Trainer Prasanna Kumar's Valahak (Royal Gladiator – Liquid Gold) produced a sparkling gallop in the final stages of The SM Ramakrishna Rao Memorial Cup, and edged out a luckless Clear Mandate at the Bangalore races on Saturday. He ran true to form while scoring a much anticipated victory. After a couple of runner-up berths in the lower class, there were many who felt that the trainer needed to give him a chance at a low weight in the higher category. The timings that he had clocked while carrying a heavy impost showed that he was in good form. You had to only take some weight off his back to give him a realistic chance of winning his first race of the season. Prasanna Kumar entered Valahak in the day's feature and further aided his cause by declaring an apprentice to ride him. The connections of Clear Mandate adopted similar tactics. It was a pleasure to see brothers Vaibhav and Vaideeshwaran, astride these two speedy horses, fighting out a thrilling duel down the length of the straight. To the delight of the betting public, the fancied runner got stronger near the finish and scored a popular victory. Vaideeshwaran handled Valahak with a lot of maturity. Missoni and Rare And Precious weren't disgraced while ending close behind the two of them.

The sprint handicap attracted a small group of eight runners. Clear Mandate encountered little problems while taking a good jump and going ahead of the others. Unlike last time, when Vaibhav had allowed him to expend most of his energies in the back-stretch, Clear Mandate was ridden differently today. He led marginally from Missoni, Lads Gladiator and Valahak, as they took the rising ground and turned for home. Top-weighted Rare And Precious was seen being niggled to stay in touch with the leaders. Clear Mandate responded nicely to the rider's call and managed to increase his momentum, as the runners entered the final furlong. Valahak went in chase and it became apparent that the final outcome was restricted to the two of them. Valahak got stronger near the finish and managed to score by a neck from Clear Mandate. The "whipless" brothers thrilled their respective camps with some enthusiastic riding. Missoni and Rare And Precious filled the rest of the frame. This was the second consecutive time that Clear Mandate had got beaten on the post. The four-year-old is in fine condition and it may not be too long before he enters the winner's enclosure.

The well-bred Lake Paradise (Razeen - Society Dream) made an impressive start to her racing career by trouncing a field consisting of some highly regarded runners. Trainer Vinayak chose a seven-furlong maiden's event for her debut. This clearly indicated the master's confidence in his filly. With a lot of money flowing in the direction of Spook, the odds against Lake Paradise drifted out to 9/2. The race was run at a fairly fast pace. Rule Forever charged to the front and showed the way to Spook, Speed Angel and Saganaki. Suraj Narredu chose to bide his time at the back and held Lake Paradise on a tight leash as the runners entered the straight. Spook and Saganaki tried their best to overhaul the leader, but Rule Forever did not permit that to happen. Merchant kept niggling him and he kept responding. However, none of them had any answers to Lake Paradise's onslaught. The filly came with giant strides in the final furlong to saunter past the three of them. The timing that she clocked was suggestive of an exciting future. Her style of running showed that she would be even better over a longer trip.

Suraj completed a quick double by winning the very next race in the day's card. Partnering Nectar Crown (Hymn – Metronomic) for his father, he rode a copybook race on this winner. Allowing Tern Me On and Trillion Win to lead on sufferance, he ambled along in third position till the top of the straight. Nectar Crown was shown daylight at this stage and asked to "go". The horse responded gamely and ran away from the others. Trillion Win was hard pressed to retain his second spot ahead of a late finishing Voice Of India and a tired Black Beauty. Voice Of India was seen putting in some good work at the end, and this six-year-old must be noted for an early success. Satish Narredu led-in a winner after a fairly long time.

Jockey Ladjadj Stephane was the only other professional to score a double today. While Suraj's victories were scored easily, Ladjadj had to work extremely hard on both his winners. Riding Native Talent (Local Talent – Nationwide) for Neil Darashah, he found himself in a tricky position. The nine runners in this mile event were racing in close proximity of each other. Getting caught behind a wall of horses at the top of the straight, Stephane had two options. He could either wait for an opening through the middle, or charge towards the wide outside. He chose the latter. Native Talent responded to the stick and managed to nail front-running Rip Van Winkle near the winning post. Allez Vite and Enduring Star made the finish more exciting. Just about a length covered the first four finishers in this race.

It was a similar story on the Lokanath trained One For The Money (Juniper – Eastern Sky). This horse was the medium of some spirited betting today. One For The Money, who had displaced Florida from the top of the betting boards, was slightly sluggish at the start. Stephane chose to wait with him. While Florida showed the way to Chronicle and Foswell, the favourite was seen improving through the pack. Seizing a small gap towards the centre of the track, One For The Money produced a blistering turn of foot, and joined the fray. A couple of back-handers were all that were required to achieve an exciting victory. He got up in the final stages to beat Florida and Chronicle near the winning post.

Another runner that justified public support was Dhariwal's three-year-old filly Panamera (Burden Of Proof – Sans Egale). She was backed all morning to start as a firm favourite in a scurry for maidens. One look at her in the paddock was enough to realize that the money was well placed. One thing against Panamera was the fact that she had burst a blood vessel in her only start during the winter season. There were no such problems today. She took a good jump and followed Mountain Splendor till the top of the straight. PS Chouhan released his grip in the final furlong and she darted forward. Panamera lengthened her strides, overtook the leader and strode away from her. The winner is a well-conformed filly and has much scope for improvement.

The most thrilling finish during the long afternoon was witnessed in a sprint for horses in Class III. Attaolahi-trained Scarlette was a firm favourite to win this event. The early pace in this race was exceptionally fast, and that ultimately led to the downfall of the front-runners. A Move To Remember, Scarlette and Back Among Friends tried to outpace each other, and were at the helm of affairs till the furlong marker. They floundered at this stage. Scarlette shifted out under pressure while the other two got tired. This permitted Anna and Jaldi to join the action. Despite dropping his whip in the straight, John managed to push Arjun Mangalorkar's Anna (Glory Of dancer – Scenic View) to a narrow victory ahead of Jaldi and Scarlette. The last named ran a good race after a fairly long time. Scarlette can be expected to pick up a race in the near future.

The only other race in the day's card went in favour of Sharat Kumar's Man United (Duja – Amidst). After more that a dozen unplaced efforts during the winter months, this six-year-old had come down in his ratings. With the "right money" riding on him on Saturday, Man United raced prominently to score from Royal Music and Hot Stuff. Christopher took a good jump with this horse from the innermost draw and made most of the running. He made free use of his whip to guide him across the wire. On the other hand, Royal Music got into all sorts of trouble. The three-year-old filly was expected to score comfortably today. Apprentice Rajesh made heavy weather of his outside draw and was caught in a traffic jam. By the time he could extricate his mount, the race was over. Royal Music appeared with a late bid to settle for the second spot.