A superb display of speed enabled Dhariwal’s Cecil to run away with The Narasimharaja Cup, the lone trophy event in a card of nine races held on Saturday at Bangalore. The three year old showed that he is one of the most improved youngsters racing at this centre. This victory enabled him to complete a quick hat-trick this winter. For a horse that had emerged from the maiden ranks in the month of May, this winning performance in the highest category within a span of seven months, was very creditable. It was a sprint handicap for horses rated 80 and above. Well performed four year olds  Yourewindsofchange and  Chul Bul Pandy were being opposed by improving youngsters like Sun Divine and Cecil. At the weights, it seemed as though this was going to be dominated by the older horses. In his previous start over seven furlongs, Yourewindsofchange had led at the bend before getting beaten on the post by Talisker. Over this more favourable trip, he was considered to be a formidable opponent. Accordingly, he was the first choice of most of the punters.

The runners were closely huddled as they leapt out of the starting gates. The only aberration was a slow jump by the well-backed Yourewindsofchange, who lost a fair bit of ground at the start. Cape  Ferrat  emeged from the bunch and set a good pace ahead of Chul Bul Pandy, Sun Divine and Cecil. The rest of the runners were spread out at the back as they circled the wide false rails and entered the straight. With Cape Ferrat and Sun Divine running out of gas at the bend, the stage was set for Cecil and Chul Bul Pandy. Cecil came through the middle and went ahead of the pack. With Vaibhav giving him a tap or two, he got stronger with every stride and powered away from the rest. His fluent strides resulted in a comfortable victory There was a mild battle for the minor placings. Quick Enough and Secret Punch came charging from the back to push Chul Bul Pandy into fourth place. With this victory under his belt , Cecil is likely to run next The Sprinters Trial Stakes that is going to be conducted to select local candidates for the Sprinters Cup to be held in March at Kolkata. As regards the favourite Yourewindsofchange, he bled during the race and ran poorly. It was later reported that one half of his gate did not open in time, and this had perhaps resulted in a slow jump at the start.

A small field of six class III horses lined up at the nine furlong marker to participate in another race this afternoon. A pair of three year olds named Sussex Downs and Ice Stone were opposed by a group of older horses. These youngsters cornered most of the betting in this race. Five year old Arun was sent to the front, and he led at a steady pace from Ice Stone, Arrabian Gold and Sussex Downs. The order remained exactly the same as they tackled the rising ground near the three furlong marker and made their way towards the final bend. With Arun going slightly wide in the straight, the chasing group had to choose their final path. While Ice Stone ducked towards the inner rails, Sussex Downs progressed smoothly on the wide outside. Srinath was seen at his powerful best in the straight. He pulled out his stick and goaded Darius Byramji’s Sussex Downs towards a popular victory. The filly won comfortably from Ice Stone and Arun. The winner is likely to be targeted at a longer race in the near future.

An hour later, Darius was able to lead-in his second winner of the day. His patience was rewarded with a brilliant effort from Truman. The trainer had always regarded Truman as one of the better three year olds in his yard. However, Truman’s tendency to “bleed” had forced Darius to give him a long rest. After a gap of almost six months, Truman was entered in a handicap event. His burden was lightened by declaring apprentice Sahanawaz to ride him. Amit Caddy’s Summer Breeze and the Dominic trained Blizzard Of Oz were the market fancies in this race. Both camps were hugely optimistic about the chances of their respective wards. Making use of his innermost draw, Truman was sent to the front. Martin Wepner brought Blizzard Of Oz from the wide outside and joined the fray. Chouhan chose to bide his time with Summer Breeze, as the runners entered the straight. The first horse beaten in this race was Blizzard Of Oz. He shortened his strides near the bend and faded out of contention. Summer Breeze moved strongly towards Truman, but was unable to collar him. The chestnut dug deep into his reserves of stamina and continued to dominate till the very end. Now that Truman has found his winning ways, it will be fair to assume that he will move ahead from his present mark.

Even Srinath found further success later in the afternoon. He repeated his feat astride Sussex Downs with a similar effort on Satish Narredu’s Deep Blue Sky. Srinath had ridden this horse to victory a few weeks ago. Because of an extremely narrow verdict that day, Deep Blue Sky had escaped with a small penalty. It was a seven furlong event for horses rated 60-85. Since most of the runners were closely matched, this race had no clear favourite. Srinath rushed Deep Blue Sky to the front and took the shortest route ahead of Migrolino, Make My Day and I Specialist. The field started to bunch up in the straight. With less than two hundred metres still to travel, there were four horses in a line. Top Secret on the inside was alongside Deep Blue Sky, Make My Day and I Specialist. Any one of them could have won from that position. Finally, it was the sheer strength and perseverance of Srinath that made the difference. He extracted that little bit extra from Deep Blue Sky and literally pushed him ahead of the others. Make My Day, I Specialist and Top Secret were close behind in minor positions.

Another brilliant piece of riding was exhibited by Paul Mulrennan on Saturday. He was partnering Irfan Ghatala’s Hillfiger in the higher version of the above mentioned event. Hillfiger had never run over seven furlongs in his career. All his victories were achieved over a sprint. Secondly, he was running after a gap of seven months today. His second to Toroloco in a mock race this season was indicative of his present form and condition. Since he was carrying the top weight in this race, Mulrennan chose to guide him patiently. Hillfiger fought for his head in the early stages , but once he realized that his rider was not allowing him to get away with it, he settled into a steady rhythm. Tracking Sudden Magik and Spark Of Beauty into the straight, Hillfiger moved steadily towards the inner rails. Mulrennan got him on an even keel and asked him to “go”.  Hillfiger took a while to quicken, but once he got a few lefthanders, he leapt forward and collared Sudden Magik near the winning post. Mark Of Genius and Radical Attraction fought a close duel for the third place. Hillfiger looks set to make his presence felt in the highest category.

The Ganapathy stable scored its second point this season through rank outsider Brilliance. It was a mile event reserved for older horses in Class IV. Alianz, Cowboy Cal and Starscream were the fancied horses in this race. While Alianz was known to be a slow starter, the other two were a bit suspect over this longish trip. A couple of factors contributed to Brilliance’s victory today. It all happened at the start. While Alianz took time to get into his strides, Starscream refused to come out of the starting gates. Sreekanth set the early pace by taking Brilliance to the front. She led from Beautiful Life and Spark Of Blue. Paul Mulrennan astride Cowboy Cal was seen biding his time at the back, and at almost the same juncture, Alianz was produced on the wide outside. It got a lot closer in the final furlong. Brilliance on the inner rails, Cowboy Cal in the centre and Alianz on the wide outside were close to each other as they strode towards the winning post. However, it was Brilliance who managed to keep her neck in front of the others as they crossed the wire. A harder rider on Alianz may have been able to alter this result.

A couple of races for horses in the lowest category completed the rest of the day’s card. Narayana Gowda’s Alpine Shine got a rare opportunity to earn her corn bill, and the four year old filly performed on expected lines. With Mudassar claiming three kilos off her back, this small made specimen received strong support in the betting rings. Her cause was aided by the fact that second-in-demand Smart Edition burst her blood vessel at a crucial juncture in this race. Early leader Dashing Boy and Smart Edition were at the helm of affairs when this happened. Alpine Shine was right behind them at that stage. With Smart Edition rolling out under pressure, there was a welcome gap that suddenly appeared. Pouncing on this lucky opportunity, Alpine Shine lengthened her strides and got up in time to beat Dashing Boy near the wire. Smart Edition plodded along to retain her third spot.

Some hard riding from John enabled public choice Brigade’s Paradise to pick up the upper division of this sprint. This Warren Singh trainee made up much ground on the wide outside  and joined Artic Breeze and Surprisesucceeding near the two furlong marker. A close look at the three of them at that stage was enough to realize that front-running Artic Breeze was traveling better than the others. However, an indifferent ride from apprentice Indrajeet Singh in the final furlong allowed Brigade’s Paradise to beat him near the winning post. John had to use every single muscle in his body to achieve this result. Surprisesucceeding came with a second run to finish a close third.

The day ended with a popular victory for Amit Caddy’s Next Move. This speedy horse had won only once in his career during the summer season. That victory had been achieved in the lowest class over 1100 metres. He was lucky to find a similar race in the next class on Saturday. The trainer sharpened him nicely on the training track and targeted him at this event. With PS Chouhan astride, Next Move received all round support to start as a firm favourite. Speedy horses like Magic Wave, Boudicca and Sweet Secret tried runaway tactics and led into the straight, but once Next Move joined the fray, they caved-in under pressure. A couple of runners progressed strongly from the back, but it was too late. Right On Time and Mountain High were seen putting in some good work in the dying moments of this race, but all they could do was to finish closer to Next Move. The favourite responded gamely to Chouhan’s whip and galloped past the winning post.