The V T Velu Memorial Cup, named after a long serving chairman of the club, featured a long card of ten events framed for racing on Thursday at Bangalore. Apart from a couple of well contested terms races , the other Class I events this season have been fairly ordinary affairs. It was no different today. Eight runners rated eighty and above accepted to face the starter. None of them had won a race this season, and most had been running down the field in their recent starts. Four year olds Mark Of Gibraltar and Sugar Ray had run close to each other while ending second and third behind a runaway Rimpuche in their previous outing. Because of a lack of any other indicators, bookmakers chose to install them at the top of the betting boards. The only other one that merited any attention was Green Bax. This Eshwer trained seven year old had seen better days, and found himself conceding weight to his rivals this afternoon. The seven furlong trip suited him perfectly, and since he had been putting in some smart work in his morning trials, Green Bax garnered a fair amount of support as the runners arrived at the gates.He was backed down from 6's to 4's at starting time. The race was run at a modest pace. Sugar Ray was eased into an early lead, and was soon joined by Green Bax and Mark Of Gibraltar. The three fancied runners began to draw away from the others and were in close order as they straightened for home. Sugar Ray was unable to sustain his efforts and soon gave way to Green Bax. With Christopher goading him strongly, Green Bax seized the advantage and charged for home. Imran Khan pulled out his stick and asked Mark Of Gibraltar to quicken. The favourite responded gamely and began to make ground on the leader. But Green Bax was in no mood to relent, as he lengthened his strides and drew away from his challenger. The two of them finished in front of a tired Sugar Ray. A nice little touch was landed on the winner. A new star from champion trainer Padmanahan's stable emerged on Thursday. Red Renegade (Placerville- Sky Rocket) put up a spectacular performance while running away from field of well performed three year olds. The big made chestnut was an odds-on choice in his only start a few weeks ago. That happened to be his first run after being gelded. The four weeks of rest during the interim period seems to have worked wonders for him. He took off from a wide draw and went to the front. Wayne Smith was a mere spectator as he blew his opponents off their feet. The hugely fancied Systematic was heavily punished to finish a faraway second. Byramji's Cinnamon Rose was the other fancied runner in the pack. The filly found herself totally out of depth in the present company, and finished in the ruck. Red Renegade has the potential to make a strong move towards the bigger events that await him in the future. The other outstanding feature of the afternoon was the victory of Pradeep Annaiah's Glory To Dancer.The three year old had emerged from the maiden ranks on Derby Day with a victory in Class IV. The handicapper had had given him a huge penalty for that effort and pushed him towards the top of the higher Class. The connections were obviously unconcerned about this disadvantage , as they supported him with confidence. Jockey Chouhan was content to hold him in third spot before releasing the brakes. Glory To Dancer bounded forward and sailed past early leaders Angelfire, Dream Park and Savvy Concept. The margin of victory ,as well as the fast timing of this race indicate a smart future for this well built horse. Trainer Neil Darashah was the only professional to score more than once today. He was immensely satisfied with the performance of Celestial Son. This speedy customer was on the shelf earlier this year, prior to reappearing at the beginning of this season. After two back-to-back victories, Celestial Son was bidding to complete his hat-trick in Class II. Suraj Narredu made full use of the inner draw and took him to the front. He set a strong pace in this race and wasn't unduly pressed to keep Cart Wheel and The Contender at bay. The lower division of this race witnessed the closest finish of the day. Irfan Ghatala's Van De Star came from an impossible position and nailed Marcegalia on the post.This happened to be the last race of the day , and after a spate of thundershowers,was conducted on a toatlly soaked track The dickey legged winner seemed to relish the soft underfoot conditions and gave jockey Mark his first success of this season. Neil completed his double with Sunny Baba. This rank outsider ran kindly for rookie Velu and galloped strongly in the straight. A hard ridden Distinctly Ahead was able to finish a close second. Favourite Music Forever led till the top of the bend and retired gracefully. Another Destiny raised a late gallop to save place money. The day started with a maidens race over a scurry. After six promising runs, Arjun's Virtuoso was able to pick up the first race of his career. Virtuoso had won his last start ,but was displaced after a successful objection by the second placed Bucephalas. There were no such problems today, as Virtuoso came from behind and sailed past a hapless Alcestis. Advantage Logan came with a long stretch run to finish a close third. Favourite Calypso Star was a huge let down, as she ran listlessly in the straight. A mile and a quarter race for horses in Class IV saw Padmanabhan's Leave It To Me making her first appearance in open company. The filly was installed as the shortest priced runner of the day. To the dismay of her numerous supporters, Leave It To Me was unable to match strides with Darius trained Shades Of White. C Alford was able to goad the winner to keep going after hitting the front at the top of the straight. Leave It To Me seems to be one paced, and Imran Chisty's tactics of holding her back proved to be counter productive. She has run her best races while running freely in front. The only other race in the day's card was won by Dhariwal's So Much More. Srinath rode a waiting race on this winner, and came from behind to overtake Smart N Special near the distance post. Ready to Mingle came from way off the pace to finish marginally ahead of a tired Smart N Special. Dark Horse and Immortal seemed to be out for an airing , as they weren't unduly pressed to finish in the middle of a tightly packed field.