A superb display of riding skills by Anthony Crastus enabled the Suleiman Attaollahi stable to dominate Friday's racing action at Bangalore. The two of them combined effectively to score a long-priced double with Scarlette and Sovetskaya. The Frenchman rode with great aplomb to floor his opponents. The Hoysala Trophy, a seven furlong handicap for horses in Class II, happened to be the day's feature. The presence of three year old Chemin De Fer had scared away a number of entrants, and only eight of them had accepted to face the starter. After winning her maiden race, Chemin De Fer had run brilliantly to finish close behind Black Magic Woman and Southern Bay at Bangalore. In her only subsequent start, the filly had received one-sided support to beat a tightly handicapped field in class III. She was unlucky to have lost that day to Silken Touch. Chemin De Fer had conceded chunks of weight to the winner in that race and had failed in an extremely close finish. Silken Touch had gone on to win at Mysore before ending a close second in the 1000 Guineas at Hyderabad. The fact that Southern Bay had won the 1000 Guineas at both Mysore and Bangalore, and Black Magic Woman had franked that form by winning a class I race at Mahalakshmi, was enough to see Chemin De Fer starting as the shortest priced favourite in the day's card.

Martin Dwyer allowed Scarlette to go to the front and was content to race Chemin De Fer behind the leader. For a brief moment Chemin De Fer was headed for the second berth by Deep Blue Sky, but that did not last long. Anthony had Scarlette on a tight leash at the top of the bend, while Martin Dwyer was busy astride the favourite. It was an unequal contest thereafter. The moment the jockey released the brakes on Scarlette, the race was over. She responded brilliantly to his urgings and sailed away for an emphatic victory. Camelot came with a steady gallop in the straight to all but topple Chemin de Fer from the second spot. Trainer Attaollahi has done very well with Scarlette. After finishing fourth in The Indian 1000 Guineas, the filly suffered a serious setback and was almost retired to stud. She seems to have found her rhythm once again and has been racing sound for the last many months. She can be expected to improve from her present mark.

Anthony reserved his best for the last race of the afternoon. Partnering Attaollahi's Sovetskaya, he showed immaculate judgement of pace in this race. Having partnered Sovetskaya in her morning trials, he gauged her abilities. With money flowing in the direction of Colour Of Money and Thoughts And Actions, the odds against Chul Bul Pandy, Sovetskaya and Red Bolt expanded with the passage of time. Chul Bul Pandy took a smart jump and led by a couple of lengths from Colour Of Money. The others led by Red Bolt were seen struggling to keep up with the fast pace set by the two leaders. Overcoming an extreme draw, Sovetskaya was seen gracing the back end of a tightly packed field, as the runners turned for home. With none of the others managing to go near Chul Bul Pandy, it was left to Sovetskaya to chase the leader. She moved up on the wide outside and was soon in contention. She gained further momentum to coast past the front-runner and claims an easy victory. Anthony Crastus had judged the early pace to a nicety and shown that it isn't always necessary to hustle a horse in the early stages of a race.

Another professional to score more than once today was PS Chouhan. The leading jockey rode with great aplomb to win with Delta Delight and Rich Radiant. His riding on Puttanna's Delta Delight came in for a lot of praise from those present at the course. He literally snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by riding a powerhouse finish on this runner. Amit Caddy's Ibelieveinmiracles and Delta Delight were equally supported by their respective connections. The two market fancies were led by Will Still till the two furlong marker. Ibelieveinmiracles was a couple of lengths ahead of Delta Delight at that stage. With Chouhan make free use of his whip, Delta Delight made his charge on the wide outside. Spaniard Jorge was caught in two minds. He took time to decide as to whether he should use his whip or not. Ibelieveinmiracles and Delta Delight raced alongside for rest of the way. The superior riding of Chouhan enabled this Puttanna ward to land the first prize. A mere neck separated the two of them at the finish. Will Still ambled along to retain the third spot ahead of Abracadabra.

Chouhan's win on Prithviraj's Rich Radiant was much easier. The bottom-weighted filly had given signals of an early triumph by running an easy fourth at the beginning of this season. She had run against some good three year olds in that race. In the midst of horses in her own age group today, she was backed with confidence. Chouhan chose to ride her in check, and allowed Supremacy, Fist Of Rage and Royal Surprise to lead on sufferance. He changed gears at the top of the bend and switched his mount towards the centre of the track. She ploughed through the field and seized the initiative. It was easy thereafter. Rich Radiant won on tight reins from a hard ridden pair of Sky Diver and Lester. The winner is in fine form and Prithviraj is likely to exploit her over a longer trip later in the season.

A terms race for maiden three year olds attracted a bunch of non-performed horses. On the basis of a faraway second at Mysore, Tharun trained Raaga cornered a lot of attention and started as an odds-on choice in this race. The lack of a serious opponent led to such a scenario. The only one amongst the others who had placed a couple of times in summer was Right On Time. The filly received late support to climb the betting charts. With Right On Time losing a lot of ground at the start, and Raaga bursting a blood vessel during the running of this race, there was bound to be an upset. Lokanath's Silver Stone came with smooth strides in the straight to sail past a tired Invincible Shot. Right On Time made up acres of ground from the tail end of the pack to finish a good third. This Dominic trainee must be considered "unlucky" as she could have easily won this race. The winner paid more than 50/1 at the totalizators.

However, Dominic was luckier in a subsequent event. He had chosen to lighten the burden on Violent Storm by entrusting him to apprentice Noornabi. This fancied runner failed to keep-up with the early pace set by La Clique, and was seen dropping back in the initial stages of this race. Running sixth at the top of the bend, Violent Storm had no option but to travel towards the outer strip of the track. The lack of a whip made his job extremely tough. Noornabi put his head down and kept pushing the three year old. In a sudden turn of events, the scene altered alarmingly. While La Clique and Maverical stopped in their tracks, Violent Storm kept improving with each stride. He hit the front in the last fifty metres and kept a late rushing Beau Sancy at bay. Maverical and La Clique filled the rest of the frame.

The day began with a couple of scurry events reserved for horses in the lowest category. A pair of maidens were able to win for the first time in their careers. Sharat Kumar's Silver Sceptre received late support to displace Star Crest from the top of the betting boards. Since the four year old was known to lack early speed, it was a bit strange to see such support for him. However, Silver Sceptre confirmed that the money was rightly placed. Jockey Rathod gave him a couple of cracks in the initial stages and had him well positioned thereafter. Silver Sceptre bounded away from the pack and established a nice looking lead in the straight. The only one that moved from the back was Inayathulla's Indian Pride. She came menacingly in the final furlong and the 100/1 rank outsider all but caught the leader. Star Crest managed to finish a faraway third.

Three year old Scenic Blast had flopped pathetically during summer and had been relegated to the lowest class. There was no doubt that he possessed speed, but he was also known to stop alarmingly in the straight. This horse had changed stables in recent months. He was running in the charge of Prasanna Kumar on Friday. With money flowing in the direction of Hot Stuff and Diamond Flame, the other runners were completely ignored from a betting perspective. Hot Stuff's third in the summer season coupled with his smart effort in a mock race last month, was enough to see the price shortening on him. The presence of Suraj Narredu added to the aura around this runner. While Scenic Blast did the custmary front-running, the two fancied horses were seen toiling to keep up with him. Hot Stuff was the first one beaten in this race. He felt the pressure and faded from the scene. Diamond Flame responded to the stick and moved towards the leader. However, Scenic Blast kept moving under John and managed to retain his lead till the very end.