Patrick Quinn’s Ancient Wonder re-discovered some very old form to gallop away with The Chief Minister’s Cup (Grade III) at the Bangalore races on Wednesday. He wove his way through a small group at the bend and responded perfectly to Imran Chisty’s urgings while posting this handsome victory. Ancient Wonder had last won a race on New Years Day last year. It happened to be his fourth successive triumph at Mahalakshmi. The last two had been in “Million” events reserved for horses in the top most category. Even though most of his victories were achieved over seven furlongs, he was known to be comfortable over a sprint. In fact, at that point in time Ancient Wonder was one of the highest rated horses in the country. His form tapered-off thereafter and he was still searching for another win in the last eighteen months. Patrick bought him as a seven year old and relocated him to Kolkata. The champion trainer expected to pick up some big races at his centre, but a small setback in training saw Ancient Wonder missing the planned action. He was part of a small string of horses brought by his trainer to Bangalore. The day’s feature had a strong favourite in Speed Six. The five year old had just about lost to Nefyn in the Sprinter’s Cup. Being favourably placed at the scales, he carried the confidence of the betting fraternity. Secret Punch and Ancient Wonder had stray support with the bookmakers.

A small group of eight faced the starter. After a smart jump from the gates, Secret Punch slowed down alarmingly and lost all his chances in the initial stages of this race. Klipspringer utilized her brilliant speed to dart ahead of Storm Tracker and Chul Bul Pandy. Ancient Wonder and Speed Six were side by side in fourth place, while the other three were under pressure to keep pace with the leading group. The order remained exactly the same as they straightened for home. Klipspringer came off the inner rails and moved towards the centre of the track. Chul Bul Pandy slipped through her inside, while Storm Tracker struggled to pass her on the wide outside. The one’s that made their moves from the back at almost the same juncture were Ancient Wonder and Speed Six. They devoured ground and fought a stirring duel in the last furlong. Ancient Wonder was definitely the better moving horse, and he went onto lift this well endowed trophy. Speed Six, Chul Bul Pandy and Storm Tracker claimed the remaining berths on the result boards. The winner is sure to be targeted at similar “graded” events later in the season, and it will be interesting to watch his progress hereafter.

Three year old Charlatan put up a wonderful show while posting a very easy victory amongst three year olds based at Bangalore. He had missed an opportunity to graduate from the maiden ranks a couple of weeks ago by his unruly behaviour in the starting gates. After getting entangled, he had to be pulled out and withdrawn from that race. A mere look at the betting boards indicated that his victory today was more or less a foregone conclusion. According to some old timers, the half-money offered on him by the bookmakers was extremely generous. While Charlatan ran on expected lines, what caught one’s attention was the time that he took to cover the seven furlong trip. On a day when the timings were still slower than normal, Charlatan stopped the clock at a little over One Minute Twenty Six Seconds in this race. Allowing Dancing In The Rain to lead him into the straight, the free striding horse took over the running and won impressively. His stablemate Arrogant Approach came with fluent strides from mid group and ended a respectable second. Charlatan is sure to progress far beyond his present mark and it will pay to back him in his next start.

Arjun Mangalorkar’s Coolmore retired as an easy winner of The Own Opinion Trophy. This sprint for maiden three year olds attracted a number of first-timers. Amongst those who had already run, there were a few who had figured on the result boards. The most prominent amongst them was Dhariwal’s Man Of Vision. He had run thrice at Bangalore and once at Hyderabad, and in each run he had ended within a length or two of the winner. He headed the betting charts ahead of Coolmore. The latter had covered much ground after missing the kick in her only start. The trainer had given her a couple of gate practices and she had responded well to his training. Despite her extreme draw, she had good support with the bookmakers. Man Of Vision sped out of the gates and set a strong pace ahead of Grand Applause and Abemaro. After taking off level with Coolmore, Trevor decided to settle her comfortably behind the leaders. A two length lead enjoyed by Man Of Vision in the straight disappeared in no time. He stopped in his tracks and faded out of contention. Coolmore spurted in the final furlong and went onto post a comfortable victory. Abemaro and Maths Professor managed to go past Man of Vision in the closing stages of this race. Instead of improving after the winter campaign, Man Of Vision displayed a vast deterioration in his form. With the victories of Charlatan and Coolmore, Trevor increased his tally to thirteen. This works out to more than twenty five percent of the races that have been held over the first six days of the ongoing season.

A brilliant finishing effort in the straight allowed Diamonite to demolish her class III opponents, and the filly waltzed away with the Brig RCR Hill Memorial Trophy. Running over her favourite trip of 1400 metres, the light-framed specimen came from behind to trounce Samara Sun and Wrekin. A three month gap from racing had done Diamonite a world of good. She had put on a lot of condition and her paddock looks were a compliment to trainer Irfan Ghatala. Suraj allowed Diamonite to find her rhythm before urging her to join the leaders. Little Lion, Indian and Samara Sun were at the helm of affairs, as the eleven runners turned for home. While Trevor saved ground by producing Samara Sun towards the inner rails, Suraj ensure an unhampered passage for Diamonite. The filly loved her space on the wide outside and galloped freely. In a matter of seconds, she skipped clear of Samara Sun. Wrekin rallied late to beat Indian into fourth place

The biggest upset of the day was witnessed in a six furlong race for horses in class II. Last outing winner Icelander was attempting to defy a stiff penalty that he had received for his performance a fortnight ago. Since he had clocked a fairly smart timing that day, it was felt that he could make light of the 21 points that he had been docked by the handicapper. The one that was expected to trouble Irfan Ghatala’s on-money favourite was Neil Darashah’s Sun Divine. His close finish behind Chul Bul Pandy in winter was fresh in the mind of the punters. Suraj rode Icelander calmly and allowed him to gallop well within himself till the bend. Overtaking Casanova in the straight, Icelander opened up a nice looking lead thereafter. The one’s that were racing closest to him had begun to fade out of contention. The one that was least expected to win from his present position was Prithviraj’s Brabus Speed. He was trapped towards the inner rails in seventh position, and with an apprentice on board, was going nowhere. Seizing a lucky opening near the furlong pole, Brabus Speed emerged from the pack. With Kiran Rai urging him relentlessly, the well built horse moved forward. His sudden burst of speed enabled him to finish alongside Icelander. The photo-finish camera confirmed that he had managed to beat the favourite by a ‘nose’ at the finish.

Amit Caddy’s Catch The Eye received strong support to win a sprint for horses in the lowest category. The filly had come down a lot at the weights and her recent track work alongside higher rated stablemates was encouraging. The fact that she was running for the first time this season was ignored by her camp, as they felt that she was much better than her opponents. The two runners that shaped as her main rivals were Starstruck and Astonishing. Both of them had run a few weeks ago and figured on the board in their respective events. They had obviously stripped fitter for today’s race. Apprentice Ramu took Catch The Eye on a start-to-finish mission and was the first into the straight. Starstruck and Astonishing traveled at regular intervals, and were under pressure to gain ground on the leader. There was a sudden change of scene in the final furlong. Catch The Eye rolled off the rails and ran out of gas. Starstruck crept along the rails while Astonishing made her move on the wide outside. Under some hard pushing from Irvan Singh, Sharat Kumar trained Starstruck continued his good work to win easily from Astonishing and a tired catch The Eye.

The day ended with a race literally gifted to Darius Byramji’s Argiano, who had to just canter around the course to credit his master with the first point of this season. Argiano had emerged from the maiden ranks in winter with a laboured victory over some fairly ordinary youngsters. Darius gave him another run in The Juvenile Million , and sensing Argiano’s discomfort, gelding him immediately. The horse was totally transformed thereafter. His movements on the training track in recent weeks revealed his present form and fitness, and there was little doubt that he was a readymade winner at his current mark. A seven furlong race for horses rated 20-45 was chosen as his first target. Since he was opposed by a bunch of older horses, he started as a money-back favourite on Wednesday. C Alford eased him out of the gates, and finding no pace in the race, was forced to take him to the front. It was smooth sailing thereafter. Argiano won on tight reins by more than twelve lengths from Bella Pinky and Somerset Rose. It is difficult to visualize even one amongst the beaten brigade that could possibly win a race this summer.