With the Bangalore Winter Season scheduled to end next week, many stables are scoring with horses that have been kept under wraps for the past few months. Racegoers are taken by surprise when they see an unperformed horse opening as a favourite at race time. The confusion becomes clearer when more and more money gets wagered on such runners. This mass hysteria turns to joy after these horses assume command in the straight and score runaway victories. There were two such incidents on Friday.

Sharat Kumar's Our Cruise and Karan Singh's Blushing Beam were plastered off the betting boards, and their performance on the track justified the confidence of their connections. The afternoon's action went kindly for the punters as fancied runners scored in most of the eight events held today. The Sandur Trophy was slotted as the day's feature. This sprint for horses in Class II attracted a packed field of a dozen acceptors. On all known form, the outcome seemed to be restricted to Bhagirathi, Classic Charge and Alpha Baby. Bhagirathi was unbeaten this season and was expected to complete the hat-trick. Classic Charge had last won a race more than six months ago, but was known to have raced against much superior company. His last effort, while finishing fourth with a lesser jockey on board, was indicative of his current form and condition. Alpha Baby's three wins in recent months had seen her progress from the lowest category to her present mark. Bhagirathi's ability to accelerate from the rear enthused punters to support her with confidence and send her out as a firm favourite to lift this trophy.

The race was run at a modest pace with Bhagirathi taking a good jump and leading briefly, prior to settling down behind the speedy pair of Romance In The Air and Alpha Baby. Vinod Shinde had a firm grip on his filly, and he was content to fall back into fourth place on the rails. In the meanwhile, Suraj Narredu kept improving astride Classic Charge and was soon racing on the outside of Bhagirathi. The leading duo brought the field into view, but it became evident that they had shot their bolt. Suraj had Bhagirathi nicely covered on the rails and the champion jockey waited a while before making his charge. With the tired leaders beginning to fall back, Vinod Shinde was caught in a traffic problem. He was scared to take the opening that appeared between the two frontrunners, and chose to wait longer. By the time he was able to find some galloping space, the race was over. Suraj had driven Classic Charge to a winning lead by then and was powering away in front. Bhagirathi galloped late to finish a close second, while Superb Style and Alpha Baby filled the rest of the frame. Suraj had enabled Classic Charge to score a "tactical victory" over a filly who was definitely better than him today.

Vinod Shinde rode a timid race on the favourite. He would be well advised to refrain from racing on the inner rails, as he lacks the confidence to take an opening. Jockey Sylvester De Souza rode a pair of three year-olds for the Byramji family to score their maiden victories. Darius trained Braavo and Rashid's Yas Marina won in an identical manner. Braavo was a money-back favourite in the day's opener. He was lucky to find himself in the lower division of this race. He jumped out confidently, led within the first furlong of this race and won as he liked. Smart Ways and Jaanvi saved place money for their connections. Yas Marina is a well-built filly, who had made a favourable impression while running second in the only start of her career. She was opposed by Arjun's Sky Rider, who too had impressed while galloping into second place about six weeks ago. Today's race became a one horse affair, as Yas Marina responded to De Souza's call and won by an ever extending margin from Day Trader and Hard To Pin Down. Sky Rider ran well below his known form. The winner looks like a good type and has a lot of scope to improve from her present mark.

The other professional to score a double was Sharat Kumar. The first leg of his double came in the form of four year-old Our Cruise, who won a mile race for horses in Class V. This horse had run on numerous occasions, but had failed to figure on the board in each one of them. Our Cruise was the medium of a big gamble in this race. He was backed at every price and the bookmakers had no choice but to shorten his odds down to 70/100 at race time. There was noticeable nervousness amongst his supporters, as Our Cruise was lethargic at the start and was seen trailing the eight horse field till well into the straight. Jockey Rathod brought him widest round the bend and put him under the stick. The response was almost "electric", as Our Cruise devoured ground in the straight and darted away from Orange Orchard and Burning Ambitions. The winner is blessed with stamina and today's performance augers well for the future. He is capable of winning on promotion. Sharat's other winner was Fantabulous Prince. This horse had come down a full Class in the last few months. A whipless John was declared to ride him in this race, a fact which many took seriously and ignored him from a betting perspective. Suraj's mount Royal Amber was a rage in this race.

Royal Amber was content to follow Spark Of Isis till the distance post before essaying his challenge. The two of them were locked in a serious duel before Royal Amber gained the advantage and sailed for home. Fantabulous Prince, who had been racing well within himself, began to devour ground from the back and was soon racing alongside the leaders. His powerful momentum did not require the use of a whip, and the same enabled him to go past a tired Royal Amber. Spark Of Isis ended a close third. The other serious gamble of the day was landed with Blushing Beam. Karan Singh had chosen to run her in a seven-furlong race a few weeks ago and tested her readiness to strike. Blushing Beam had led till well into the straight, before retiring from the fray. Today's sprint was tailor-made for her. Blushing Beam was the youngest horse in this bunch and was obviously the fastest. In the hands of apprentice Shoaib, the five year-old mare sported a pair of wings and blew away the opposition. Express It and Hidalgo came with late runs to take the minor placings. Early morning favourite Your Destiny ran a pathetic race to finish a faraway fourth. He needs to come down a class before scoring again.

Dhariwal's Camelot showed a lot of improvement while repeating his winning performance exactly a fortnight ago. This highly regarded and well-bred four year-old had been proving to be a handful for his trainer. He used to play up on the way to the start and throw tantrums near the gates. He had won his last start with a measure of comfort. Camelot has struck a nice partnership with apprentice Sreekanth, and the pair of them is in sync with each other. Like last time, Camelot went sailing into an early lead and kept increasing it till the very end. He ended many lengths ahead of a tired bunch led by favourite Glitterato and Rugged Beauty. Camelot has the pedigree to stay longer, and is likely to be campaigned accordingly during the Summer Season. The only other winner in the day's card was Dominic's Mercutio. PS Chouhan took him to the front and the horse lasted out to win from Man Down Under. Mercutio's job was made easier by the other "incidents" around him. Captain's Lover was a strong favourite in this race. Apprentice Gautam Raj took an awkward jump with him and was lucky to remain in the saddle. He then pushed Captain's Lover on the wide outside, and made rapid progress towards the leader. While doing so, he hampered the success of Party Tonite, who lost all her chances after this interference. Despite all these antics in the saddle, Captain's Lover managed to finish a very close third. He was certainly unlucky to miss today.