A hastily put together card of eight events was framed for an extra day's racing at Bangalore on Tuesday. The Smt Saraswati Sajnani Memorial Cup, a sprint for horses rated 40-65, was accorded the pride of place as the day's feature. Despite the presence of some well performed four year olds like Free Law, Capote and Decorated, it was Irfan Ghatala's Hillfiger that garnered much support from the punters. In his only start last winter, Hillfiger had swamped the opposition while winning comfortably. At that time, he was touted as one of the good horses in Irfan's stable. Some niggling problems forced the trainer to rest him for almost a year. Hillfiger returned to racing in January 2012. In the hands of apprentice Anjar Alam, he ran a forward race to finish an unextended third. It was clear that this big-made horse would benefit from that lung-opener. His morning trials showed that he was in fine nick and the betting boards displayed the confidence of his connections. On the basis of his good third behind Sovetskaya, Free Law was considered to be his only danger.

Not wanting to take any chances, Suraj allowed Hillfiger to run freely. The horse was quick to get into rhythm, and his long strides enabled him to lead comfortably from Biutiful, Capote, Free law and Decorated. The order remained more or less the same as they took the rising ground and turned for home. Hillfiger raced well within himself till that stage and there was nothing that looked threatening from behind. The pressure began to build up in the straight. Suraj saw John and Free Law coming close to him, and the leading jockey was upto the challenge. He got Hillfiger on an even keel and rode him vigorously. The colt put his head down and galloped towards the winning post. To the delight of his fans, Hillfiger finished ahead of Free Law, Decorated and Capote. Now that Hillfiger has re-discovered his known form, it is more than likely that Irfan will win a few more races with him in the coming months. Free Law is sure to pick up a similar race in his next start.

Warren Singh was the only trainer to score more than once during the afternoon. While Brigade's Paradise won as he liked, Romance In The Air was made to sweat till the final stride. Brigade's Paradise was running in a sprint for horses in the lowest category. He had come down steadily in his ratings, and a spate of gallops on the training track showed that the five year old was ready for today's race. He was supported accordingly.  Harish was the first to take off with Brigade's Paradise, but the duo was soon passed by Cute Angel. The rest of the field was strung out in single file for most of the journey. The only thing that changed in the straight was the scene in front. Brigade's Paradise overtook Cute Angel with absolute ease and sailed away for a comfortable victory. Cute Angel retained her second place ahead of Heart Of Gold and Loving Fantasy.

The jockey and trainer of Romance In The Air earned the wrath of the Stewards after her run a few days ago. She was now running in the lower division of a sprint for horses in class II. In an open betting affair, the seven year old was backed alongside Lad Fury and The Spartan. The three of them raced prominently throughout and dominated the finish of this race. PS Chouhan eased Romance In The Air into an early lead ahead of Lad Fury and The Spartan. While the first two fought tooth and nail till the wire, The Spartan got tired and settled for the third spot. Lad Fury seemed to have the upper hand in the final furlong, but some hard riding from Chouhan allowed Romance In The Air to win on the last stride. A whip less Anjar Alam rode a neat race, but the apprentice was unable to offer anything extra at the finish.

An enterprising ride from Khurshad Alam enabled Darius Byramji's Ben Ten to win his first race of this season. The four year old had been a rousing performer last year, but a setback in training had hampered his progress. He had finished an unextended fourth behind Sunday Storm and Affirmative earlier in the season. Since Affirmative continued to be better at the weights, the Faraz Arshad trainee was the medium of some spirited betting this afternoon. Starting at a cramped 65/100, Affirmative tried to lead from the start. He was soon joined and passed by Ben Ten. Both these runners tore away from the rest and were clear of the chasing pack as they turned for home. The backers of the favourite got nervous at this stage. Despite Suraj Narredu's best efforts, Affirmative was unable to collar the leader. In fact he rolled sideways, shortened his strides and faded alarmingly. This allowed Speed Boat and Hillstone to corner the minor placings. Ben Ten got stronger at the end to win with a measure of comfort.

Tharun Thimmaiah's Viva Diva had served notice of an impending success by her performance in a previous start. An accident in the stables had forced her to withdraw from a race that was to be held a couple of weeks ago. Viva Diva was backed with confidence to score on Tuesday. The expanding odds against second favourite Sweet Angel showed that this could be a one horse affair. That is exactly what happened on the track. Imran Chisty was a picture of supreme confidence astride this filly. Viva Diva tracked Caraway and Jeyem till the bend and made her move only after entering the straight. A mere nudge from the rider was all that was required at this stage. She lengthened her strides and skipped clear of Jeyem and Caraway. In this sort of form, the four year old looks capable of defying the handicapper.

John displayed his immaculate riding skills while winning the last two races of the day. Partnering Arjun Mangalorkar's Florida, it was a change of tactics that landed the spoils. The filly was known to be a speedy type, who had always tried to run away from the field. She had flopped miserably in her last start, wherein, she had run similarly and ended a bad last. Florida was running in the same sort of company today. With money flowing in the direction of Lads Gladiator and Flying Tricolour, Florida was a relative outsider. John did not allow her to tear away in front and succeeded in settling her in mid group till the field entered the straight. Just as Flying Tricolour and Soberano were vying for command, John asked Florida to move. She came with gigantic strides and moved past the leaders. The winner succeeded in scoring by a widening three lengths from Soberano and Flying Tricolour. Lads Gladiator moved very late to end a close fourth.

Dhariwal trained Maths Baby had run twice in his short career. On both occasions, he had been beaten by top class maidens. There was no doubt that his turn would come sooner than later, as he was in good form. The presence of first-timer State Secret confused the issue. The Padmanabhan trainee was reported to be a talented specimen and the track trials indicated her readiness to strike. State Secret and Maths Baby shared favouritism ahead of Jersey Girl and Super Storm. Running over a sprint, State Secret showed plenty of early speed to lead from Magical, Jersey Girl and Maths Baby. With Martin Dwyer using his stick, the leader held fort till they reached the final furlong. It was here that Maths Baby and Jersey Girl joined the fray. Under some relentless pushing from John, Maths Baby got stronger than the others. The chestnut sealed a comfortable victory over Jersey Girl and a tired State Secret. After this "forward" outing, State Secret will be too good to miss in maiden company.