Jockey David Allan rode an impeccable race while guiding the fortunes of Icebreaker (Alnasr Alwasheek- Iceberg) to victory in The Bangalore Oaks (Grade II), the feature event in Saturday's race card at Bangalore. He judged the pace perfectly and gave this well bred filly every opportunity to stay the mile and a half trip that she was handling for the first time in her career. The highest rated filly amongst the eleven starters was considered by the "Pundits" to be a doubtful stayer. Icebreaker had beaten the same group of fillies in The Bangalore 1000 Guineas about five weeks ago with a measure of comfort. Many had opined that the pace in that particular race had been slow, and that the "Mile Classic" had gotten converted into a four furlong sprint. They wanted to see how this brilliant filly would handle this long and tiring trip today. Trainer Padmanabhan had no doubts about her ability to handle the present opposition, and felt that a good horse should never be faulted till it gives you a reason to do so. Icebreaker had done everything that he had trained her to do, and handled the extensive distance training in the past month with confidence. He had stated in a pre-race chat with "Indiarace",that he would not have come into this race with an expensive late entry ,unless he thought that Icebreaker had a realistic chance of winning this race. She entered the paddock looking better than she had ever looked, and the long gap since her previous start had done her a world of good. This was ample reason for the punters to back her down from 2/1 to 16/10 in this third classic of the season. The other runner to impress on paddock looks was the Arjun Mangalorkar trained Abs Fabs (Burden Of Proof-Sunny Clime). On all known form, this filly was the best stayer in this field. Abs Fabs had handled the soft underfoot conditions as well as the gruelling Mysore Derby trip with maturity, and confirmed that stamina is her forte. Arjun was hopeful that if Mallesh Narredu is able to get the first run on entering the straight, it may take a very good horse to catch up with her. At the same time he also admitted that Icebreaker is a really good filly. Abs Fabs had many supporters and she reached the starting gates as the 4/1 second favourite. The odds against the Prakash ridden Star Wave began to expand rapidly, and it was evident that her stable was not very optimistic about her chances. The race itself was pretty interesting. Shoot A Rainbow, Spark Of Elegance and Violet Honey set a strong pace in front of a tightly packed field, as they traversed the first half of this event. The three fancied runners were racing in the rear. Icebreaker was third last with Star Wave right behind her and Abs Fabs content to stay at the tail end of the pack. Shoot A Rainbow parted company with jockey De Souza near the four furlong post, and we had a new leader in Violet Honey. The field began to open up as the front-runners got tired and started to drop through the field. The fancied ones began to move up with Icebreaker showing a lot of intent, after being held on a leash for most of the way. She came through the middle of the pack and sailed into the lead. Mallesh brought Abs Fabs on the wide outside and went in chase of the favourite. With whips flying and the crowds cheering, the duo began to draw away from the others. Icebreaker dug deep into her reserves and responded to David Allan's urgings. Abs Fabs was making up ground on the leader but never looked threatening. Icebreaker passed the winning post a length and a quarter ahead of Abs Fabs, who in turn was almost a distance clear of Chimerique and Star Wave at the finish. The winner was welcomed back with a huge applause from the stands. This effort culminated in Padmanabhan and David celebrating a memorable weekend ,and giving Captain Jamshed Appu a fabulous New Year gift with Rhapsidion Snow yesterday and Icebreaker in today's Classic. Incidentally, they had another winner during the afternoon. Pelikano gave David Allan an armchair ride to victory while making all the running in a mile event for horses in Class IV. Both the fillies performed creditably. Abs Fabs lives to fight another day. Icebreaker and Abs Fabs will meet next in the Bangalore Derby, where they will try to down the colours of Fleeting Arrow. The rest of the beaten brigade in today's race was out of depth in this event, and may revert to handicap company in their future engagements. Jockey De Souza gave a scare to his fans by remaining unconcious for sometime. A report from the hospital, later in the evening, confirmed that he was out of danger. Neil Darashah and Samuel Fargeat were the other duo to shine on a day when favourites struck with regularity and delighted the railbirds. They won twice with their youngsters and took both the divisions of a scurry for maiden horses three years old only. The filly Hatsuhaana is bred as a full sister to Fleeting Arrow. She accelerated nicely to collar the front running Real Magic and retired as an easy winner of her race. Their other winner was Rashida. This was Rashida's third run in as many months, and she had been knocking on the door in her previous starts. There was fair support for the Prakash ridden Special Charm, but none could match strides with Rashida. The favourite took over at the bend and sailed away to an effortless victory. Well bred Time Flies ran green and should be a different horse in his next start. The other "Double" in the day came from apprentice Shiva Kumar.It was a special day for him as he completed riding the first ten winners of his career. The boy will now have the use of a whip. He won the last two races in the day's card with Samar Singh's Black Splendour, and Byramji's On The Dot. The margins of victory were not huge, but the style of riding was almost similar. He took good jumps on both the winners and went into the lead after straightening for home. Shiva Kumar is getting his opportunities, and the youngster is riding with confidence. Another talking point at the course was the maiden appearance of three year old Star Of Marmalade (Placerville-Mystic Memory) on the local track. This well bred horse had been purchased for a huge sum, and was supposed to be special. There is no doubt that he is a nice and well conformed horse. He was looking a trifle gross in the paddock, but that is normal for most babies. He was being campaigned over seven furlongs in The A P Kothavala Memorial Cup. Star Of Marmalade was kept in a handy second position behind Agility, before Prakash decided that it was time to make a move. The favourite responded like a mature horse and lengthened his strides. A late bid from Majestic Strides saw this Fargeat ridden gelding finishing close to the winner. More will be heard about the winner in the coming months. The runner-up should be able to win his next start. The only other race in the day produced one of the finest finishes this season. Chris Hayes on Astounding Blue and David Allan on Royal Treasure were seen matching strides for almost two furlongs before the camera separated them by a short head. It was anybody's race till the last stride. To the joy of the racegoers, favourite Astounding Blue was declared the winner.