Last outing winner Red Bolt showed further improvement while annexing The Karnataka Police Cup at Bangalore on Saturday. For the light framed four year old  this was a third straight victory, as he had won his last start in winter. Known to be a chronic bleeder, Red Bolt was acquired by trainer Dominic last year. The trainer has obviously done a wonderful job with him. What is even more interesting is the fact that this horse is yet to be touched by a whip, as he is always partnered by a whipless apprentice. Saturday's feature was a class II sprint reserved for horses aged four years old and over. Mumbai based Pure Elation came into this race with strong credentials. She had run a good fourth behind Amadeus in the highest category. The winner had gone on to break the course record at Mahalakshmi in his next start. Since Pure Elation's rating permitted her to run in the lower class, Nosher Cama selected this race for her. The six year old had worked well and she was an obvious choice of the railbirds. Attaollahi's Capote and Red Bolt had won during the opening weekend this season. Their timings and relative weights were almost similar, and therefore, there was very little to separate the two of them. The only thing against them was that both of them were running on promotion. The other nine runners had very little to support their chances.

There was a mild delay before the start of this race. Pure Elation played-up significantly in her stall and had to be pulled out. After a routine tightening of the saddle, she was re-stalled. An unruly Red Bolt slipped out of the gates, and had to be brought back. After restoring proper order, the starter dispatched them to an even break. The speedy Abnoba showed the way to Capote and Pure Elation. Red Bolt and Smile All The Way followed at regular intervals, while the others were finding it tough to keep pace with those in front of them. Capote went ahead near the two furlong pole and was a couple of lengths clear of Pure Elation. From the manner in which she was galloping, it was clear that the favourite was not going to win this race. At just about the same juncture, it was Red Bolt that caught the eye. Under some strong pushing from apprentice Noornabi, he moved menacingly along the inner rails. He continued his forward charge and managed to topple Capote near the winning post. Pure Elation ended a tame third. Capote is another horse that has struck some fine form this season. If he gets away with a light penalty for today's efforts, Capote is sure to pick up another race before the end of summer.

Four year old Klipspringer made a superb re-appearance on a race track by decimating the opposition in a sprint handicap for horses in class III. Known for swishing her tail, the well bred filly was running for the first time this year. Since she had burst a blood vessel in early December, Padmanabhan had chosen to bide his time. Being satisfied with her progress, and after subjecting her to some steady preparation, Klipspringer was entered in this race. The bookmakers installed her at the top of the betting boards, but with late support flowing in the direction of I Specialist, the two of them were equally fancied at the time of stalling. Many felt that it was going to be a close contest. However, what transpired on the track was quite a revelation. Klipspringer sprinted out of the gates and did not give any chance to her ten rivals. Even though she continued with her habits, there was none that could match strides with her. While she won by a huge margin over Brabus Speed and I Specialist, what really qualified this performance was the timing that she clocked.  She ran this sprint more than a second faster than anybody else today. Klipspringer must be strongly supported in her next start.

Irfan Ghatala's highly regarded Tiberius had lost form after some brilliant performances as a three year old. After a solitary unplaced start in winter, he was gelded. Tiberius had advertised his fitness by performing ably on the training track. Despite being ridden by an inexperienced Anjar Alam, he was strongly backed to start as a half-money favourite in this race. Most of his supporters felt that winning this race was a mere formality. However, they were in for a shock. Tiberius made heavy weather of his progress after a poor start, and could do no better than finish a tame fourth. The race was won with a start-to-finish effort by Dhariwal's Ace Blood. In the hands of P Trevor, the filly reproduced some very old form to tear away from a hard ridden Violent Storm and Free Law. After today's run, Tiberius is sure to strip fitter. With proper assistance from the saddle, this good looking horse will be -too-good-to-miss in his next start.

Suleiman Attaollahi's Absolut Gey had let down his fans on a number of occasions. The grey would always lead into the straight before getting tired. The trainer did well to run him over a sprint on Saturday and entrusted him to Zervan. Those amongst the punters who chose to give him another chance were rewarded for their persistence. Zervan chose to ride him a bit differently today. He waited behind Mountain Splendor for the first half of their journey before releasing the brakes. Absolut Grey darted forward and raced well within himself till they crossed the line. Blue Star and Muqtadir appeared late to take the minor placings. The second named lost quite a few lengths at the starting gates.

The Southern Regent Trophy, a seven furlong race for maiden three year olds seemed to be tailor-made for Sam's Pride. This Dhariwal trainee had been gelded after his winter campaign, and had come out to finish a good second in his seasonal debut a fortnight ago. He was supposed to be comfortable over the present trip, and the presence of Suraj in the saddle enthused many to support him with confidence. Incidentally, the leading jockey was still searching for his first win this summer. Making use of their innermost draw, Chouhan and Nocturnal Hunter were the first to show out in this race. Suraj was alert to the situation, and he was able to goad Sam's Pride into second spot. The rest of the runners weren't too far behind as they took the bend and straightened for home. Sam's Pride managed to wrest the initiative at this stage, but his dominance was short-lived. The on-money favourite failed to respond to the whip and his shortening strides enabled the chasing pack to get closer. San Ramon, Alderson and Attribute made a strong surge towards the winning post. Alderson managed to reach there in the nick of time to beat San Ramon, Attribute, Nocturnal Hunter and Sam's Pride. Only a length separated the five of them. There is something bothering Sam's Pride, as his movements under pressure were far from fluent. Trainer Dhariwal may try and answer that question before campaigning him again in a hurry.

The other "baby race" of the afternoon resulted in an effortless victory for Deshmukh's Vijay's Best. This Hyderabad based youngster had run only once in his career, wherein, he had finished a good fourth to stablemate Plenipotent. The fact that the latter had won a total of three races in his first season, and subsequently lost by a whisker to Maple Star in class II on the local track last week, was enough reason for Vijay's Best to start as a piping hot favourite on Saturday. The quality of his opposition had a lot to do with such a scenario. Vijays Best darted out of his extreme draw and settled comfortably behind Thunderbay as they traversed most of their journey. Chouhan allowed this got-abroad colt to cruise ahead in the final furlong and had him on a tight leash right upto the wire. It may be too early to assess his real potential, but Vijay's Best is definitely a good type of youngster. Will Star was heavily punished to finish a faraway third.

A five and a half furlong handicap for horses in class IV was split into two divisions. A large number of three year olds were running for the first time in handicap company. The withdrawal of Astonishing, Hill Country and Corleone saw a small group of seven lining up in the upper division of this race. Dominic's Point Taken was carrying the public purse, as she had emerged from the maiden ranks in winter with a nice victory over an identical trip. However, she was in no mood to gallop today. She dropped her bit after a lethargic beginning and graced the wrong end of the field for most of the way. The speedy Forthcoming capitalized on the situation by rushing to the front. Under some relentless pressure from Imran Chisty, he lengthened his strides to score comfortably from rank outsider Dancing Emeralds and gave Faraz Arshad his first winner of the season. Point Taken, who was literally detached from the field till the top of the straight, made up acres of ground to end a close third ahead of Red Admiral and the others. Point Taken looked well in the paddock and she is sure to strip fitter after today's exercise.

The day's opener was the lower division of this race. After three unplaced starts in maiden company, Prithviraj's Triple Victory was getting a lot of weight from Volcano. The filly received one-sided support at race time and the odds on her continued to shorten till the runners arrived at the starting gates. With no-hopers Saphira and Lightning Express spurting to the front, both Volcano and Triple Victory settled nicely behind the leaders and the group closely huddled as they entered the straight. Volcano moved well on the wide outside and held a slender advantage near the furlong marker. It was exactly at this stage that Triple Victory found an opening. She responded to TS Jodha's stick and joined the issue. There was no doubt thereafter that she was moving better than Volcano. Getting stronger with each stride, Triple Victory managed to gain the upper hand as they touched the wire. Volcano is capable of winning in a similar set in her next start.