The richly endowed Chief Minister’s Trophy featured a card of eight events on Friday at Bangalore. This terms event over a mile and a quarter had only six acceptors. The presence of Toroloco had perhaps scared away some of the others. He was well served by the terms of this race, and his summer form was imposing. He had beaten In The Spotlight in the Maharaja’s Cup before ending a respectable second to her in The Bangalore St Leger. The others had finished more than a distance behind him in that race. In his final start of that season, Toroloco was a trifle unlucky to get nosed-out by Hills And Stars. Jockey Prakash had made a tactical mis-judgement by showing him daylight too early in that race and rushing him to the front at the top of the straight. With Suraj Narredu renewing his partnership with him, Toroloco started as a piping hot favourite in the day’s feature. The talented horse had been subjected to some steady preparation, and was reported to be in good health. It was generally felt that considering the quality of his opponents, today’s victory would be a mere formality.

The six horse field took off to a level start. Camorra did the early running and led marginally from Magnitude Star, Crown Empress and Spark Of Silver. At this stage, Toroloco had only one behind him, and that was Maths Baby. The order remained exactly the same as they took the rising ground near the three furlong marker. At this juncture, Martin Wepner tried to improve Maths Baby along the inner rails, but his progress was badly hampered by Magnitude Star. Maths Baby fell back suddenly and trailed the pack as they entered the straight. While every single horse came under the stick at the bend, Suraj was totally unconcerned. Toroloco was still travelling comfortably at the back. The favourite was popped the question near the distance post. In the next few seconds, he quickened comfortably and sailed past the leaders. Toroloco performed on expected lines to go away from Spark Of Silver, Camorra and Maths Baby. The three of them were closely grouped near the finishing line. There is little doubt, that but for the unfortunate skirmish at the top of the bend, Maths Baby would have taken the runner-up berth. It is learnt that Toroloco will now be moving to Kolkata to have a tilt at the “big” races programmed in the next couple of months at that centre.

Suraj completed a quick double by winning the very next race with Wind Of Soul. Riding this filly for his father’s stable, Suraj adopted runaway tactics.  Quite a few amongst her opponents had reached the 40-65 category after scoring in lower classes earlier in the season. Each one of them was obviously saddled with a winning penalty. The two that were running at their early season mark were Simpleton and Wind Of Soul, and the pair delighted their fans with a spirited duel. Wind Of Soul went to the front and led at a steady pace from Simpleton, Rich Celebration and Whistlejacket. Suraj pressed the accelerator at the bend and Wind Of Soul opened up a nice looking lead at that stage. Paul Mulrennan asked Simpleton for an effort, and the dark bay moved menacingly towards the leader. The pair matched strides right upto the winning post. Only a neck separated the two of them at the finish. Whistlejacket found late foot to finish a close third.

Debutante Spiritual Star was the other winner from Ghatala’s stable on Friday. The free striding filly was eligible to run in the lowest category, and her trainer made full use of this opportunity to score an easy point for his stable. A mere look at her in the parade ring was enough to realize that the measly odds offered on her by the bookmakers were totally justified. BL Paswan had only to take a level start with her to win this race. The boy handled Spiritual Star with confidence and guided her ably across the wire. She moved alongside early leader Artic Breeze at the bend, and the moment Paswan released his grip, the race was over. The boy looked back repeatedly in the straight before easing her in the final stages of this race. While it is accepted that she beat a very mediocre set of horses today, her style of running was impressive. It may be too early to predict a rosy future, but one thing looks certain, and that pertains to her next start. Spiritual Star will be tough to beat on promotion.

Irfan’s effort to make it three-out-of-three failed when Ice Kingdom lost in a close finish to Open Page. On the basis of a fine debut a couple of weeks ago, the gray filly was backed to the exclusion of her rivals. As she was running at a much lower weight as compared to last time, albeit in a higher class, Ice Kingdom was expected to carry Suraj Narredu to an easy victory. The seasoned punters were wary of Open Page, as they knew that the day her connections wanted, they could win with her. However, they failed to gather any clues from the betting rings, as the odds against Open Page continued to rise as the horses moved towards the starting gates. Suraj rode Ice Kingdom in copybook fashion. He positioned her comfortably behind the leaders, assumed control at the bend and pushed her relentlessly towards the winning post. He got a shock when he was joined and passed by Open Page in the final furlong. With apprentice Pradeep riding vigorously, the Puttanna trainee strode gallantly past the finishing line. Now that Open Page has revealed her fitness, one can expect her to defy the handicapper.

Champion jockey PS Chouhan had another wonderful outing on Friday, when he won three out of the eight races on offer. All three winners were well supported, and for a change, none of them was an odds-on choice of the punters. Dhariwal’s first-timer Valerian gave him a good start by running away from his opponents. This son of Holy Roman Emperor had so much speed, that by the time they reached the bend, the race was almost over. While Valerian was still travelling on tight reins, the others were rolling sideways under pressure. Chouhan continued to nudge him forward and the three year old strode away from Nayan Star, Tiger Eyes and Someone Special. None of the other eleven juveniles in this race made much of an impression and it may take them a while to enter the winner’s enclosure.

Last outing winner Mitraya had been given a stiff penalty by the handicapper and this mare from Byramji’s stable was seen near the top of the scales in a sprint reserved for horses rated 60-85. Most of the dozen acceptors were closely handicapped and a majority of them were backed by their respective connections. Mitraya, Free Law, Red Bolt and Swift Star headed the betting charts. Making full use of his low weight, the speedy Swift Star tried to run away with this race. He led at a good pace from Scenic Blast, Mitraya and Free Law. It was a bit strange to see Red Bolt gracing the rear. The order remained more or less the same as they skirted the false rails and entered the straight. Despite shifting off the inner rails, Swift Star maintained his lead into the final furlong. Under Chouhan’s guidance, Mitraya moved smartly towards his outside, while Free Law was seen rallying on the inside rails. The one that made up a lot of ground from the back was the Henrique ridden Superb Style. With all three jockeys going for their sticks, one was assured of a grand stand finish. Ultimately, it was Mitraya and Chouhan who gained the upper hand and scored ahead of Swift Star and Superb Style. The last named was the most impressive of the lot, and this is one horse that can be earmarked for an early victory.

Chouhan’s mount Sumitomo brought the curtains down on Friday evening by storming home to a popular victory. Darius had campaigned this filly over shorter trips throughout 2012, and she was still searching for her maiden victory. The trainer’s decision to run her over a mile in handicap company paid rich dividends for her connections. Chouhan’s handling of Sumitomo was totally different from his normal style of riding. He generally takes a quick jump and tries to occupy the best possible position in the early stages of a race. However, with Sumitomo he exercised great restraint and allowed her to settle at the back. While Arabian King and Absolute Joy charged to the front, Sumitomo was seen gracing the rear. Chouhan began urging her at the bend and the filly gave him the expected response. She came with a tremendous turn of foot, skirted the front-runners and charged for home. This was too much for the others to counter, and they surrendered without a fight. Velvetine, Glycys Bay and Alianz meandered their way into the minor berths. The winner is sure to progress from the present mark and is more than likely to make her presence felt in the higher category.

The only other race in the card was the day’s opener. Veteran trainer Samar Singh, who was yet to figure on the trainer’s chart, managed to strike with rank outsider Black Blossom. The mare enjoyed zero rating and was accordingly available at 30/1 in the betting rings. Jeyem led the ten horse field into the straight and all but succeeded in his mission. His closest challengers at that stage were Impressiveattitude, Buzzword and Dashing Boy, but since none of them was making much of an impression, it was felt that the front-runner would hold onto his advantage. It was at this stage that Black Blossom moved forward. With Vaideeshwaran waving his whip, the heavily bandaged seven years old gained ground on the leader. She got up in time to nail Jeyem on the post. Strongly fancied Buzzword could do no better than finish a tame third.