A couple of horses owned by Dr Vijay Mallya dominated the nine-event card framed for Saturday's racing at Bangalore. While Cielo Rey (Burden Of Proof – Ciel Fleuri) outpaced his rivals in the day's feature, a three-year-old debutante colt named Casanova (Burden Of Proof - Cesandri) showed signs of maturing into a fine specimen. The manner and style in which they won today, confirmed the fact that future successes for them were a distinct possibility. The Chief Minister's Trophy, a terms race over a mile and a quarter, attracted eight acceptors. Three Derby hopefuls were set to test their skills against a group of older horses. Even though Braavo, Airplay and Ordained One were rated much lower than the others, their stables were confident of a good showing from these youngsters. On the basis of her current form, past performances and a high rating, Neil Darashah's Youre So Beautiful was installed as the first favourite. She had returned to Bangalore after a brief campaign at Pune, where the five-year-old had finished as a runner-up in all three starts. A splayed shoe at a crucial juncture had stopped her from winning one of those events. She had earlier won the 1000 Guineas at Bangalore, before finishing second to Becket in The Bangalore Derby. She had shown out in a mock race on the local track, and according to most track reporters, Youre So Beautiful was looking spot-on for this race. She was fancied ahead of Airplay and Braavo.

Mr. Zeyn Mirza & Trainer S S Attaollahi leading Cielo Ray (P Mulrennan Up), winner of The Chief Minister's Cup The runners took off to a level start, with Paul Mulrennan and Cielo Rey darting to the front and showing the way to Braavo and Ordained One. The others were strung out in single file, and the two market choices graced the rear. Srinath decided to race Youre So Beautiful off-the-pace, while Chris Hayes and Airplay were finding it tough to keep in touch with the early leaders. The scene remained unaltered till they began to take the home bend. Cielo Rey lengthened his strides and powered away from a hard-ridden Braavo. The only thing that changed in the final stages was a late charge by Youre So Beautiful. The mare came along the rails, and improved her position in the straight. She managed to finish on the haunches of Braavo while taking the third spot. Ordained One plodded along to finish a tame fourth, while Airplay stopped in his tracks to end last of eight runners. The Dhariwal camp was planning to run Airplay in the Derby, but after today's performance, it is possible that they may change his programme.Cielo Rey was winning a race after a gap of almost one year. Trainer Attaolahi must be complimented for bringing him back into prime form, and this talented horse looks capable of scoring again.

Dhariwal trained Casanova put up an impressive show by running away with the upper division of a juvenile event this afternoon. The colt was a joint favourite alongside Neil Darashah's Polaris. While Polaris was running after an earlier outing, this was Casanova's first start. Both the runners played-up on the way to the starting gates, and gave a lot of trouble to the handlers. However, they remained calm after being stalled. Casanova jumped smartly and sailed into a comfortable lead ahead of Admiral, Rhythmic Dancer , Polaris and Mountain Range. Chris Hayes allowed him to find his rhythm in the straight, before popping the question. A couple of cracks of the whalebone,combined with some aggressive pushing, saw Casanova darting forward. He won unchallenged from a late finishing Polaris, Mountain Range and Admiral. Considering the fact that this was his first career start, it was indeed praiseworthy. Casanova's winning time was equivalent to that clocked by more mature horses in the higher classes. This brother of Captivating looks destined for a bright future.

Trainer Dhariwal had the distinction of saddling another juvenile to win the lower division of this maidens event. Another progeny of Midtown came storming from the back to win this race. I Specialist (Midtown-My Fantasy) had to dig deep into his reserves to move forward from a difficult position at the bend, and withhold a late challenge from Nearness Of You at the wire. The rangy colt took time to get into his strides, but once he did so, it was evident that he would emerge victorious. Nearness Of You made up acres of ground from the rear to finish just half a length behind the winner. The well-bred filly (Placerville- Forest Fantasy) will be too good to miss in her next start. The rest of the runners in this race were a tired lot in the straight, and all of them will need to improve a lot before entering the winner's enclosure.

Irfan Ghatala , Prithviraj and Suraj Sarredu were the other professional's who scored "doubles" on Saturday afternoon. Suraj rode a winner each for the two trainers. He first guided Prithviraj's Wild Nexus (Emerald Cat – Nasreen) to his maiden victory. The dickey-legged winner had been strongly fancied on a couple of earlier occasions. In both his starts this season, Wild Nexus had led into the final furlong before getting tired. Suraj decided to ride him differently today. He chose to ride him off the pace, and made his bid only in the straight. Wild Nexus swept past Sky Rider and Alexander Helios to register a facile victory. Second favourite Sunset Grill was curiously ridden in this race. Selvaraj kept this filly in last position before making his move. She flew in the end to finish alongside Sky Rider, and took the third spot. Sunset Grill was running after a longish break, and it is possible that she may have needed this start. Sunset Grill looks unbeatable in her next outing.

Last outing winner Lad Fury (Ikhtyar – Fly The Fury) had left a fine impression while winning his maiden race in December. The handicapper had seemed harsh when he had placed Lad Fury in Class III. However, the punters refused to look beyond this fluent galloper while selecting a winner in the last race of the day. Irfan Ghatala's Lad Fury justified their confidence by posting a fluent victory. Suraj took a good jump from the innermost draw before allowing Foswell and Day Trader to take over the running. One For The Money and Mystic Dawn were in close attendance, as the runners entered the straight. Foswell began to tire thereafter, and Suraj decided that it was time to move. He pushed Lad Fury and asked him to quicken. The response was almost immediate, and the race was as good as over. Lad Fury skipped away to keep One For The Money and Mystic Dawn at bay.

Irfan's other winner was Montedoro (Itaquere Power – Superiority). This was another runner who had won his previous start. The trainer took a decision to marginally offset the winning penalty by utilizing the services of apprentice N Rajesh. This move proved to be decisive at the end, as Montedoro raised a late gallop to nail the early leaders Jaldi and Citrali near the winning post. Gift Of Love ran prominently before fading from the scene. Montedoro seems to like it a bit longer, and looks capable of scoring another point for his stable before the end of this season.

PS Chouhan rode a power-packed finish while guiding Prithviraj's Prashastha (Junper – Madamoiselle) to a narrow victory over public choice Super Spectacle. The Satish Narredu-trained favourite had made a fine debut this season by winning untroubled from The Dawn. The horse looked much fitter after that experience, and the fact that he had been retained in the same class, seemed like an added advantage. Suraj allowed the even-money choice to race on the haunches of Prashastha, and made his move only in the straight. However, he soon realized that he had a fight on his hands. Chouhan had managed to skip away in the straight, and that small advantage proved to be decisive at the end. A hard-ridden Super Spectacle made up some ground in the final furlong, but that wasn't enough as Prashastha lasted out to win by a narrow margin. Sun Gold came from the rear of the pack to end a very close third.

The Satish Narredu camp had some consolation when the Appu-ridden Elusive Speed (China Visit – Stream Of Love) sported a pair of wings to spreadeagle the opposition in a sprint for horses in Class IV. He flew in the final stages to lower the colours of Don Diego. The latter has run as a favourite on numerous occasions, and has repeatedly let down a horde of followers. Once again, he ran listlessly to end a tame second. A hard-ridden Natural Force managed to save place money for his camp. Elusive Speed is another horse that is capable of defying his winning penalty.