Leading trainer Neil Darashah was quite delighted after Hatsuhana (Burden Of Proof – Sabre Dance) stormed home to a thrilling victory in The VT Velu Memorial Cup, the feature in a card of 11 events framed for Thursday's racing at Bangalore. The pleasure of watching his five-year-old mare defying her winning penalty was further enhanced by the fact that he was able to log another point to his tally at the top of the leader board in the Trainer's Championship. With a number of young professionals making their presence felt in recent months, the race to the top has become really exciting. Going into the last of day racing on Friday, we have Neil Darashah and Arjun Mangalorkar tied at 17 points each, while Irfan Ghatala is breathing down their neck with 15. Even though Neil has more seconds to his credit, he doesn't have a runner on the concluding day of the season. In all likelihood, this race is bound to end in a nail-biting finish. For the record, Arjun and Irfan scored "double's" today, while Neil had to settle for a solitary victory through Hatsuhana.

The day's feature attracted a number of highly rated horses, with Aristos heading the scales at a back-breaking 66.5 kilos. After his late-finishing effort behind Sprint Star, Siachen and Successor a few days ago, Kyles Of Bute cornered support to start as the first favourite at 5/2. The "open" nature of the race could be gauged from the fact that all the others were backable at nourishing odds. In a fast run race, bottom-weighted Yas Marina shot to the front and led from Aristos, Valahak and Kyles Of Bute. Improving steadily from her wide draw, Hatsuhana made headway to join the leaders. The pack started to bunch up in the straight, and we suddenly had a new leader. In the hands of apprentice Vaibhav, Aristos wrested the issue and strode towards the winning post. While Valahak and Kyles Of Bute came under pressure, it was Hatsuhana who went in chase. With a determined Ladjadj Stephane making free use of his whalebone, the mare gained ground on the leader. It was obvious that she was moving the better of the two and it was only a matter of time before she would hit the front. It happened in the last 50 metres of this seven-furlong trip. Hatsuhana travelled nicely thereafter to lift this trophy. Valahak finished ahead of Kyles Of Bute to save place money for his followers.

Arjun Mangalorkar and John combined effectively to win successive races with Dancerella and Starista earlier in the afternoon. Dancerella (Sunday Doubt – One Uttama) headed the scales in a mile-and-a-quarter handicap for horses in Class IV. With money flowing in the direction of Padmanabhan's Sunday Storm and the Darius-trained Saganaki, the odds against Dancerella expanded alarmingly. In the hands of Srinath, Sunday Storm was expected to run away from the others. Tracking Grand Success till the top of the straight, the favourite was taken to the front. He showed out briefly before feeling the heat. Under some powerful riding from John, Dancerella dug deep into her reserves of stamina and took over the running. She somehow managed to keep her neck in front till the very end. A late charge from Saganaki enabled her to beat Sunday Storm into third place.

Starista's victory over six furlongs was almost similar. Running in a fairly ordinary set of horses, Starista (Danehill Star – Sacristia) carried the public purse to victory. Encountering traffic problems near the final bend, John decided to duck inwards. Overhauling Sun Rich, Unique Show and Living Legend steadily, Starista moved strongly towards the winning post. Srinath and Will Still came with giant strides in the final stages, but that wasn't good enough to nail the leader. Unique Show and Living Legend filled the rest of the frame. Now that Will Still has shown his true potential, it will be prudent to follow him hereafter.

Irfan Ghatala's pair of victors was Hill Dioro and Toroloco. They started as firm favourites in their respective events, and to the delight of their numerous supporters, ran away from their opponents. Hill Dioro (Black Cash – Eye View) ran on expected lines. Making a belated start to his career at the beginning of the Summer Season, Hill Dioro had impressed all concerned with his performances. Despite conceding weight to the others today, Hill Dioro received strong support in the betting ring. Suraj Narredu rode an extremely confident race on this nice looking colt. Allowing Cinnamon Rush, Waikato and Own Empire to lead on sufferance, Suraj was content to bide his time at the back. He relaxed his grip on Hill Dioro near the two-furlong pole, and the talented three-year-old gave him the desired response. He lengthened his strides to go clear of Cinnamon Rush and a late-finishing Muqtadir. Hill Dioro is surely headed for the highest class at this centre.

Apart from his terrific track work, there wasn't anything known about first-timer Toroloco (Rebuttal – Miss Beautiful). Much before race time, one heard whispers about this brilliant galloper. He had been backed all morning, and was an odds-on choice to win his maiden start over 1,400 metres. One look at him in the paddock was enough to realize that the large amounts that had been wagered on him were well placed. Furthermore, Irfan's confidence in his charge was evident from the quality of the jockey that he had declared to ride him. Rookie Selvaraj's best performance this season had been a solitary third from his ten mounts. However, nobody needed to worry as Toroloco carried Selvaraj to victory. All the boy had to do was to stay clear of trouble. He cantered along in third place before swinging wide into the straight. He overtook Thoughts And Actions and Mablshwar Memories in the last two furlongs and won by a widening margin from the two of them. An interesting aspect of his victory was the timing that he clocked today. It was almost similar to that clocked by his highly respected stablemate Hill Dioro.

Another maidens event started the day's proceedings. What was billed as a match race between an experienced Bryant Park and debutante Mountain Beauty, ended disastrously for the punters. While Bryant Park was reluctant to put his best foot forward, Mountain Beauty took time to find her rhythm. While all this was transpiring, Dhariwal-trainee Bavaria (Brave Act – Creativity) sported a pair of wings and spurted away from the rest. She raced well within herself to establish a winning lead into the final furlong. Vinod Shinde gave Bavaria a couple of taps at that point in time to keep her going. Mountain Beauty rallied late to move into second place ahead of the hard-ridden pair of Right On Time and No Doubt. The light-framed Mountain Beauty needs some more time to furnish properly.

Apprentice Pradeep had the distinction of winning both the divisions of a sprint handicap for horses in Class II. Incidentally, both these winners sported the colours of Santosh Lad. Rank outsider Citrali (Juniper – Clear Crystal) produced a sparkling turn of foot in the final stages of the upper division to nail Skyliner near the winning post. Juno lost his position at the top of the betting boards, when money began to flow in the direction of Sky Train and Skyliner. It appeared as though every single bookmaker wanted to lay Juno. Jockey Stephane seemed to be in a tearing hurry to push Juno to the front, and in his eagerness to do so, he gave the filly a couple of taps. She spurted to the front, showed the way for a while and then called it a day. Apprentice Vaibhav and Skyliner overtook Juno near the distance post and established what looked like a winning lead at that stage. Even though Citrali and Abnoba made their moves on the wide outside, it looked as though Skyliner would pull it off. However, that was not destined to happen. Citrali lengthened her strides to beat Skyliner into second place. An exhausted Juno could only finish third.

The boy's riding on Crown Vision (Brave Act – Crown Secret) was praiseworthy. In a race which witnessed the eclipse of even-money favourite Florida, Crown Vision was held back for a final assault. After Game Dancer, Florida and Celestial Son got tired, it was time for Pradeep and Crown Vision to arrive on the scene. They came with a flourish and settled the issue much before touching the wire. The late rallying pair of Romance In The Air and Portatone occupied the minor placings. Unfortunately, Pradeep parted company with Crown Vision after passing the winning post. He was immediately rushed to hospital, and is reportedly under observation.

A nice little gamble was landed by the Lokanath stable on a three-year-old named Equanimity (Tirol – Vaga Follia). This horse had finished a good second to Star Is Born on Derby Day. It was clashing against the well-bred Lad Star, who had won her maiden race only ten days ago. The filly was conceding weight to her rival, and that somehow made all the difference. Equanimity raced well within himself as Midtown Delight and Sky Rider showed the way to Hackett and Windsor Knight. Lad Star was seen racing right behind Equanimity as they turned for home. Sreekant brought Equanimity with a well-timed run and skipped clear of Hackett. Lad Star took her time to gain momentum, and that cost her the race. By the time she found her rhythm, the race appeared to be over. Despite some amazing acceleration in her last few strides, she missed catching Equanimity by a mere whisker. Lad Star is bred to stay and the filly can be supported confidently whenever she chooses to tackle a longer trip.