Rank outsider Amaretto (Major Impact – Romantic Heights) came with raking strides from the tail-end of the field, and swept past his eight opponents in The Juvenile Sprinter's Million (Grade III) at Bangalore on Sunday. In the process, this chestnut gelding made some highly regarded horses look fairly "ordinary". His task looked impossible at the top of the straight, at which point he was almost last of nine, but Amaretto's turn of foot carried him home to an easy victory. By virtue of having won twice in their short careers, Vijays Conquer, Current Ray and Notredame were seen conceding weight to the others. Loveatfirstsight carried the public purse in this race. The Padmanabhan-trainee had impressed on debut and had faltered over a mile at Mumbai in her subsequent start. She was reverting to a sprint and her connections were confident that Loveatfirstsight would be able to lift this trophy. They had chosen to sharpen her in a mock race because if she had run and won an actual race, she would have carried an extra three kilos on Sunday. Because of a fall suffered by Sandesh in an earlier event, Loveatfirstsight was entrusted to jockey Ashhad Asbar. Free Law, Vijays Conquer, Crown Rule and Chul Bul Pandy were the other fancied runners in the day's feature.

The speedy Notredame shot out of the gates and showed the way to Loveatfirstsight, Colour Of Money, Free Law, Vijay's Conquer and Crown Rule. The leading group was closely huddled ahead of Chul Bul Pandy, Amaretto and Current Ray. Jockey Valdir De Souza was the first one to make his move. He pushed Colour Of Money ahead of a tired Notredame and charged for home. Crown Rule and Vijay’s Conquer went in chase, but they were unable to tackle the leader. Loveatfirstsight got caught on the rails, and being in the midst of a set of tired runners, had very little room to gallop. After getting knocked around repeatedly, the filly lost interest in the proceedings. At almost the same juncture, Amaretto began to move forward. Being produced on the wide outside, he started picking up a bunch of tired horses, and was soon in contention. After a brief duel with Colour Of Money, Trevor seized the advantage and drove Amaretto to a comfortable victory. Vijay’s Conquer ended a tired third while Free Law and Loveatfirstsight plodded along to finish behind the three of them. Amaretto returned in excess of 30/1 at the totalizators.

Leading jockey PS Chouhan celebrated another successful afternoon by riding a popular treble on Sunday. His fans had backed him to complete a fourth linker with Narayan Gowda's Rhythmic Dancer in the last race of the day, but unfortunately, the filly planted in the gates and refused to come out till the race was over. Second favourite Abby's Baby (Royal Gladiator – Ballynahinch) won the race from start to finish. De Souza had an armchair ride to victory astride this Amit Caddy trainee.

Britto-trained Saphira (Ajaad –Chelsea) gave Chouhan his first winner. With the withdrawal of favourite Lightning Express on veterinary grounds, second-in-demand Steel King went to the top of the betting boards. The four-year-old did not inspire anyone by his paddock looks, and the punters began searching for an alternative. On the basis of elimination, Saphira and Loving Fantasy received a bit of support. Saphira tracked Supreme Regent till well into the straight before making her move. Under some strong riding from her jockey, she strode away from a late-finishing Emerald King. Steel King ran according to expectations and finished at the back of the pack.

Tharun Thimmaiah opened his account by saddling the sparingly raced Drop Of Honey (Brave Act – Chantenay) to an easy victory in a sprint handicap for horses in Class III. The filly had earned a double promotion after winning a race at the end of the winter season. The handicapper had given a stiff penalty for her six-length victory. Drop Of Honey had ended a good sixth while remaining unextended against some younger horses last month. With a positive switch in the saddle, and loads of money in the betting rings, Drop Of Honey started as a firm favourite to win today. She was a bit lethargic at the start, but once Chouhan gave her a tap or two, she got into her rhythm. After chasing Star Of Desire and A Move To Remember till the two-furlong marker, Drop Of Honey lengthened her strides and sailed away from Adonis, Oceanic Wind and A Move To Remember. The sparingly raced filly has further scope for improvement, and it may not be too long before she re-enters the winner’s enclosure.

Darius Byramji's Shuddering (Hurricane State – Shuddabot) completed a hat-trick of wins this season by picking up the upper division of The RS Nagendra Kumar Memorial Trophy. This big-made horse has had a few problems and it has been difficult to subject him to steady preparation. Just a nice canter along the inner sand track is all that he can handle. However, he seems to possess a strong "engine". The manner in which he has been racing in recent weeks has been quite a revelation. He raced prominently behind Lad Diva till the distance post. The moment Chouhan asked him for an effort, the race was over. He increased the tempo to go away from Lad Diva and a heavily fancied Spark Of Silver. The last-named was once again a bit sluggish at the gates and had to cover a lot of extra ground while racing wide into the straight. Spark Of Silver has been showing signs of an early success.

The lower division of this race went to an unfancied Endurance (Mischevious Music – Trillennium). This victory helped Narayan Gowda and P Trevor to complete their doubles for the afternoon. Endurance was racing over a sprint and was in a hopeless position at the top of the bend. Don Diego, Anna and Moves Goodenough seemed to have the race between themselves before Endurance arrived on the scene. Seizing a lucky opening, he shot through the pack and registered an easy victory over Moves Goodenough and Don Diego. Anna got chopped badly in the final furlong and faded out of contention.

Another race in the day's card was The Smt Bhagirathi Memorial Trophy, a seven-furlong handicap for horses in Class III. Padmanabhan-trained Touching The Town was a firm favourite all morning ahead of Nosher Cama's St Catz (Royal Kingdom – Irish Glitter). The latter had won at Mumbai before coming to Bangalore. Her morning track work had inspired a lot of punters to back her with confidence. One look at the runners in the paddock was enough to arrive at a decision. St Catz sported a wonderful coat while Touching The Town looked ordinary. They ran along the same lines. St Catz raced by the side of Sovetskaya before overpowering her in the straight. Christopher Alford enjoyed his ride astride St Catz, as she carried him to an easy victory over Magnitude and a late-finishing Castle Town. Touching The Town ended a poor fourth.

The most impressive performance of the day came from Sirajuddin's Secret Punch (Royal Gladiator – Temple Bay), who revealed an exciting turn of foot to run away from a group of maidens. With the withdrawal of Deshmukh's Aegis, who apparently hurt herself while being led from the stables to the saddling enclosure, the betting action was centred around Komandur's Scenic Blast. This horse had shown blinding speed in an earlier start, wherein, he had led till the last 50 metres of that race. With an inner draw today and jockey Srinath to guide his fortunes, Scenic Blast was the favourite ahead of Miss Ching and Secret Punch. The public choice darted out of the gates and showed the way to Mountain Splendour, Secret Punch and Miss Ching. He shot his bolt near the bend and flopped miserably. In the hands of Imran Khan, Secret Punch wrested the initiative and kicked away from the others. The jockey looked back repeatedly in the straight before easing him near the winning post. On a day when overnight rains had rendered the track a bit slower than normal, Secret Punch clocked a timing faster than most juveniles that have run so far over 1,100 metres. He has the makings of a very good sprinter.