Dominic trained Czar Of Romance justified his cramped odds by running away with The Governor’s Trophy, the feature in a card of eight events held at Bangalore on Saturday. The nice looking colt put it across his five rivals and showed that he is a stout galloper. This mile event saw three year old horses competing at level terms. Winners of a race carried the same weight as their maiden counterparts. Since each one of them was tackling this trip for the first time in their short careers, one had to look at their previous form. The one that looked outstanding was Czar Of Romance. After scoring decisively over a sprint, he had been unfortunate to lose narrowly over seven furlongs to Albertino in his next start. His subsequent track trials showed that he had improved further. Based on all available evidence, he was installed as the half-money favourite today. Quite a few amongst the others had run together in another seven furlong race. Strengthandwonder had won by a diminishing margin, while Aumento and Amazonas had finished behind him. It was difficult to say if any of them would get this trip.

The six of them took off to a level start. Triumphant charged to the front and led at a steady pace from Strengthandwonder, Amazonas and Aumento. No-hoper Zagato held fifth,  while Czar Of Romance graced the rear. The order remained exactly the same as the runners took the rising ground near the three furlong marker and moved towards the bend. While those in front were being niggled to stay in place, PS Chouhan was content with Czar of Romance’s pace at the back. He was a picture of supreme confidence, as the pair was still a few lengths adrift of the leader. Those who had backed the favourite were delighted to witness what happened thereafter. Czar of Romance skirted the field at the final bend, moved ahead of the bunch and accelerated further. He galloped well within himself to canter home for an easy victory. One-eyed Amazonas stayed the best of the rest to take the runner-up berth, while stablemate Aumento moved into third place. Stengthandwonder flopped badly in the straight and faded from the scene. Czar of Romance is a top class youngster, and he is sure to figure prominently in the summer classics.

After a treble yesterday, leading jockey PS Chouhan enjoyed another fruitful afternoon on Saturday ,when he repeated the same feat and strengthened his grip on the jockey’s championship of the Bangalore Winter Season. While his victory on Czar Of Romance was achieved comfortably, he had to use all his skills astride  Panamera and Foswell. The Delhi Race Club Trophy, a mile and a quarter handicap for horses in the highest class, attracted six runners. The presence of Showin’Off could have deterred some of the others from running in this race. The filly had run a blinder in the Indian 1000 Guineas, wherein, she had lost by a whisker to Vijay’s Pride. It was followed by an unplaced effort in The Indian Oaks. The only thing against her was the fact that despite being a winner of a single start, she was rated in Class I. Panamera was considered to be her closest challenger. She had given weight to Mountain Range over a mile and beaten him with a late bid on the last stride. Mountain Range had franked that form with a bloodless victory on Friday. The six horses were led by Magnitude Star , Lad King and Midtown Magic for most of their journey. Panamera and Showin’Off were close behind them, while Zultanite graced the rear. The race came to a boil at the bend. Both Panamera and Showin’Off made their moves on the wide outside and challenged Magnitude Star. The three of them were almost abreast at that stage, and it was difficult to predict the winner. Under Chouhan’s forceful guidance, Panamera accelerated better than Showin’Off and moved strongly towards the winning post. The latter got up in the nick of time to beat Magnitude Star into third place.

Darius Byramji’s Foswell was the public choice in the concluding race of the day. Chouhan was expected to make use of his innermost draw while steering the speedy Foswell to an easy victory. To the dismay of his backers, Foswell failed to take a quick jump and was soon in trouble. He met with a lot of interference and was seen gracing the rear. Superb Style, Sparkling Star , Mountain Beauty and Right On Time dominated the early proceedings, and were at the helm of affairs as they swung for home. Chouhan and Foswell had to travel on the wide outside to make up ground on the leaders. With the ones in front running out of steam, Foswell was able to join the fray. With the champion jockey waving his whip furiously, Foswell dug deep into his reserves of energy and moved ahead of the pack. He lasted out to score from a late finishing Mountain Beauty and Superb Style. The trainer can place him to win another race in similar company before the conclusion of this season.

For Darius, this was a quick double as he had won the previous race with Ballantoy. The filly had ended second in both her starts this season and was still searching for her maiden triumph. Since she had done some good work in the closing stages of a sprint behind Wind And Flight, Ballantoy was being asked to travel a bit longer. With Ryan Marshall continuing his partnership with her, the filly performed on expected lines. She followed Anfield and Royal Admiral till the bend  and made her move thereafter. She swept past them in the final furlong and galloped strongly to withstand a late challenge from Formula One and Sukhmanee. Despite losing a lot of ground at the start, and traveling detatched for most of the way, Formula One did well to finish close behind the winner. With a level start, he is capable of winning amongst horses in his present category.

Last outing winner Archibaldo put up another pleasing display in a Class II sprint, and won with a measure of comfort. Prasanna Kumar has done well to get him back into such fine condition. The seven year old was highly regarded as a youngster, but a physical impediment had kept him away from a race track for an extended period of time. John allowed Hillsboro to lead on sufferance, and held back Archibaldo in second place till they straightened for home. The others were clustered together at the bend, and most of the jockeys were seen trying to get a clear run at that stage. While Archibaldo overtook Hillsboro and ran away with the first prize, there was a struggle for the minor placings. Rank outsider Sky Train appeared late on the wide outside and finished second ahead of Violent Storm, Smooth Glider and Swift Star. The last three finished within whispering distance of each other. Archibaldo has struck good form and he looks good enough to pick up a race at a low weight in the highest class.

Sirajuddin’s La Jawaab was another one to score her maiden victory this afternoon. She started the day’s proceedings by running away from horses that had run and not won this winter. Valdir DeSouza utilized her early speed and made all the running. With second favourite Vistabella taking off lethargically from the gates, and the jockey failing to improve her position in the back-stretch, La Jawaab’s job became easier. She drew away from Nocturnal Hunter and posted an authentic victory. Vistabella rallied late from behind to take the second spot. This sparingly raced four year old seems to be in good condition, and it may not take her long to enter the winner’s enclosure.

A class V scurry witnessed some spirited betting on MP Mahesh’s Sound Of Power. Even though this horse was running after a gap of over five months, it was said that he had been prepared for a gamble. The fact that he was perhaps the lowest rated horse at this centre, failed to dissuade many from backing him. They paid a heavy price for their decision, as Sound Of Power failed to figure on the result boards. A subsequent announcement confirmed that he had burst a blood vessel during the race. In the hands of apprentice A Ramu, second favourite Honourable Empress from Amit Caddy’s yard displayed an improved turn of foot to scamper home for a narrow victory. Even though the filly was the widest at the bend, she had it in her to move from the back and collar the front-runners. Impressiveattitude and Encourager charged late to end within half a length of the winner.

The only other race in the day’s card was annexed by Irfan Ghatala’s Hillstone. This horse is known to be a sluggish beginner that makes up ground in the straight. For a change, he took off level with the others and managed to stay in touch with the pack. Hot favourite Catamaran held sway till the distance post and managed to shake-off his nearest pursuers. Abnoba, Hackett and The Guardian felt the pressure in the final furlong and failed to move further. It was at this stage that Ahsan Qureshi asked Hillstone for an effort. The chestnut responded bravely and strode away for a decisive victory. Amongst the beaten brigade, top weighted Abnoba did well to finish an impressive third.