An interesting card of eight events was held on the opening day of the Summer Season at Bangalore. A group of sprinters in the highest class, as well as some talented three year olds, chose to take part in the day’s proceedings. The Krishnaraja Wadiyar Cup, a sprinting handicap for horses in the highest class, was slotted as the day’s feature. The usual group that we have been watching all through last year, had once again accepted to face the starter. All of them had raced against each other in the last couple of years, and won their share of races. With the weights changing all the time, as also their form and fitness, one has gotten used to seeing a new result on most occasions. The “open” nature of today’s race was reflected on the betting boards. The punters could back anything at 4’s and over. Jersey Girl and Secret Punch were marginal favourites ahead of Cecil, Successor and Chul Bul Pandy. The first named was the only debutante in this class. Even though the sprint was slightly short for her, trainer B Puttanna felt that she would be equal to the task. Secret Punch had run well in the Sprinter’s Cup at Kolkata, and Sirajuddin had eased his burden by declaring an apprentice to ride him. On the surface, the day’s feature looked extremely competitive.

The speedy Cape Ferrat made strong headway from a widish draw and showed the way to Vijay’s Conquer, Cecil, Jersey Girl and Chul Bul Pandy. While Successor raced in mid group,  Secret Punch lacked early speed and graced the rear. The runners were pretty closely grouped as they entered the straight. Mudassar kept urging Cape Ferrat, and this gutsy horse continued to lead them as they entered the final furlong. Jersey Girl flopped miserably at the bend and faded from the scene. Cecil made headway through the middle and came alongside Cape Ferrat. The ones that were seen moving strongly at this stage were Successor and Secret Punch. The only difference between the two of them was that Successor was right behind the leaders, while Secret Punch had to cover acres of ground on the wide outside. With Srinath making free use of his whalebone, Successor inched closer with each stride and managed to move ahead near the winning post. Cape Ferrat held second ahead of Cecil and Secret Punch. All four of them ended in close proximity of each other. After watching a number of fancied runners from his yard flopping earlier in the afternoon, Neil Darashah was delighted to lead-in this winner.

A number of trainer’s chose to test their youngsters in “open” company by taking part in The Mayor’s Cup. It was seven furlong handicap for horses rated 40-65. Pesi Shroff’s Archie, Neil Darashah’s Perfect Soul and Suleiman Attaollahi’s Striking were expected to be the main contenders for the first prize. Even though Striking was the best performed amongst this group, the small made filly was conceding chunks of weight to the others. Most of them were running after a gap of over two months. The only one that had the benefit of a recent start was Archie. He had ended a good second in a big event at Mumbai exactly three weeks ago and had been working regularly after his arrival at this centre. With Zervan in the saddle, he was supported confidently by his connections. Not many bothered to consider Turf Striker, and he was accordingly allowed to start as a 10/1 outsider in this race. Refreshed and Bala’s Glory utilized their early speed and showed the way to Turf Striker and Striking. Archie and Perfect Soul were seen struggling at the back and it was evident very early in the race that they were not going to win today. With the early leaders running out of steam at the bend, it was Turf Striker who seized the initiative. Travelling nicely under Christopher, the grey increased the tempo. This Md Khan trainee kept responding to the whip and went on to win by a widening four lengths from a heavily punished Striking. Perfect Soul and Archie came from behind to take the minor slots on the result boards. The timing clocked by Turf Striker was very impressive. His manner of victory suggested that he would be comfortable over a longer course. Since he looked slightly gross in the paddock, this horse is sure to improve after this run. There is little doubt that he will be a strong performer in the Summer Classics.

Trainer Prithviraj and his stable jockey Jagadeesh combined effectively to win the first two races of the summer season. The day’s opener was a sprint for Bangalore based maidens. Neil Darashah’s Azetic Star, bred as a half brother to An Acquired Taste,  was the rage in this race. According to most track reporters, he was perhaps one of the best maidens in training at Bangalore. He looked well in the parade ring and was backed to the exclusion of his rivals. After taking a good jump, Srinath chose to tuck the favourite behind early leaders Cool Baby and Noble And Nice. All of them raced well within themselves as the heads turned for home. Jagadeesh showed a lot of urgency at the bend and pushed Prithviraj’s Noble And Nice ahead of the rest. The colt quickened his strides and tried to run away with the race. Azetic Star went in chase, and tried his best to collar the leader. However, that was not to be. The front-runner retained his advantage right upto the winning post. The first two ended many lengths clear of the third placed Cruise Clear. Azetic Star is sure to improve after this impressive debut, and emerge from the maiden ranks later in the season.

The next race was reserved for horses in the lowest category. Amit Caddy’s Cool Hand and Prithviraj’s Triple Victory shared favouritism in early morning trade. Once Cool Hand got withdrawn around mid day on veterinary grounds, the connections of Triple Victory decided to go “nap” on their runner. She started as an even-money choice of the punters, and they weren’t worried at any stage of the race. Darting out of the gates, she showed a clean pair of heels to her pursuers. Four year old Icecream made a feeble bid and ambled into second place in the straight. Volt, who was travelling more than a distance behind the front group at the bend, did some good work thereafter to displace Will Still from the third spot.

Vittal Deshmukh’s three year old Magical Spell re-confirmed the fine impression that she had made in her two career starts. The small made filly had trounced a bunch of maidens on debut at Hyderabad, and thereafter, travelled to Mahalaksmi to have a tilt at a “Million” event at that centre. Her fourth in that race was quite significant. She was lucky to be retained in class IV by the handicapper. The trainer enhanced the filly’s chances by entrusting her to three kilo claimer Arshad Alam. Despite an easy start from a wide draw, Magical Spell travelled in mid group for most of the way. The moment the youngster released his tight grip on her, the 45/100 favourite bounded away for a bloodless victory. Cash My Way and Amazon Bay plodded along to take the minor placings. Magical Spell is a talented sprinter with a bright future.

 A class IV event, for horses four years old and over, was split into two divisions. While Padmanabhan’s Imperial Verse caused the biggest upset in the upper version, Sriram Komandur’s Dance Of A General justified his on-money favouritism in the concluding event of the afternoon. The betting was centered around Sumitomo, Supreme, Divine Deliverance and Firelight. In fact, the four of them were the ones who were at the helm of affairs as the runners entered the final stages of this race. Divine Deliverance continued to hold sway till that point, but his shortening strides began to disturb his camp. There were a number of horses that were moving dangerously towards the leader. The one that was definitely beaten at that stage was the favourite Sumitomo. The filly refused to budge under Imran Chisty’s urgings and faded from the scene. Veteran jockey Appu roused Imperial Verse towards the inner rails while Rajesh Kumar brought Alianz with a smooth run on the wide outside. More than six of them ended within a length of each other. Imperial Verse edged out Firelight, Alianz and Supreme at the wire.

The lower division unfurled on expected lines. P Trevor utilized a favourable draw, and took Dance Of A General to the front. He was briefly overtaken by Youre Rocking in the back-stretch. The pair raced a few lengths clear of the chasing pack. Enjoying his light handicap, the on-money favourite regained the lead in the straight and skipped clear of the rest. A heavily whipped Wind Force made a valiant bid to finish a respectable second, while the others were totally outclassed in this race. For the records, Well Known managed to hold onto the third spot and saved place money for his supporters.

The Esquire Trophy, a seven furlong race for maiden three year olds, attracted a number of talented youngsters. Charlatan, Bronzino and Stimulate had served notice of an early success by finishing second in their previous starts. All three of them had been working well this season and it was expected to be a close affair. The bookmakers were equally confused all morning and continued to offer healthy odds against the three of them. The betting scene altered alarmingly at race time. A huge surge of money saw Charlatan starting as an odds-on choice of the punters, while Bronzino and Stimulate were available at 6’s and over as the fifteen runners entered the starting gates. Unfortunately, Charlatan reared-up alarmingly and got entangled in the stalls. A mere look at him was enough for the officials to decide that he must be declared a non-starter. With second favourite Bronzino taking a sluggish start, the Stimulate camp became hopeful of a winning performance by their ward. Allowing Triumphant and Southern Sky to lead them into the straight, Imran Chisty waited with Stimulate till almost the two furlong marker. After getting her into a proper rhythm, he pulled out the stick. This ward of Arjun Mangalorkar leapt forward and overtook Triumphant with a measure of comfort. Beauty Is Truth rallied late to take the second spot from Triumphant near the winning post. A late burst from a hopeless position saw Bronzino moving menacingly at the end. He looks like a ready-made winner in his next start.