Arjun Mangalorkar-trained Immense (Gaswar - Alto Miss) graduated to the big league by winning The Imperial Towers Million BTC Anniversary Cup (Grade II) at the Bangalore races on Saturday. He managed to keep his neck in front of a group of late-rushing horses, and scored ahead of Sprint Star, Attila and Kyles Of Bute. The much-awaited Derby Weekend got off to a wet start, with intermittent showers coming down throughout the afternoon. The seven-furlong race, a terms event for horses four years old and over, featured a long card of nine events. Fourteen top-class contenders vied for this coveted trophy. Racing enthusiasts were excited at the prospect of watching Dhariwal's Siachen, who was re-appearing after making a tremendous seasonal debut in the first week of June. The filly had sported a pair of wings while winning over an unsuitable trip of six furlongs that day. She was penalized a mere two kilos for the said effort. With an extra furlong to travel, the four-year-old towered over her rivals. Immense and Attila were considered to be her closest rivals. Immense had announced his readiness to race in "terms company" by successfully carrying a heavy impost in a Class I handicap. The terms favoured him today, as he was receiving five kilos from both Siachen and Attila. However, the bookmakers refused to look beyond Siachen and offered a meagre even-money against her. Immense at 7/2 and Attila at 8/1 carried the confidence of their respective connections.

The speedy D'artagnan made the early running and showed the way to Immense and Aristos. The three of them raced ahead of String Along, Siachen and Attila, as they made their way towards the final turn. The order remained more or less the same as the field straightened for home. The race came to a boil at this stage. With jockeys manoeuvring for positions and whips being used with gay abandon, the scene began changing with each successive stride. D'artagnan caved-in tamely and surrendered the lead to Immense. Any amount of cajoling from Srinath had little impact on Siachen. The champion filly shot her bolt in the final furlong and made a hasty exit from the scene. At just about the same time, a determined group of horses led by Sprint Star, Attila and Kyles Of Bute responded to the stick and moved menacingly towards the leader. John realized the lurking danger and got busy astride Immense. The chestnut responded gamely, put his head down and charged towards the winning post. The grand-stands were set alight by this tremendous finish. The four of them finished within a length and a half of each other, and confirmed that racing at the highest level is hugely competitive. The supporters of Siachen were obviously dismayed. They were unable to ascribe any specific reason for this dismal performance. Champion trainer Dhariwal has been having a tough time this summer. Numerous favourites from his yard have bitten the dust in the last couple of months, and Siachen was the latest one to join this group.

The Nawab M Arshad Ali Khan Memorial Cup, a terms race for three-year-olds, was the added attraction in the day's card. Traditionally, this race attracts a lot of talented youngsters, but this year's edition fell short of expectations. With most of the stables taking their chances in tomorrow's Derby, this race was literally gifted to CD Katrak's Black Magic Woman (Placerville – One Magic Moment). On the basis of her high rating and superb performances, she received one-sided support in the betting ring. Ladjadj Stephane allowed stablemate Rule Forever to lead on sufferance, before overwhelming him in the straight. The favourite produced her known acceleration to settle the issue much before the winning post. In a scramble for the minor placings, Southern Bay got up in time to displace Chemin De Fer from the runner-up berth. Black Magic Woman is perhaps the best three-year-old sprinter that we have seen this season, and it will not be surprising if she continues her good work and dominates racing at Pune.

This victory enabled Stephane to complete his double, as he had already scored astride Neil Darashah's Chevvy (Brave Act – Chaventre). In a mile race for horses in the lowest class, Chevvy darted out of the starting gates and won from start to finish. The ones behind her were seen gasping for breath, and it was left to The Last Fling to take the second place ahead of Burning Ambitions. There was support for Parliament Square and Frame Partner in this race, but both of them were found wanting. Parliament Square caved-in under pressure and was seen crawling at the end. Frame Partner was always under pressure to keep in touch with the leaders.

Jockey Suraj Narredu announced his return to Bangalore by teaming up with Irfan Ghatala and scoring a double during the afternoon. He had to work really hard on piping hot favourite Hill Dioro (Black Cash – Eye View), who managed to get the better of Field Marshal near the winning post. Ashhad Asbar refused to give up astride the latter, and the pair of them fought out a thrilling finish till the very end. For the third time in a row, Field Marshal had to settle for the second spot. Attaolahi's Cafe Del Monte laboured hard to finish a tame third. Suraj's victory astride Irfan's Fiorucci (Itaquere Power – Fiorenzza) was relatively easier. The small-made filly came with gigantic strides on the wide outside to saunter clear of Drop Of Honey, Make My Day and Airplay. Favourite Make My Day was under pressure in the straight. Suraj played the waiting game to perfection and rode her for eventual acceleration. There was much support for Sharat Kumar's Magnitude Star in this race, but that was apparently misplaced. The big-made horse ran lethargically throughout the trip and ended in the ruck.

Irfan's efforts to complete a treble through Chul Bul Pandy in the concluding event of the day were snuffed-out by the free-striding Summer Sun (Royal Gladiator – Angeles). In the hands of apprentice Vaideeshwaran. the Amit Caddy-trainee came with a smooth run towards the centre of the track and sailed past a helpless Chul Bul Pandy. The beaten favourite was ridden in unusual fashion by jockey Paswan. A horse which had come from behind in his very first start and beaten a talented bunch of youngsters, was ridden into the ground today. Carrying a back-breaking 62.5 kilos in slushy going, he was pushed out of the gates to wrest the initiative. He felt the pressure in the straight and slowed down in the final furlong. A tired Magnomical plodded along to take the third spot.

A heavy downpour during the running of the eighth race produced the biggest upset of the day. The visibility was at its lowest as the start was effected. Leading jockey PS Chouhan was seen at his tactical best while exploiting the situation. He added another point to his tally by scoring astride Faraz Arshad's Smart Exotic (Itaquere Power – Run Woodee Run). Knowing that his horse possessed initial speed, he rushed him to the front. The horse raced freely to make all the running and lasted out to win from Its My Party, Moves Goodenough and Sunstorm. The ones at the back had a rough time, as mud was flying all over the place. They did well to overcome traffic problems and finish within a length of the leader.

The two divisions of a maiden's event over 1,100 metres were annexed by front-running horses. The day's opener saw L D'Silva's Lake Blossom (Tobougg – Springtime) making every post a winning one. Attaolahi-trained first-timer Catamaran was the rage in this race. He was backed at every price to start as an on-money favourite. Catamaran was slightly sluggish at the start, but with Srinath urging him continuously, was soon in contention. He raced within calling distance of Lake Blossom till the bend before feeling the pressure. Catamaran stopped in the final furlong and finished more than a distance behind the winner. For the records, Lake Blossom won by a widening margin from Homely Helo, Simply Best and Lad Star. The runner that caught one's attention was Lad Star. She was running detached from the field as they traversed the first half of the journey. She improved thereafter and was seen putting in some good work in the straight.

The upper division of this race went to Vinayak's Special Fx (Sunday Doubt – Minnekonda). Christopher Alford had an armchair ride to victory astride this filly, as all he had to do was to keep her out of trouble. Taking a nice jump from her outer draw, Special Fx ran well within herself to keep the others at bay. She had run similarly in Mumbai where she had been beaten near the winning post by Esmeraldo. However, there was none amongst the present lot that was good enough to tackle her today. Special Fx clocked-in a couple of lengths clear of Crown Crystal and Own Empire. The winner is in fine nick and looks good enough to pick up another race on her return to Pune.