A powerful finishing effort from champion jockey Suraj Narredu enabled Sprint Star to win The Rajyotsava Trophy, the feature event on the opening day of the Winter Races at Bangalore on Monday. This well endowed race is traditionally held on the opening day of the season. With a packed field of thirteen reaching the starting gates, this race generated a lot of excitement. Most of them had run against each other on a number of occasions, and it was easy to fathom that they were tightly handicapped. The only thing that could separate them was their recent fitness, relative paddock looks and consistency. On all these counts, Satish Narredu's Sprint Star and Neil Darashah's Hatsuhana seemed closely matched. Both were running over an optimum trip and their glistening coats showed their readiness to strike. The former was a clear favourite ahead of the latter, while there was hopeful support for the likes of Arts, Star Marquess and Kyles Of Bute. Even though Star Marquess was a winner of a single race, there were many who felt that he was a danger to all.

The speedy pair of Aprillia and String Along showed initial speed to go ahead within the first hundred metres and set a decent pace in front of Sprint Star and Hatsuhana. The rest were tightly packed behind the leading group and were seen being pushed to stay in place. The field entered the straight in almost the same order. Under the care of Sreekanth, it was String Along who made the first move. She overtook Aprillia near the two furlong marker and tried to run away from the rest. She was soon joined and passed by Sprint Star in the middle and Hatsuhana on the wide outside. With both Suraj Narredu and Samuel Fargeat going for their sticks, it was evident that we were in for a close finish. Hatsuhana led into the final hundred metres of this race, but had no answers to the renewed bid of Sprint Star. The chestnut responded to Suraj's powerhouse finish and put his neck in front of the leader. The full credit for Sprint Star's victory in the day's feature goes to his jockey. String Along hung onto her third spot ahead of Optimus Prime and Star Marquess. The last named made up a lot of ground from the back to join the front pack. This was obviously a test run for him, as he is slated to participate in the winter classics.

Suraj had an easier time astride Prithviraj's Abnoba in the very next race of the afternoon. This filly was known to possess a lot of speed, but her recent efforts had been quite "ordinary". The fact that Prithviraj had requisitioned Suraj Narredu's services to guide her fortunes was enough for the punters to back her with confidence. She was set to carry the lowest weight in this race. With Game Dancer setting a scorching pace from the beginning, Suraj had little problem in settling Abnoba in second place. Make My Day, Lad Fury and Florida raced at regular intervals, while the other runners were spread across the track. Game Dancer got exhausted near the bend and went wide under pressure. This enabled Abnoba to seek the huge gap towards the inside rails. She responded gamely to Suraj's urgings and went clear of the pack. She coasted home to an easy victory over Make My Day and a late finishing Golden Quest. The last named can be earmarked for an early success. Lad Fury was another one who gave signals of his well-being. Considering his eight month absence from a race track, this was a nice forward run.

By scoring astride Abnoba Suraj helped Prithviraj complete his double, as the trainer had already scored a point with Indravati. This four year old was known to relish a longish trip. However, Indravati's fine fourth over a sprint at Mysore enthused his trainer to campaign him over a similar distance on Monday. The soft underfoot conditions, wide false rails and a three kilo allowance claimed by Vaideeshwaran, were expected to enhance his chances. Indravati was slammed down from 18/10 to 8/10 in the betting rings. While Black Beauty, Star Of Desire and Waltz Away showed early speed, Indravati was seen being scrubbed in fourth place. His supporters were beginning to lose hope as the horses entered the final furlong. In a sudden turn of events, the ones in front began to tire. At almost the same juncture, the favourite found his rhythm. Responding gallantly to the youngster's whalebone, Indravati assumed command of the situation and went away from Star Of Desire, Black Beauty and a late finishing War Artist.

Trainer Britto was another professional to score a double today. He won back-to-back races with Fruit King and Red Bolt. While Fruit King was an overwhelming favourite in a Class V sprint, Red Bolt was the longest priced winner of the day. PS Chouhan had an armchair ride to victory on the former. Allowing Smart Edition to lead on sufferance, he chose to occupy the second slot. A mere nudge at the top of the straight was enough to seize the initiative. Fruit King lengthened his strides and galloped away from Stud Muffin and Silver Sceptre. Second favourite Smart Edition reportedly burst her blood vessel to fade away from the scene. The late finishing effort of Silver Sceptre was noticeable. He came from the tail-end of the pack to show a marked improvement over his recent form.

In the hands of raw apprentice R Bharath, Red Bolt ran the best race of his short career. Because of a physical impediment, he had been campaigned carefully. Red Bolt was noticed to have bled often after his morning track work, and Britto must be congratulated for sorting out this problem. The betting in this sprint for horses in Class IV was restricted to Sparkling Star and Regal Hostess. Both of them had won a race during the recently concluded Mysore season and were carrying winning penalties today. The fancied pair tore away from their rivals and were ahead of the pack as they came into the straight. Regal Hostess was the first to feel the pressure. She surrendered tamely to Sparkling Star's onslaught. Under some powerful pushing of Suraj, Sparkling Star hit the front. However, his dominance was short-lived as Red Bolt came alongside. It ceased to be a race thereafter, as Red Bolt lengthened his strides and sailed away for an easy victory. Now that the winner has found his galloping shoes, it will be fair to assume that barring an accident, Red Bolt will be strongly fancied in his next start.

The first race of the season happened to be a scurry for maiden three year olds. A lot of horses that were unable to emerge from the maiden ranks got another opportunity to do so. Arjun Mangalorkar's well-bred filly Mountain Beauty and Prasanna Kumar's Thoughts N Actions were supported to the exclusion of their rivals. On the basis of their paddock looks, the latter seemed far better than the others. He received further support to climb to the top of the betting charts, and performed on expected lines. In the hands of S John, he allowed Mountain Beauty to lead for the first half of their journey. A couple of taps at the top of the bend were enough to settle the issue. Thoughts N Actions powered away to register a fine win over Mountain Beauty and Cat Logan. The others that finished further behind were literally crawling at the end. Most of them will take a long time to win a race.

After winning a couple of races , including The Governor's Trophy for first season horses last winter, Ganapathy's Magnitude had raced prominently during the summer months. Even though she had failed in her efforts to gain another victory, the performances showed that she hadn't lost her form. Magnitude was pitted against an ordinary set of horses today. Running over a mile in the last race of the day, she was conceding weight to all her rivals. Mablshwar Memories and Akaliki shared early favouritism, but the pair of them were soon displaced by Magnitude. Punters were waiting for a signal in the betting rings. The moment they saw big money being wagered on this filly, they joined the group. The filly had looked well in the parade ring. After taking a smart jump, she settled nicely behind African Queen and Senor Speedy. Sreekanth waited a while before releasing the 'brakes". She went ahead near the bend and sauntered clear of the pack. Magnitude won on tight reins from Radical Attraction and African Queen. Mablshwar Memories ran pathetically to finish off the frame. He will need to come down a lot before winning another race. The one that caught the eye was Rich Radiant. She was given an easy outing today. As she is eligible to run in the lower class, it is more than likely that Rich Radiant will be targeted at a long distance handicap for horses in Class IV.