The Bull Temple Trophy, a mile and a quarter handicap for horses in class II, featured Friday’s eight event card at Bangalore. The race witnessed a superb performance from Satish Narredu’s Mountain Range, who literally cantered away with the nice looking trophy. He treated his opponents with utter disdain and showed further improvement in form and condition under the care of his new trainer. Being a long distance race, it attracted only seven acceptors. Mountain Range was expected to run in The Stayer’s Trial Stakes a few days ago, but an incident near the starting gates had led to his withdrawal from that race. If at all he had run that day, he would have competed with top rated horses at a distinct disadvantage. The big made horse was running at his own mark in today’s feature. Hidayat Khan’s Chiron, who had won twice this winter before being pitched at the deep end in the Hyderabad Classic’s, was reverting to handicap company. She too had strong support in the betting rings. Another one that was expected to run a big race was Auburn Beauty. All in all, we had a great race in prospect. 

Under Valdir DeSouza’s handling, Mountain Range darted out of the gates and sauntered clear of his rivals. He opened-up a fair lead over Radical Attraction, Auburn Beauty, Sussex Downs and Diamonite, as the runners progressed towards the far corner at the 900 metre marker. With hardly any appreciable change in the order, the seven runners marched towards the home turn. The only thing that kept changing with each stride was the gap between all of them. Valdir had slowed down the pace and allowed those behind him to get closer. Less than four lengths separated the seven of them as they straightened for home. While those at the back were being pushed and cajoled to stay in place, Mountain Range was still to be urged. The only question that remained to be answered was what he would do in the straight? The moment Valdir gave him a tap, we got an answer. Mountain Range responded immediately and opened up a huge lead as they marched towards the distance post. He continued the good work to score one of the easiest victories this afternoon. Auburn Beauty and Sussex Downs were hard-pressed to retain their minor slots. 

Jockey PS Chouhan cornered the day’s honours by scoring a fine treble. His three winners were Shivalik Beauty, Real Steel and Argiano. The victories were scored with a measure of comfort as all three horses came from behind and sped past their rivals. Additionally, they carried the confidence of their respective connections. He began the day with an easy time astride the Dominic trained Shivalik Beauty. After failing repeatedly as a youngster in Byramji’s yard, Nations Glory was bought by Puttanna’s patrons. They ran her in the lowest category today and further reduced the burden by declaring apprentice Mudassar to assist her from the saddle. Nation’s Glory started as a firm favourite in the day’s opener. On the other hand, Dominic utilized the services of leading professional PS Chouhan. Shivalik Beauty tracked Magic Money for the first half of their journey, before taking over the running. With Chouhan making free use of his whip, the filly accelerated nicely at the bend and went clear to keep a hard ridden Nation’s Glory at bay. Claara and Golden Haven fought gallantly for the third spot on the judge’s board. 

The other two winners for Chouhan were saddled by Darius Byramji.  Real Steel had been knocking on the door during the entire winter season, and had finished second on three occasions. Even today, he was third favourite behind Shivalik Fire and Cirque Du Soleil. Shivalik Fire had won his first start this season with so much ease, that the handicapper had been left with no choice but to give him a stiff penalty. Enthused by this performance, the connections had chosen to run him next in the Derby. Unable to handle an extra Kilometer, the grey had fared miserably on Republic Day. Irfan Ghatala selected The Shravanabelagola Cup over seven furlongs as his next target. Paul Mulrennan played the waiting game to perfection and settled Shivalik Fire behind a runaway Athletic Star till the bend. He was closely followed by Cirque Du Soleil and Real Steel. Shivalik Fire went ahead of the others in the final furlong and looked good at that stage. However, he was soon overhauled and passed by Real Steel. Chouhan had started to push Real Steel much before that stage. The four year old took his time in gaining momentum, but once he found his rhythm, the race was more or less over. On this showing, Real Steel could pick up another race before the end of this season.  

Darius Byramji’s three year old Argiano was the shortest priced runner on Friday. In his only career start, he had ended a good third to Miracle Memories. Light Of Success, who had finished marginally ahead of Argiano in that race, had gone onto win twice subsequently. In her most recent victory in the Winter Million, she had conceded weight to a number of horses. Based on that performance, Argiano looked unbeatable today. Most of his opponents were running for the first time ever, and looked a little under-done in the parade ring. Even though Argiano carried the public purse to victory today, he did not win as fluently as expected. Laim Jones took Ganapathy’s Sweet N Smart to the front and led till the last furlong. Chouhan had to pull out all stops to enable the favourite to move ahead of the front-runner. Argiano took his time before getting the better of the filly. Royal Salute, Vigorous and Impressive Mode did some good work at the end to finish close behind the first two finishers. Impressive Mode showed that she would be more comfortable over a longer trip. Argiano looked distinctly uncomfortable in the final stages of today’s race, and the connections could consider gelding him before his next start. 

Jockey C Henrique was the other jockey who had a successful outing on Friday, when he scored a pair of bloodless victories astride Jersey Shore and Six Shooter. Jersey Shore had already run thrice in the last three months, and had managed to figure on the board on each occasion. He was second favourite behind Darius Byramji’s Salzburg. The filly had impressed all concerned with her fluent performances on the training track, and it was felt that she would be too good for the present set of runners. PS Chouhan did managed to get her off to a quick start, but she was soon passed by Refreshed and Jersey Shore. The last named was racing so comfortably, that it was easy to predict what was going to happen. With Henrique putting him in top gear, Jersey Shore accelerated in the straight and trounced his opponents. In a close scramble for the minor slots, Salzburg just about lasted out to finish marginally ahead of Tijuca Forest and a late finishing Kentucky Rose. 

It was a similar story for Henrique astride Sharat Kumar’s Six Shooter.  Running in an age group race over 1400 metres, the seven year old displayed glimpses of his very old form. The jockey used the same tactics that he had utilized astride Jersey Shore. He kept Six Shooter within striking distance of Chronicle and The Senator, and traveled comfortably till the bend. Seeing the front-runners slowing down thereafter, Henrique stayed clear of trouble and sent Six Shooter to the front. Making free use of his whalebone, he goaded the chestnut to keep going. The horse responded gamely and cantered away from Salsa Touch and a fast finishing Alianz. For the umpteenth time in succession, Alianz took a slow jump from the gates and started to gallop after the others had gone clear of him. The connections should consider campaigning him over a longer trip. 

An interesting nine furlong handicap for horses in Class IV had only six acceptors. Five of them had run against each other, and had competed over a mile and a quarter around the middle of January.. Glycys Bay had won that race by a whisker from Rebuttal’s Hope. With the weights obviously favouring the latter today, Rebuttal’s Hope was the first choice of the punters. Glycys Bay and new entrant Dance Of A General carried the confidence of their respective camps. Paul Mulrennan tried runaway tactics astride Rebuttal’s Hope and took him to the front. At one stage, the pair was traveling so comfortably in front, that it seemed as though they would succeed in their mission. However, things changed at the bend. The favourite stopped in his tracks and dropped through the field to finish a poor last. Dance Of A General led till the distance post before being overwhelmed by Glycys Bay. John brought this Prasanna Kumar trainee with a late bid to overtake the leader and post his second straight victory. Greyconnection and Velvetine dead-heated for the third place. A late announcement confirmed that Rebuttal’s Hope had burst a blood vessel during the running of this race. 

A heavily backed Sandstorm had it very easy in concluding race of the afternoon. After receiving one sided support from those in the know, the Dhariwal trainee made every post a winning one. The fact that he was appearing on a race track after a gap of over two months did not deter his numerous followers. Displacing Arjun Mangalorkar’s Wrekin from the top of the charts, he showed that the money was well placed. Trevor took a good jump with the chestnut colt, and eased him into a small lead till the final bend. Wrekin and Open Page followed him at regular intervals, while the other six were closely huddled at the back. It was only a matter of when Trevor would release his brakes. The moment he did that in the straight, the race was over. Sandstorm lengthened his strides and powered away from Wrekin. The only thing that changed at the back was the displacement of Open Page from her third spot. Ice Stone came with a late bid on the wide outside to move ahead of her.