Heavy showers during the last couple of weeks and resultant underfoot conditions had led to the cancellation of the opening day's racing, which was scheduled to be held on Friday at Bangalore. The authorities did not want to take any chances ,as it would have damaged the track on the very first day of a long Winter Season. Bright sunshine and better weather in the next twenty four hours saw the penetrometer reading improve from 7.5 to 5.6, and this encouraged the stipes to go ahead with Saturday's programme.

A lush green track greeted racegoers as they arrived in large numbers to witness live racing action after a gap of three months. Most of them realized that the soft going could hamper the chances of certain fancied runners while enhancing those of the "mudlarks". However, this did not deter them from supporting their choices and the collections at the totalizators continued to get bigger and better. A well filled card of eight events was conducted on a clear and sunny afternoon. The Krishnaraja Trophy, a sprint handicap for horses in Class I, happened to be the day's feature. The presence of three year old String Along scared away quite a few entrants, and only eight accepted to face the starter.

The winner of the Mysore 1000 Guineas was attempting to become the first three year old of her crop to win in the highest class. She was coming into this race with impeccable credentials. Having won four of her last five starts, the latest being her Classic triumph, String Along had shown remarkable improvement in recent times. In the opinion of most professionals, she was best suited over seven furlongs. Even though she was tackling a marginally shorter trip today, the heavy underfoot conditions seemed to balance the situation. Einstein and Spark Of Bronte shaped as her main opponents.

The former had won a similar event in March, while the latter was attempting to complete a hat-trick after scoring back to back victories at Mysore. The bookmakers refused to look beyond the filly and installed String Along as an on-money favourite to lift this trophy. Top weighted Successor made use of his inner draw and sailed into a comfortable lead over String Along, Soberano and Einstein. The rest of the runners were spread out in single file with Spark Of Bronte gracing the rear. The order remained more or less the same as they entered the straight.

Jockey Imran Khan was yet to move a muscle on the Ganapathy trained favourite. He released his brakes near the two furlong marker and the response was immediate. String Along darted ahead and ran away from the rest. She lengthened her strides and won by a widening margin from a late finishing Spark Of Bronte, Einstein and The Spartan. Considering the state of the track, the winning time of One Minute and Sixteen Seconds was quite good. String Along appears to be peaking at the right time and has emerged as a strong candidate for the Winter Classics.

An outstanding performance from trainer Prithviraj saw him starting the season with a fine treble. His yard houses a powerful string of well bred horses, and the young trainer has the ability to sharpen them to perfection. This point was illustrated by the performances of Baton Rouge and Abnoba. Both these horses completed their hat-tricks on Saturday. Prithviraj's third winner was Eagle Claws. This highly regarded filly annexed the upper division of The Air Force Trophy. Eagle Claws had flopped during the Summer Season and the trainer had decided to give her a break.

The longish rest did her a lot of good. The manner in which she carried the back breaking weight to victory today, signalled her return to prime form. Eagle Claws survived a scare from Spark Of Solitaire in the final furlong. The latter came with a rattle from the back before drifting out under pressure. Suraj rode a nice and balanced race on Eagle Claws and drove her to a popular victory. In all probability, Eagle Claws shall next appear in the Bangalore 1000 Guineas.

Abnoba picked up the lower division of the same trophy. Prithviraj decided to take some weight off her back by entrusting her to an apprentice boy. Kiran Rai was totally at sea while guiding the fortunes of this filly. He got caught in a traffic jam and travelled in mid division till entering the straight. The fancied pair of Sure Speed and Spark Of Silver were equally uncomfortable at the same juncture. The field was tightly bunched up at the bend. A nice opening appeared on the rails and Abnoba was quick to seize it.

She emerged from the pack and bounded forward. She responded brilliantly to Kiran Rai's pushing and sailed away to register a comfortable victory over a late finishing Super Gold. Spark Of Silver and Sure Speed struggled to fill the rest of the frame. Jockey John enabled Prithviraj to complete his treble. Baton Rouge was backed to the exclusion of his rivals to win a seven furlong race in Class III. He was attempting to defy a huge penalty that he had recieved at Mysore.

Since his "distance" victory had been achieved in similar going, the connections were confident that he would run well today. John allowed the speedy Corleone to lead till the bend before beginning his charge. Baton Rouge improved with each stride and managed to lead into the final furlong. Even though Mystere and Youre Kiss's Due posed a serious challenge, the well bred horse managed to keep his neck in front. It was a real hard fought victory, and it may be a good idea to give Baton Rouge a well deserved rest. Youre Kiss's Due ran a game race despite her heavy impost. Neil Darashah has a readymade winner in this filly, and she will be too good to miss at a low weight in the higher class. Another horse that left a fine impression today was the Attaolahi trained Six Gun Smith.

This sparingly raced son of Six Speed had run only once at Mysore. His close fourth over seven furlongs was indicative of a bright future. It did not take long for the stable to strike with him. Running in the day's opener, this well supported runner made mincemeat of his opposition. Ryan Marshall took him to the front ,and looked back repeatedly before easing him into a steady canter. He clocked one of the best timings during the afternoon. Srinath ridden Mark Of Genius was unable to concede weight to the winner. Six Gun Smith can be supported confidently in his next start. The most exciting finish of the day was reserved for the last race of the day. Suraj Narredu was attempting to complete a double astride a horse trained by his father, while Imran Khan was attempting to do the same astride the Ganapathy trained Misty Moonlight.

Nectar Crown had shown sparkle in his last start and had been shaping well in his morning trials. He was recieving weight from Misty Moonlight and Sky Drive. Suraj allowed Misty Moonlight to go to the front and chased her till the bend. It became a two horse affair thereafter, as the pair of them began to go away from the others. The two horses fought a really close battle till the last few strides, before the top weighted filly "caved-in" and surrendered her lead to Nectar Crown. Trillion Win came with a long stretch run to occupy the third spot.