Alylady won the inaugural day’s feature of the Bangalore Winter Races quite easily but the outcome of the race could well have been different if Symphony of Fire did not have her way completely choked at a crucial stage of the race. Sprinters Cup heroine Symphony of Fire who seemed to have lost her form totally, looked much better than she did at Mysore and showed a vast improvement in her performance despite carrying a back-breaking load of 64 kgs. The daughter of Bold Russian is on a comeback trail and after this impressive run, she can be expected to reverse the trend of dismal failures.

Arjun Mangalorkar’s Yewall, who had finished second best on three occasions during the Mysore season, was more favoured than the rest in the Krishnaraja Wadiyar Cup but the son of Sir Bordeaux didn’t impress in the paddock parade. Jockey Mark Gallagher took Yewall on a start to finish mission but found the reserves running out on the favourite as Alylady flashed home on the outside. In the meanwhile, Symphony of Fire coming through the middle appeared to be full of running but Axe had her passage blocked totally and Appu had no other go but to check her progress totally. Alylady kicked clear to post a comfortable win as by the time Symphony of Fire could get out of the mess, the Inayathulla ward had gone away beyond her reach. Yewall just about held on to the runner-up berth while Pride Estates who was putting in good work at the finish, was a suggestive fourth.

The first day’s card appeared to be dicey, as it was difficult to predict winners with any degree of conviction. The upset results that came about were not exactly a surprise but not the way it happened in a couple of races. In the day’s opener, favourite Thrill of Success did not run true to expectations and rank outsider Authentic Power won at the expense of Fantastic Fortune to start trainer Mohan Valavi’s campaign on a winning note. The Stewards suspended Jockey Rakesh, who rode favourite Thrill of Success, for one year for not letting the favourite to run on merits. Further comment is superfluous.

Mohan Valavi’s wards always have this habit of upsetting everyone’s calculations. The trainer has always got good results as he is a good conditioner of the horses but his wards don’t give a clue to the public at large as to their imminent success. Winelight yet again won at nourishing odds at the expense of favourite Screen Play and Financier, the day’s supporting event, the Rajyotsava Cup. The front-running Winelight held on resolutely to win but in the process, drifted out of a straight cross, cutting Financier’s path. Jockey Shakti Singh of Financier and Harish of Screen Play objected against Surjeet Singh who rode the winner for interference but the objection was not strong enough for the Stewards to alter the results. Surjeet Singh was fined Rs 3000 for not maintaining a straight course.

Only the Prince Ardent Plate, run in two divisions, ran in favour of the punters. In the upper division, Autobahn came in for spirited betting and the ante post favourite Flying Tribute drifted out in the betting ring. Autobahn easily won at the expense of a late-finishing Flying Tribute. Altosax had the best credentials in the race but the intentions of the connections were clear when they declared jockey Jayaprakash who hasn’t won for too long for comfort. It came as no surprise as the jockey was only asked to take things easy and the Stewards slapped a suspension of a month on the jockey for unsatisfactory riding. The Stewards would do well to consider including the trainers too for punishments in such acts as it is very clear that these jockeys are doing things only on instructions because these jockeys are used to give runs while they are replaced by better jockeys when the time comes to winning. If a trainer wants to reward a jockey for being the work jockey, then they should also reward him with winning mounts too.

In the lower division of the Prince Ardent Plate, favourite Ashleen had to be driven out to contain the challenge of the front-running Aesthete. Jockey Satish Narredu used up Aesthete in opening up a big lead on the front-runners and in conditions when the going was bordering on the soft, such tactics were bound to come to grief.

Millennium Flame won at the expense of favourite Annodomini, the M M Galstaun Memorial Plate (Div I) at nourishing odds. It was a nicely brought off a coup. In the lower division of the race too, there was a quiet touch on Samar Singh’s Exstream who won at the expense of another favourite Crown Witness who came home far too late. Jockey Prakash seemed to have taken a holiday as his riding was lackluster. The jockey, who is known for positioning his wards right at the busy end, was unlike his usual self, not giving his horses any realistic chance. Jockey Shukla, who rode the fancied Always Dancing, was suspended for two races days for incompetent riding. This in short summed the day’s proceedings that saw more action in the Stewards room than on the turf!