Tharun Thimmaiah’s Hillsboro caused a stunning upset in The Racing Patrons Trophy,  the feature in a card of eight events framed for Friday’s racing action at Bangalore. He was one of the many outsiders that won during the afternoon. The defeat of strong favourites like Spiritual Star, Red Bishop and La Jawaab saw punters scampering for cover on a day, wherein, a lone public choice in the form of All Proof scored in an eight event card. Being a sprint for horses five years old and over in class II, the day’s feature attracted twelve acceptors. The odds board indicated the competitive nature of this race. Bottom weighted Superb Style at 7/2 was a marginal choice ahead of Thoughts N Actions, Red Bolt and Swift Star. Most of them had run in a similar event in early January and finished alongside each other. There was quiet support for Sky Train and Free Law as the runners made their way towards the starting gates.

Swift Star was quickest out of the gates, and the chestnut set a strong pace ahead of Superb Style, Hillsboro, Red Bolt and Thoughts N Action. But for the leader, the others were closely huddled as they tackled the back-stretch and made their way towards the final bend. While Swift Star continued his dominance, the others came under pressure. The only one that seemed to be improving through the middle was Hillsboro. In the hands of a whipless Arshad Alam, this heavily bandaged horse made up much ground and went ahead of the others. With the boy putting down his head and pushing vigorously, Hillsboro strode confidently towards the winning post. In a mad scramble for the minor placings, Free Law made a late bid to wrest the second berth ahead of a tired pair of Swift Star and Superb Style. The one that flashed onto the scene after the race was more or less over was Sky Train. He overcame traffic problems to finish a very close fifth. Now that he has displayed some sort of form, Sky Train can be supported with a bit more confidence in his future starts.

The other trophy event of the day was The Topmost Cup. This too was a sprint event, but this time for horses rated 40-65. Last outing winner Spiritual Star was a raging choice of the punters. The filly had made a smashing start to her career by winning in a common canter. Although this was achieved against horses in the lowest category, the timing that she clocked that day was suggestive. The handicapper had pounced on her and penalized her a whopping 22 points. She was now running on double promotion in class III. The only thing in her favour was the nine kilos that she was carrying lesser than what she had carried on debut. There was so much hype around her chances that the odds kept shortening till the horses entered the stalls. BL Paswan kept her in check and allowed her to canter along in fourth position behind Saphira , Cielo Signore and Will Star. While the first two got tired in the straight, it was Will Star that went ahead of the others. Spiritual Star began sending distress signals at this stage. Despite being whipped, she failed to move forward. In the midst of all this, Amit Caddy’s Next Move came strongly through the middle, overtook Will Star and ran away for a surprise victory. It was one of the better races ridden by Culhane on the Bangalore race track this winter.

A couple of races selected for maiden three year olds evinced a lot of interest amongst the punters. A number of horses were fancied by their respective connections in an 1100 metres event. While Light Of Success and Nayan Star had ended second in their earlier runs, Kolaveri Di, Placervilles Glory, Chiffon and Artesia were making their debut. Based on reported track work and paddock looks, Kolaveri Di generated more interest than the others. This big made filly crept up the betting charts and headed them at race time. However, she ran sluggishly throughout this race and showed that she definitely needed an outing. On the other hand, the more experienced horses performed on expected lines. Light Of Success took off brilliantly from her innermost draw and showed a clean pair of heels to the others. Sreekanth kept the Ganapathy trained filly going till the very end. Nayan Star had to be whipped before she got the measure of Cash My Way and moved into the runner-up berth. Artesia made up some ground in the final stages to end a respectable fourth.

Jockey Srinath announced his return to the saddle by steering strong favourite All Proof to an exciting victory. In fact, All Proof was the only favourite to oblige on Friday. Darius Byramji had given him an easy start in late December and sharpened him thereafter.  He was installed as a joint favourite alongside Love Is Life, but once the horses appeared in the parade ring, All Proof garnered more support than the latter. After tracking Cadogan and Love Is Life till the bend, All Proof was asked to quicken. He came through a narrow passage between the two leaders and joined them near the two furlong marker. With Cadogan refusing to surrender, Srinath had to use all his skills astride the favourite. With both horses rolling towards the outer rails, All Proof got the measure of the leader in the last fifty metres and scored a thrilling victory. Love Is Life ambled along to finish a fair third.

A couple of races later, Srinath seized his opportunities astride Puttanna’s Sweet Secret and succeeded in completing his double. Irfan Ghatala’s  The Scietist threw his usual tantrums and bolted riderless from the gates. After his withdrawal, it appeared to be a duel between Nocturnal Hunter and Sweet Timer. Clearly, Nocturnal Hunter is not the same horse that he was last year. He seems to have lost his zest for racing, and in my opinion, should be left alone from a betting perspective this season.  Magic Wave did his usual front-running before settling for the third spot. Sweet Timer chased him initially, before over-powering him near the bend. Once Srinath used his stick, the race was over. Sweet Secret proved to be much too strong for a late finishing Isle Of Fire. Nocturnal Hunter performed poorly to finish in the ruck.

A couple of races for horses in the lowest class completed the rest of the proceedings. The first of these was annexed by Dominic’s Law Of The Land from a late finishing Buzzword. PS Chouhan had to use all his guile while guiding Law Of The Land to the narrowest possible victory. Only a “nose” separated the two of them at the finish. After ending behind the first two finishers, the rider of the favourite All Clear  raised an objection against the winner. Apprentice Pradeep contended that the winner had interfered with his mount. In the opinion of the stipes, the favourite was a beaten horse and this so called interference had made no material difference to the result of this race. Resultantly, the objection was quickly over-ruled.

In the upper division, Sirajuddin’s La Jawaab was expected to put up a good performance. She was blessed with early speed, and it was felt that she would succeed in winning from pillar to post. However, that was not to be. In the hands of apprentice Indrajeet Sigh, Artic Breeze dashed to the front and skipped clear of her rivals. She held a commanding advantage into the last furlong and this proved to be handy at the finish. By the time Noornabi and La Jawaab found their rhythm, the race was more or less over. La Jawaab came bounding down the straight, covered more than five lengths in the final furlong, but was still “shy” at the finish. The favourite is in good shape, and looks capable of picking up a similar event in the near future.