The Stewards Trophy, a seven furlong handicap for horses in the highest category, featured a compact card of eight events held at Bangalore on Saturday. Arjun Mangalorkar’s Ridgeway made light of his heavy impost while carrying the public purse to victory. In the hands of apprentice Mudassar, he dug deep into his reserves of stamina and held a strong and determined challenge from the bottom-weighted Sky Train. Even though there were only eight of them vying for the first prize, the runners were closely matched. After ending a good second to Smashing in early summer, Ridgeway had lost form in his subsequent starts.  A few unplaced efforts in graded events forced the trainer to give him a longish break from racing. He re-appeared in winter on Derby Day and ended a fast finishing fourth to Hillfiger, Southern Bay and Sprint Star. Only a length covered the four of them at the finish. Arjun decided to take a drop in class and reverted to handicap company. Ridgeway was allotted a back-breaking 63 kilos in the day’s feature. With Mudassar claiming two kilos off his back, Ridgeway ran at a more manageable weight in this race. Magnitude Star, Archibaldo and Inquisition shaped as his main adversaries.

The speedy Magnitude Star got down to his usual front-running and set a good pace ahead of Free Law, Archibaldo and Inquisition. Ridgeway was tucked-in behind the leading group, while Valahak and Sky Train graced the rear. The order remained exactly the same as they took the rising ground and turned for home. A couple of things changed at the bend. With the early leaders getting tired and beginning to roll off the rails, there was a huge gap that opened-up in the middle. Ridgeway moved smoothly through this space and took control of the proceedings. With nothing really looking threatening around him, his victory looked like a foregone conclusion. However, it was not all that easy. Sky Train moved dangerously from the rear and all but overtook the favourite.  Mudassar had to make free use of his whip to keep Ridgeway going. His long strides enabled him to hold Sky Train at the finishing line. Inquisition made a late bid from behind to finish a good third. With this performance, Ridgeway has shown that he is back in business. We are sure to hear  more about him in the summer season.

A rare dead-heat was witnessed at the races on Saturday. A mile handicap for horses in class II produced this result. Dhariwal trained Ratham  was a strong favourite to win this event. Spaniard, Diamonite and Sandstorm looked like his closest challengers. Since most of them liked to race prominently, this race was expected to be run at a fast pace. Christopher took a low-weighted Cool Approach to the front and stayed ahead of Spaniard, Sandstorm, Ratham and Diamonite  till the bend. The runners were put under pressure at this stage and were seen spreading across the track. While Cool Approach hugged the rails,  Ratham  and Sandstorm were seen galloping towards the centre. All three were under the whip and it was certain that this race was poised for a very close finish. Sharat’s  Cool Approach and Ratham flashed past the post and it was very difficult to separate the two of them. Each camp felt that their ward had managed to get the better of the other. An announcement by the judge confirmed that after a very long time, even digital technology was unable to separate the two of them. A neck between Sandstorm and Diamonite decided the minor placings.

Sharat completed a double for the afternoon when Little Lion knocked the stuffing out of a pair of fancied runners in the concluding event of the day. What was expected to be a match race between Money Ball and The Guardian turned out to be otherwise. Amit Caddy’s Money Ball was known to be very speedy, while Neil Darashah’s The Guardian possessed a lot of class. Both had been subjected to some steady preparation by their respective trainers.  Little Lion led from the word “go”  and was ahead of Money Ball and The Guardian as they swung towards the final two furlongs of this sprint. The three of them were almost abreast at this stage and the fancied pair looked poised to overtake Little Lion. The first one to get beaten in this race was Money Ball. He shortened his strides and faded out of contention. The Guardian looked like going ahead at the 100 metre marker, but he too moved sideways under pressure. In the midst of all this, Irvan Singh kept using his whip to goad Little Lion across the wire. The Guardian ended a very close second while Money Ball had to be content with the third berth.

The upper division of the above race went in favour of Sirajuddin’s Hackett. Course favourite Mountain High played up in the gates, hurt himself and got withdrawn before coming under the starter’s orders. A speedy group led by Flying Tricolour, Sweet Timer, Ultimate Fantasy and Game Dancer fought for an early advantage and were ahead at the bend. Hackett and Catamaran were seen improving from behind. While Hackett took time to respond to Vaibhav’s urgings, Catamaran spurted under Christopher’s guidance. The latter enjoyed a slender advantage as they came towards the business end of this race. However, it was easy to spot the winner. Hackett , who was traveling the better of the two, emerged from the pack and strode away from Catamaran to register an easy victory. Flying Tricolour and Sweet Timer were almost inseparable as they clung onto their minor slots.

Jagadeesh was the other professional to score a double today. The first of his two winners was Neil Darashah’s Royal Salute. With Srinath still struggling with his fitness, and the Stewards not permitting him to carry too much overweight, Jagadeesh came in as the replacement jockey on this colt. Even though Royal Salute had impressed on debut, he was neglected by the punters in this race. Padmanabhan’s Isn’t She Special had done some outstanding work on the training track. According to most track reporters, she looked like an strong contender over this seven furlong trip. With stray support for Madame Bovary and Ace Angel Star, Royal Salute started as an outsider in the day’s opener. Jagadeesh managed to settle Royal Salute in second place behind Tijuca Forest, as the runners tackled the first half of their journey. Isn’t She Special, Madame Bovary and Ace Angel Star raced close behind them as they moved towards the straight.  Royal Salute showed sparkle at the bend and spurted ahead of the others. The lead that he established at this stage helped him immensely. He maintained his grip over the proceedings till the very end. Isn’t She Special rallied towards the inner rails, while Ace Angel Star moved steadily on the wide outside to take the other slots on the result boards. Madame Bovary began to plod in the final stages and ended in the ruck.

A fifteen horse field , comprising of horses six years old and over in class III, took off from the 1400 metre marker. With most of the runners available at 4’s and over, this race had the makings of a confusing puzzle. A pair of seven year olds named Six Shooter and Virtuoso headed the group and brought them into view. Brave Cat and Rich Radiant were their closest pursuers. At the bend, it became obvious that the front runners were getting tired and that someone from behind was going to land the prize. Both Brave Cat and Rich Radiant made their moves at the same juncture. In the hands of Jagadeesh, Prithviraj trained Brave Cat showed better acceleration and spurted clear of the pack. Rich Radiant got up in time to peg back Virtuoso into third place. The runner that impressed in this race was Arun. After being a back-marker for most of the way, he came leisurely to finish a disinterested fourth.

The only other race in the day’s card was a sprint for horses in the lowest category.  Ten out of the eleven acceptors in this race were four year olds that were still searching for their maiden victory. On the basis of her third behind Artic Breeze and La Jawaab. Amit Caddy’s Delilah had a lot of support in the betting rings. The fact that both these horse had won their subsequent starts , augured well for Delilah’s chances today. Despite the presence of an inexperienced Ramu in the saddle, the filly was the first choice of the punters. While Encourager set a strong pace ahead of Dashing Boy and Impessiveattitude, Delilah encountered traffic problems and dropped back towards the inner rails. With a wall of horses in front, her task looked very difficult at that stage. The only thing right that the boy did was to wait for his chances. A yawning gap at the bend was all that he needed. Pushing vigorously, he brought Delilah with a smooth run and joined Encourager. In a ding-dong battle for supremacy, Delilah got stronger at the end and managed to get her neck in front of the leader. All Clear was under pressure to end a tame third. Now that Delilah has discovered her winning ways, she seems to have it in her to win on promotion.