Racing patrons all across the country watched in amazement, as the hugely talented Siachen (Burden Of Proof – Indian Mission) treated her ten opponents in The Chief Minister's Cup (Grade III) with utter disdain at the Bangalore races on Sunday. She overcame numerous hurdles like her three-month absence from the race track, the shorter trip, her top weight as well as the widest possible draw with a measure of comfort, and posted a bloodless victory. She showed that she is back in prime form, and also confirmed her love for the local track. After winning the Bangalore 1000 Guineas in November and the Indian version of the same race at Mahalakshmi a month later, Siachen had shown a sudden decline in form. Her runs in The Indian Oaks and The Super Mile were below par. Dhariwal noticed that the filly was not performing on expected lines and the astute trainer decided to give her some rest. After a gap of almost three months, Siachen came back on the training track and was targeted at Sunday's feature.

Some of the best horses stationed at Bangalore had accepted to run in this race, and quite a few amongst them had strong credentials. Attila had won the Sprinter's Cup in March and Pesi Shroff had brought him over as he felt that this five-year-old was running some of the best races of his career. Padmanabhan's D'artagnan had won his only start this season. He had been running in the vicinity of Attila on the few occasions that they had clashed during winter. Carla and Sirono were considered to be the best four-year-old sprinters at this centre and the two fillies had been quite inseparable over the last 12 months. They had finished one-two in a sprint on the opening day of the current season. There were a few questions being asked about Siachen. While it was acknowledged that she had beaten the all-conquering Moonlight Romance on a couple of occasions, there were doubts about her fitness. Since she was more of a miler, would she be able to tackle the sprint? Since she was giving weight to horses who were rated higher than her, would she be able to defy the handicapper? And also, was she back in form? The track reporters felt that even though she was looking and working well, Siachen would need a run. They further said that this race was perhaps being used to get her fit for her engagements over slightly longer and more suitable distances later in the season. However, there was no doubt that the champion filly was looking superb in the paddock. The bookmakers confirmed that this was an "open race". Attila at 5/2, D'artagnan at 7/2 and Siachen and Sirono at 5/1 each were the odds on the betting boards, as the runners faced the starter.

It was Successor and Lady Duff who charged out of the gates and showed the way to D'artagnan, Sirono, Attila, Carla and Sprint Star, while the others followed at regular intervals. Being drawn on the wide outside, Noel Callow decided to relax Siachen at the back, and the pair of them was content to stay there till they took the bend and turned for home. The field suddenly bunched up at this stage. Sirono on the rails, Attila on her outside and Carla towards the centre of the track, were at the helm of affairs. Attila travelled the best of the lot and led briefly from Carla, but the two of them were soon joined and passed by Siachen. The filly came with giant strides on the wide outside and swept past the leaders. It all happened suddenly, and it took time for the racegoers to realize that they had witnessed something really special. Siachen's superb acceleration had landed her the coveted trophy. Those who had backed her at 5/1 were truly ecstatic, while the others just stood up and applauded as she was led back to the unsaddling enclosure. It was abundantly clear that the bookmakers were not going to make the same mistake in a hurry. After today's performance, Siachen will definitely start as a short priced favourite in all her future starts.

Australian Noel Callow had arrived in India a month ago with a great reputation. It was learnt that he had won "big" races at almost every centre that he had ridden, and also, that he was a very strong jockey. Whatever little we have seen of him in the last few weeks has been enough to confirm those statements. Dr Vijay Mallya's racing establishment has taken off to a splendid start this summer, and a fair share of credit must go to their retained rider. Noel had four rides on Sunday, and he scored with all of them. Apart from winning astride Siachen for Dhariwal, he enabled Suleiman Attaolahi to score a fine treble. The two divisions of The Everynsky Trophy, a sprint for maiden three-year-olds, were won by this stable. Sovetskaya (Burden Of Proof – Soviet Lake) and Chantilly (Batzushka – Chantenay) gave Noel an easy time by registering runaway victories. Both the fillies were odds-on choices in their respective events. While Sovetskaya needed to be whipped before she waltzed away from Aegis, Chantilly was never off the bridle while scoring from Cinnamon Rush and Rappadan Glory. Sovetskaya seems to be a very good type, and it may pay to follow her fortunes.

Noel reserved his best for Attaolahi's Crown Empress (Razeen – Crown Treasure). The four-year-old filly had been improving in recent times, and her second behind Accurate last month had been a fair performance. She was running over a more suitable trip on Sunday, and her camp felt that she was capable of toppling Irfan Ghatala's Sun Absolute. The latter had beaten Delacroix during winter, and the fact that Delacroix had progressed much further after that race, enhanced Sun Absolute's chances today. Both the fillies received equal support in the betting rings. Xtreme and Rip Van Winkle showed the way to Sun Absolute and Crown Empress as the runners made their way towards the half-way stage of this metric mile. Neeraj Rawal chose this moment to make his move, and eased Sun Absolute into an advantageous position. Not wanting to fall behind, Noel urged Crown Empress to go in chase. Under some relentless riding from Neeraj, Sun Absolute skipped away and opened up a gap of a couple of lengths over Crown Empress and the others. Noticing the drift of the leader, Noel chose to duck towards the inside rails. Crown Empress loved the support of the rails, responded gamely to her jockey's pushing, shortened the gap with every stride and managed to wear down Sun Absolute near the winning post. Native Talent made up ground from the back to finish ahead of Rip Van Winkle.

Deshmukh-trained Arrow In Auto Mode (Razeen – Aglitter) defied the handicapper by winning her second successive race of the season. This Hyderabad-based runner had shocked money-back favourite Nearness Of You in his first start. He was targeted at The Brig RCR Hill Memorial Trophy on promotion. With money flowing in the direction of Hillfiger, Arabian Gold and Golden Rule, Arrow In Auto Mode was neglected by the punters. With the first-named getting withdrawn on veterinary grounds, the others took off to a level start. PS Chouhan brought Arrow In Auto Mode into serious contention near the final bend and charged away from Golden Rule and Arabian Gold. With the last-named dropping out of contention, the final outcome was restricted to the two leaders. Arrow In Auto Mode responded to his jockey's urgings and skipped away to score an easy victory. Golden Rule is a tough looking colt, and those who backed him today must support him again in his next start.

Irfan Ghatala's Sun Forever (Diffident – Foretell) obliged her fans by picking up a seven-furlong race for horses four years old and over, in Class IV. She tracked Sprawling Elegance till the top of the straight before being popped the question. Neeraj Rawal gave her a couple of taps and the filly strode towards the winning post. Heavily backed Vayomi came with a late bid on the very wide outside to finish a good second. The runner-up was a trifle unlucky as he was given a very ordinary ride by Ashok Kumar. The boy was unable to get his horse on an even keel till they reached the winning post. Despite galloping on the wrong leg, Vayomi managed to finish close behind the winner. The lower division of this race saw Sharat Kumar's seven-year-old Allegro (Glory Of Dancer – Amanda’s Song) gaining an overdue success. He had been unfortunate to lose a couple of races while racing as a top-weight in the lower class. The trainer gave him an opportunity to run at the bottom of the scales on promotion, and Allegro was good enough to score in this set. In the hands of apprentice Srinivasa Rao, he made a late bid and managed to topple Shahizaar on the post.

The day ended with a surprise victory for Samar Singh's three-year-old filly Royal Fortune (Itaquere Power – Jesse Inn). After winning her maiden race in winter, she had started her summer campaign by running in open company. She had whipped around at the gates and unseated her rider on that day. The filly had no such problems today. She settled nicely from an outside draw and improved steadily thereafter. Chary chose to chase Hidden Destiny, Gun Salute and Inspirator till the bend, before making his move. Royal Fortune challenged Hidden Destiny in the final furlong and wore him down with every subsequent stride. She kicked away to withstand a late charge from the hard-ridden pair of Muqtadir and Brilliance, who managed to save place money for their respective connections.