Trainer Harvinder Singh Bath set RCTC alight with a magnificent quadruple on Good Friday. It was an afternoon which saw punters burn holes in their pockets as favourites fell like ninepins. The entire jackpot pool amounting to almost Rs 10 lakh was carried forward.

The three main events, The Grand Annual Handicap, The Bangalore Turf Club Cup and The Elusive Pimpernel Cup saw rank outsiders fill the winners’ berths. They were Bath-trained Secret Whispers, Javed Khan’s Fighting Star and Vinayak-schooled Aquilo.

Trainer Bath commenced the afternoon with the on-money Mystro putting in a late run in the hands of the reliable top-weight apprentice B. Mahesh to get the better of the ever-consistent Golden Image. After that promising start, it was all mayhem. Bath-trained Prospective Queen quashed the opposition as the favourite Andeana finished in the ruck.

The trainer completed his hattrick with recent import from western India Hold The Thought registering a facile win in the lowest class. The other fancied runner Grey Glory never got going and finished an unimpressive third. The winner was another Mahesh mount.

Gilded Romance showed in no uncertain terms that weight is no deterrent for her as she moved up quickly from an outside draw to make a start-to-finish affair of the six-furlong race for the Red Chieftan Handicap. Astro Boy finished a flying second while much touted Sparta appeared to be out of her depth.

Vikash Jaiswal-trained Mirror Image notched up her second successive win when she pegged back the runaway Aymaras close home. The public choice was a ‘Classic’ failure.

Speedy Pocket Rocket put paid to the pretensions of the piping hot favourite Piato to register an impressive win in the Assertive Dancer Handicap. Top-weight Andronicus was withdrawn but it was elegant Road who was seen to finish on impressively.

Then came the topsy-turvy trio of winners. Jocket Rajinder took everyone for a ride when he shot Secret Whispers to the front and stayed there all the way. Arti Doctor’s Snowberry was out paced while the favourite Apyrous may have left his running shoes at home. Though the group was closely grouped throughout the race, none of the runners really threatened the winner excepting top-weight Cascades who moved well in the closing stages of the race.

The totally friendless Fighting Star produced a stunning gallop in the homestretch to lift the Bangalore Turf Club Cup. Lycia Falcon folded up without a fight while Admaris was found to be struggling to meet the class. Nevertheless, he finished a good runner-up.

Seven-year-old Aquilo completed the rout and a superb hattrick for Mahesh who could not claim allowance in this race. Gracing the wrong end of the field for a major part of the race, Aquilo swept past Raghuvansh who was shaping like a winner at the distance post. The rest of the field were not sighted.

The curtain came down on the long and torrid afternoon with the favourite Regal Appeal applying some soothing balmon the burnt fingers of punters. Despite his top-weight, the Vijay Singh runner won as he liked.