A long and well packed card of nine events was held on Saturday at Bangalore. For the first time this season, racing was kind to the punters, as most of the races were won by strongly fancied horses. The Dariya Daulat Cup, a mile handicap for horses in the highest class, was listed as the day’s feature. There were thirteen acceptors in this race. Barring Zultanite, who had just joined this group by virtue of his triumph in a lower category, the other twelve had been racing regularly against each other. Zultanite was considered to be a formidable force in this race. His racing record made impressive reading. The colt had run only four times in his career. Starting with a win on debut about two years ago, he had won three out of his four starts. Because of a number of setbacks in training, this horse had been raced sparingly. His only defeat had come in The Bangalore Derby. Starting as a fancied runner, he had returned lame after that race. For that very reason, he had stayed away from a race track for most of 2012. A fortnight ago, he had made a successful comeback to racing. He had signaled his return to prime form by posting a bloodless victory over seven furlongs. Even though he had received a stiff penalty for that success, he was an on-money favourite in today’s feature. Spark Of Silver was second-in-demand at 8/1, while you could literally write your own card on the others.

Rezoom and Aristos were pushed in the early stages, and the pair led the thirteen horse field till the bend. With Zultanite and Spark Of Silver traveling comfortably in mid division, the field was fairly strung out as the runners tackled the first half of their journey. Aristos brought them into the straight, and with Mudassar using his stick, was still ahead at the two furlong marker. Suraj was yet to make his move astride Zultanite, and the favourite was traveling comfortably till that point in time. Srinath astride Spark Of Silver and Martin Wepnor on Golden Viper had already put their mounts under pressure. The backers of Zultanite were quite hopeful at this stage. The colt was blessed with a sparkling turn of foot, and it was felt that the moment Suraj asks him to quicken, his mount would give him the desired response. However, they were disappointed to see what transpired. Joining the issue in the final furlong, Zultanite went ahead of Aristos. But he wasn’t able to sustain his progress. Zultanite caved-in under pressure and was passed by Spark Of Silver near the winning post. Srinath rode a strong finish astride the winner. Golden Viper moved the fastest in the final stages of this race and ended a very close third. A couple of things emerged from this result. The first pertained to Zultanite. It was obvious that he had found the mile a bit too long for his liking. The second, and most obvious one, was the run of Golden Viper. He showed that he will be a tough customer over anything longer than today’s trip.

The TB Hanumantharaj Memorial Cup was slated as the added attraction in the day’s card. With a number of highly regarded three year olds accepting to participate over 1400 metres, this race looked like a potboiler. Athletic Star, Diamonite , Samara Sun and Ratham cornered most of the betting. Since most of them were drawn on the wide outside, it took them a while to get into favourable positions. Meghalaya, Sandstorm and Clever Trick were well placed at the bend. Martin Wepnor seized a lucky opening on the rails and managed to take Clever Trick to the front. Paul Mulrennan brought Diamonite with a smooth run through the middle and wrested the advantage as they progressed towards the finishing line. However, it was the marvelous acceleration shown by Dhariwal’s Ratham that settled the final result of this event. Responding gallantly to David Allan’s handling, Ratham came with giant strides to beat the leading pair near the winning post. Last outing winners Athletic Star and Samara Sun ran poorly to finish off the frame.

Ratham gave Dhariwal his second winner of the day , as he had already won the day’s opener with Cristoffe. A modest set of eight two year olds were seeking their maiden success. On the basis of some smart trackwork, Satish Narredu’s Homeric headed the betting charts. But a look at him in the paddock did not generate much enthusiasm. The well bred pair of Cristoffe and Strombolite looked better than the others. With money flowing in the direction of Cristoffe, the Dhariwal trainee started as a clear favourite in this race. Vaibhav seized the early advantage on the rails by pushing Cristoffe ahead of the Super Silver and Strombolite. Homeric was seen struggling to keep face with the three ahead of him. With the others getting tired at the bend, the race became a duel between Cristoffe and Strombolite. B Paswan brought the latter towards the inside rails and tried his best to overtake the leader. In the end, it was Cristoffe that held onto his early advantage and won by a slender margin from Strombolite. The runner-up is sure to strip fitter after this experience.

Another trainer to score a double today was Tharun Thimmaiah. Sweet Angel and Viva Diva won their races in contrasting fashion. Sweet Angel was the public choice in a sprint for horses in the lowest category. The filly had failed to achieve success thus far in her career. After running prominently till the bend, she would always fail to contain her challengers. Even though there was some support for Law Of The Land and Ice Kingdom, it was Sweet Angel that got backed down to even-money favouritism. Vaibhav rode her in his customary fashion by rushing her to the front. She held a healthy advantage over Gol Matol and Law Of The Land till the bend. At this stage, she increased the tempo. The ones that were close behind her failed to quicken and fell by the wayside. It was left to Blues Legend and Ice Kingdom to weave their way through a bunch of tired runners. Both of them came fast at the end, but the winning post came to the rescue of the favourite. Ice Kingdom looks like a readymade winner in her next start.

Viva Diva gave jockey Ahsan Qureshi his first winner this season. The last race of the day looked like a wide open affair. Salsa Touch happened to be the first favourite at 4/1. With fifteen runners charging out of the gates near the seven furlong pole, it was a tightly packed field that entered the straight. Rusty, The Senator, Wonder Lash and Fantastic Strike were at the helm of affairs. After a bit of jostling and getting sorted out near the two furlong marker, Fantastic Strike and Wonder Lash assumed command of the situation. Wonder Lash was definitely traveling better than Fantastic Strike at this stage. However, it was Viva Diva that started  to make up much ground on the wide outside. In a matter of a few strides, she joined the leaders. With Qureshi riding confidently, Viva Diva went onto complete a rare double for Tharun’s stable.

Puttanna trained Will Star extended the march of the favourites by annexing the upper division of a sprint reserved for horses rated 20-45. Will Star had the best form amongst the nine runners. His main threat may have emanated from Anfield, but with the latter suffering from colic early in the morning, he was declared a non-starter. On paper, Astonishing and Prince Of Darkness appeared to have a chance, but a mere look at them in the paddock showed that they were far from”ready”. This made Will Star’s job extremely easy. Ashok Kumar tucked him nicely behind Amar Prem and Magic Wave , and released his grip only in the straight. Will Star bounded forward and skipped many lengths clear of Another Voice and Gift Of Love. One should not get carried away by this performance, as it was achieved against some very poor opponents. Since the handicapper is bound to give him a stiff penalty, Will Star may take a while before re-entering the winner’s enclosure.

Attaolahi trained Saltoftheearth was the shortest priced favourite to score during the afternoon. He had been fancied a couple of times in maiden company, but the three year old had been unfortunate to run into some smart youngsters. The trainer chose to run him in a sprint handicap on Saturday. He was lucky to be placed in the lower half of this divided event. The presence of PS Chouhan in the saddle enthused many to go “nap” on him. The free striding horse performed on expected lines and cantered away from Isle Of Fire, Corleone and Better Than Ever. In a totally one-sided affair, Saltoftheearth was never off the bit while sauntering clear of his much inferior opponents.

Chouhan completed a quick double by steering Sriram Komandur’s Final Countdown to a thrilling victory. In the hands of an inexperienced apprentice, this horse had shocked money-back favourite Icelander in his previous start. Even though he was carrying a winning penalty, it was felt that with the champion jockey on board, he would be able to repeat that performance. Dominic trained Bessie was a live threat in this event. The filly had the credentials to topple the favourite. In the end, the two of them fought a stirring duel down the length of the straight. Chouhan exploited Final Countdown’s early speed to advantage. He took his mount to the front and came the shortest way home. On the other hand, Bessie was caught wide in the back-stretch and Martin Wepner had no choice but to wait till the bend. Even there, he was forced to skirt the front-runners and produce her on the centre of the track. Bessie made up many lengths on Final Countdown, but was fractionally “shy” at the wire. She was distinctly unlucky to fail today.

Strongly supported Violent Storm justified the confidence of his backers by posting an easy victory in the upper division of the above-mentioned sprint. While Dominic’s Bessie had failed to overpower Final Countdown in that race, Violent Storm’s victory brought a smile back to his face. Since Violent Storm had repeatedly failed over seven furlongs, the connections chose to revert  to a shorter trip today. They further enhanced his chances by claiming an allowance and lightening his burden by two kilos. Apprentice Noornabi rode a neat race while guiding him successfully across the wire. Allowing the speedy pair of Scenic Blast and Catamaran to lead him into the straight, the boy waited patiently till that stage. Creeping smoothly through the inner rails, Violent Storm made his way towards the leaders. A couple of taps with the whip produced further acceleration. Violent Storm lengthened his strides and romped home to an easy triumph over Catamaran, Scenic Blast and a late finishing Hillstone. The placed horses finished in a heap and a camera had to be consulted to separate the three of them.