After a gap of almost a fortnight, live racing resumed at The Bangalore Turf Club on Friday. A well filled card of eight events framed for the afternoon was headed by The Varada Trophy. This seven furlong handicap for horses five years old and over in class II, attracted a group of fifteen acceptors. With the withdrawal of last outing winner Matias, only fourteen reached the starting gates. The opening odds indicated that it was likely to be a closely fought affair. Thoughts N Actions, Saganaki and Radical Attraction were available at 7/2, while the others headed by Astounding Gallop could be easily backed at lucrative odds. On all known form, it was difficult to separate them as neither of them had won during the current season. Radical Attraction’s third behind Panamera and Mountain Range was quite suggestive, as both those horses had come out to win their subsequent starts and were presently rated in class I. The only thing against Radical Attraction was her poor last of seven, over a mile and a quarter about two weeks ago. Would she be more comfortable over a shorter trip was something that needed to be examined. However, all those doubts were dispelled once money began pouring onto her. Radical Attraction was backed with supreme confidence in the betting rings and her odds came tumbling down as the runners began entering the gates. She justified the confidence of Neil Darashah’s yard with a flawless performance on the track. 

After a fairly level start, Ice Mint showed the way to Youre Stunning, Thoughts N Actions, Mark Of Genius and Radical Attraction. The other nine were tightly bunched at the back, with Saganaki being cramped for galloping space as the runners made their way towards the home turn. David Allan found a nice big opening at the bend and was the first to make his move. He pushed Thoughts N Actions into a small lead at that stage and moved steadily towards the finishing line. With some of the others shifting out under pressure, Radical Attraction was the next one to improve towards the inner rails. Trevor waited for her to get onto an even keel before popping the question. The moment he gave her a tap, she responded. Within the next few strides, she came alongside Thoughts N Actions and went ahead of him. It was smooth sailing thereafter. Radical Attraction lengthened her strides and went away from Thoughts N Actions and a late finishing Saganaki. The last named was seen moving fluently at the end, and she definitely has it in her to win before the end of this season. 

David Allan may have failed astride Thoughts N Actions in the day’s feature, but he had plenty to celebrate on Friday. His partnership with trainer Padmanabhan resulted in the pair claiming three out of the eight events held during the day. They began with last outing winner Ace Dancer. The four year old had won over seven furlongs while making his seasonal debut and was now being targeted over much longer. Even though he faced only five mediocre opponents, the bookmakers were generous in offering 2/1 against him. He ultimately proved to be too good for them. Despite losing precious ground at the start, he won with ease. Allowing Cool Approach to lead on sufferance, Ace Dancer cantered along in second spot for most of the way. Well backed Glycys Bay was the first horse to come under pressure, as he was seen being niggled in the back-stretch. Ace Dancer joined Cool Approach at the final bend and went ahead of him. Since nothing really moved from behind, David Allan had the pleasure of easing him up in the final furlong. My Law did some good work to end close behind Cool Approach in third place. On this showing, Ace Dancer can be backed confidently on promotion. 

Three year old Artorius had made a mess of his maiden start in mid February. This Padmanabhan trainee had been slow out of the gates on that day and had moved leisurely in the straight to make up much ground on the leaders. Running over a similar trip of 1100 metres today, he was opposed by the highly regarded Cadogan. After finishing a good second on debut, Cadogan had been subjected to some solid preparation. Based on his commendable track work, Cadogan was backed confidently by his connections. However, they lived to rue their decision as Artorius knocked the stuffing out of his opponents. David kept him a handy second till the bend before going ahead of Alala. Cadogan, who was close behind Artorius till that stage, tried his best to accelerate.  Trevor was quick to realize the enormity of his task and gave up without a fight. Artorius showed remarkable speed to skip clear of the rest and won as he liked. Frankness made a late bid from the rear to beat Cadogan into third place. She is a nice looking filly that is sure to benefit from this experience. Artorius is sure to be targeted over slightly longer trips during the summer months. 

The third and final success for this combination came in a seven furlong handicap for horses in class IV. Well bred Transcendental had flopped a couple of times earlier in the season and the four year old was being given another chance to redeem his reputation. His paddock looks were fairly ordinary and the bandages he sported failed to enthuse his followers. As a result of these factors, the odds against him began to climb rapidly. With money coming onto Serengeti, the pair started as joint favourites in this race. Absolute Joy and Serengeti raced prominently in the initial stages of this race, while Talita’s Girl and Transcendental were held back for eventual acceleration. Ashish took Talita’s Girl to the front in the final furlong, but his domination was short-lived. Transcendental crept through a narrow gap towards the inner rails and moved ahead of the leader. With David waving his whip at him, he got stronger in the final stages and won much easier than the official verdict announced by the judge. Absolute Joy continued her good work to save place money for her backers. 

The Bugs Bunny Trophy, a sprint for three year olds, was a terms race which witnessed ten maidens opposing a solitary winner. By virtue of her victory a couple of months ago, Satish Narredu’s Sun Glow was seen carrying a four kilo penalty. With most of the money riding on Darius Byramji’s Wind Surfer, and some stray support for Nayan Star, Forever Honour and Coolmore, one could literally write one’s own card on the others. Since Wind Surfer had shown a remarkable ability to recover from a slow start on debut, and make up much ground in the straight, the filly was expected to win untroubled. But, that is not what happened. A Imran Khan sent Sun Glow to the front and led at a steady pace from Forever Young, Wind Surfer and Nayan Star. The four of them were close to each other as they turned for home. While Nayan Star and Forever Young perished under pressure, Wind Surfer made her move towards Sun Glow. With Imran Chisty making free use of his whip, the favourite tried to close the gap on the leader. But Sun Glow was too good for her. She responded to her jockey’s urgings, lengthened her strides and won comfortably. In fact, Wind Surfer even lost her runner-up berth to a late finishing Diamond Quest.  

A 1200 metres event, for horses six years old and over in class IV, was divided into two divisions. The Pradeep Annaiah stable tried to pick up both these races through Youre Chilibuli and Youre Rocking. Youre Chilubuli had ended a suggestive fourth in his previous start, and the Stewards of the BTC had ordered an enquiry as they felt that the jockey had not done full justice to his mount. The seven year old was opposed by a bunch of speedy opponents, but there was so much hype around Youre Chilubuli that he started as an odds-on choice of the punters. Those who had backed him today were floored by his performance. The horse held fourth spot till the bend before ending a dismal last. The action in front was very exciting. Sweet Timer, Amar Prem, Day Trader and Angel Queen raced at equal intervals and were seen fighting to move ahead of each other. B Puttanna’s Sweet Timer was well handled by Mudassar to retain his narrow advantage till the very end. In fact all four of them ended with half a length of each other.

 Pradeep’s Youre Rocking annexed the lower division with a front-running effort in the day’s opener. The four kilos claimed by apprentice Arshad Alam proved to be extremely helpful, as the horse was seen slowing down in the final furlong. Joint favourite Novel Approach was an unlucky runner in this race. He met with severance interference and was seen getting knocked around at the start. A horse which normally races in front was seen gracing the rear. Resultantly, Novel Approach was forced to travel very wide at the bend. He definitely improved in the straight, but the long lead established by the winner proved to be decisive. Novel Approach can win a similar event later in this season. 

The only other race in the day’s card was reserved for horses in the lowest category. Quite a few four year olds had come down to this class with some lack-lustre performances against horses rated above them. Shared Heart, Tic Tac Toe and Cool Hand belonged to this group. All three were fancied by their respective camps. It was finally Amit Caddy’s Cool Hand that lived upto his fine paddock looks. He ran kindly for Vaibhav and responded gamely to his urgings. After settling down in fourth spot behind a group led by Tic Tac Toe, Cool Hand made his move at the bend. Skirting the front-runners, he appeared on the wide outside. A couple of taps of the whalebone were enough to see him spurting to the front. Being ridden forcefully thereafter, Cool Hand finished ahead of Shared Heart and Tic Tac Toe. On this showing, Amit Caddy can surely place him to win on promotion.