sunny Gold, Dance N Celebrate and Baton Rouge to lead on sufferance, Prakash brought him with a strong gallop on the wide outside. It ceased to be a race thereafter, as Astounding Gallop went away from Camorra, Bucephalas and a tired Sunny Gold. The winner is capable of winning on promotion. The lower division of this race was picked up by Satish Narredu's Accurate (Hurricane State – Aracruz). The four-year-old has struck a purple patch, as this was the fourth time he was winning in his last five starts. Appu had a tough time settling him behind Saloni, as Accurate was keen from the very beginning. He was given his head near the two-furlong marker, and the chestnut responded brilliantly. Accurate powered away from a hard-ridden Crown Empress, Saloni and Native Talent. The last named found the trip a bit too short for his liking.

After a couple of failures yesterday, trainer Neil Darashah opened his seasonal account with a well-backed double. Both Intrigue and Juno were supported to the exclusion of their rivals, and they scored accordingly. Intrigue (Whipper – Additive) was tackling a poor bunch of maidens over a scurry. She was known to be a speedy type, and the trip was ideally suited to her style of running. Ryan Marshall rushed the odds-on favourite into an early lead, and the filly proved to be much too strong for Unique Show, Optimus Zone and Right On Time. Juno (Itaquere Power – La Bella Vita) showed a welcome return to prime form by running away with the upper division of The MN Prakash Memorial Trophy. Drawn towards the inside, Juno was knocked around in the early stages of this race. Ladjadj Stephane kept his cool and decided to wait. The moment he got an opening, he popped the question. Juno charged through the field and was soon in contention. The manner in which she accelerated thereafter was quite spectacular. Juno came with raking strides on the very wide outside and won by a widening margin of over five lengths. She is poised to defy the handicapper, as she looks capable of picking up another race amongst a similar lot of horses. Ganapathy's Mystic Dawn proved to be a costly failure in the other division of this sprint. Having finished second in the hands of an apprentice boy at the fag end of winter, Mystic Dawn was entrusted to Gallagher today. The big-made horse raced prominently till the bend and was in serious contention till the top of the straight. However, he was soon outpaced by Citrali (Juniper – Clear Crystal). John nursed Citrali till that stage, and rode her for eventual speed. The filly loved these tactics and snuffed out the challenge from the favourite. Ailsa came with fluent strides to deprive Mystic Dawn of the second berth near the final post. The beaten favourite may be a different proposition after today's experience.

The most impressive winner of the afternoon was Suleiman Attaolahi's African Queen (Burden Of Proof – Afrodita). After four attempts during winter, the filly was still a maiden. The trainer chose to campaign her in open company on Sunday, and chose a trip suited to her style of running. She had finished alongside a few talented horses in her earlier starts. She was receiving weight from Ben Ten, Muqtadir and Royal Fortune today. All three of them had won their maiden races this year. On the basis of his runaway victory in an important event on Derby Day, Ben Ten cornered the maximum support today. However, a late rush of money on African Queen saw the two of them starting as joint favourites in this race. Being drawn on the wide outside, Noel Callow took a good jump and settled his filly behind Purple Glow, Ben Ten and Muqtadir. African Queen improved gradually thereafter and came alongside Purple Glow as they straightened for home. Ben Ten was already under pressure and was beginning to send distress signals at the same juncture. Unable to hold her any longer, Callow asked her to accelerate. The response was almost immediate. Producing a strong burst of speed, African Queen strode away from Walter, Muqtadir, Purple Glow and Ben Ten. The winning margin of eleven lengths tells the rest of the story. The trainer chose to use blinkers on her today, and that seemed to have made a huge difference.

For the second successive day, trainer Samar Singh managed to score with a well-fancied runner. In the concluding event of the afternoon, there were a number of horses being fancied by their respective connections. Sun Gold, Black Beauty, Mercutio and Ladzone received support in the ring. However, none of them seemed to be in contention at the top of the straight. An unfancied group led by Good Gift, Star League and Take My Word led the dozen runners into the final furlong. It was at this late stage that Samar Singh's Black Beauty (Hymn – Applause) made her charge. She came through a tightly packed field and managed to beat Take My Word near the winning post. Good Gift retained his third spot ahead of a late-finishing Man Down Under.