For the third consecutive race day this season, trainer Padmanabhan saddled the winner in the feature event framed for the afternoon. It was the turn of Queen Rania to make her master proud, when she decimated the opposition in The F K Irani Memorial Cup, the main event in Friday's race card at Bangalore. This well bred five year old was rated highly by the stable before she suffered a setback in training. Prior to that period, she had beaten Splendid Surprise in a rich terms race for three year olds at Mysore. The latter had subsequently gone on to win the Mysore Derby. Queen Rania was known to posess the ability to tackle today's opposition, but the question that faced the racegoers was the progress that she may have made after winning her previous start in the lower class. She had clocked a moderate timing on that occasion, as also, a few of the beaten brigade had performed listlessly thereafter. Ganapathy's Queen's Guest was considered to be a serious threat to Queen Rania. She had progressed nicely as a three year old and was bidding for the fifth victory of her career. Although Queen Rania opened as an even money favourite, a late surge of money on Queen's Guest saw the two of them reach the starting gates as joint leaders on the betting boards. The race itself turned out to be a procession. Queen Rania jumped out smartly and Chris Hayes was happy to ease her into a comfortable lead ahead of Queen's Guest, Dinesa, Logan's Run and Aurelian. She was travelling well within herself as they entered the home straight. To the delight of her numerous supporters, Queen Rania began to draw away from the opposition. Her jockey looked back repeatedly to find the others struggling in the rear. He relaxed his hold on her and passed the winning post in a commendable timing of a fraction more than 1 minute and 12 seconds. Queen Rania showed remarkable improvement in her known form, and it would be worthwhile supporting her in her future engagements. Mercurial and Logan's Run filled the rest of the frame, while Queen's Guest found herself to be totally out of depth in the highest class. Chris Hayes thus completed his double, as he had already scored with Cayenne in the only maiden's race of the day. A very ordinary bunch of youngsters lined up for the New Year Cup over 1100 metres. There was one sided support for Cayenne as she had displayed her abilities in her earlier start. This small made filly from Dhariwal's stable proved to be too speedy for her opponents, as she made all the running to win ahead of Rugged Beauty, Pearl Of Bangalore and Lowndes Square. The last two were given educative runs by their respective jockeys. They are capable of winning in a similar set in the future. The other professional to share the day's honours was Samuel Fargeat. He rode a double astride Henry's Secret and Glorious Princess. On Henry's Secret, he had to work extremely hard while overtaking the front running Redshift and Seven Star. The big made Henry's Secret has responded well to Neil Darashah's training and seems to revel over longer trips. He was getting stronger at the end of the mile and a quarter trips in this race. The victory astride Glorious Princess was gained with ease, as the filly proved to be too powerful for Lady Banks and the early leader Join The Party. The winner was sighted a long way from home as she was travelling well within herself in the first half of the race. The other prominent race of the day was The Saptharishi Trophy. This was a mile and a quarter event for horses in class II. It was an open betting affair with Star Of Washington being marginally favoured ahead of the others. Able Associate, Undue, Desert Rule and Timeless Treasure were fancied by their respective camps. Trainer Prithviraj's confidence in Timeless Treasure was finally rewarded. Appu rode a confident race on this gelding, as he settled him nicely before making use of his handicap advantage and charging for home. Timeless Treasure held on to his slender advantage over a late finishing Able Associate. Undue was a fair third ahead of Saptashwa. Star Of Washington ran a pathetic race and finished off the board. Appu's joy was shortlived, as he met with an accident in the seventh race of the day. His mount Opprimo clipped the heels of a frontrunner and stumbled. Appu had a bad fall and is reported to have fractured his hand. He may have to sit out for the rest of this season. The said race was won near the post by Lock And Load, who beat Siberean Princess by a whisker. Both of them were making their seasonal debuts and were looking a trifle gross in the paddock. The pair of them should be supported with confidence in their next run. Another performance that caught the eye came from the Byramji trained Alcmene. Apprentice Shiva Kumar continued his good work by taking this filly on a start-to-finish mission and staved off a strong challenge from a hard ridden Supreme Splendour. Jockey Srinath tried his best on the runner-up but found the task impossible. Alcmene was a brilliant performer as a three year old when she had beaten the highly regarded Mark Of Gibraltar. Alcmene's return to fitness augurs well of her connections, and she can be expected to improve from her present mark. Rebellious ran on from the rear to finish a fair third. It was a bleak afternoon for the followers of the biggest racing establishment at Bangalore. Resounding Glory, Star Of Washington, Queen's Guest, Supreme Splendour and Lady Banks were strongly fancied in their respective events. A couple of them ran second while the rest struggled to fill the frame.