An average looking card of eight events was framed for Saturday’s racing at Bangalore. The Karnataka Police Cup, a sprint handicap for horses in class II, was accorded the pride of place as the day’s feature. Even though there were only eight runners in this race, it had the makings of a close contest. A number of them had a realistic chance of winning it. Top weighted Will Star had dropped a bombshell a fortnight ago by scoring an unexpected victory. The track reporters felt that he had improved further and was capable of defying his winning penalty. Esteban had flopped as a favourite on a couple of occasions last winter, and had come down in weight. Irfan Ghatala had chosen to enhance his chances by claiming an allowance on him. Rich Celebration, Nickel Chrome and Clever Trick had won during the winter season and were well weighted as well. A positive switch in the saddle, from Shelar to Imran Chisty, saw Clever Trick garnering the maximum support with the bookmakers. The early pace was definitely going to play a major role in the final outcome of this race. The scene unfurled on expected lines and the large crowd present at the course was treated to a thrilling finish. In fact it was difficult to nominate the winner with a naked eye, and a camera print was required to separate Esteban from Will Star at the post.

With John showing some urgency at the start, Will Star took the lead in the very early stages of this race. He set a decent pace ahead of Esteban, Clever Trick, Rich Celebration and Nickel Chrome. The other three were seen struggling to keep up with the front-runners. The order remained exactly the same as they swung for home. Will Star spurted in the straight and it seemed as though he was on his way to another victory. However, Anjar Alam and Esteban were not going to give up without a fight. Esteban moved steadily under Alam’s urgings and came alongside Will Star. While John had the double advantage of the inside rails as well as the use of a whip, the apprentice boy had to make do with his hand and heels. The pair got closer with each stride and the two of them flashed past the post in a very tight finish. The judge confirmed that Esteban had got up in the nick of time to beat Will Star by the narrowest of margins. Nickel Chrome and Rich Celebration were also locked together in a very close finish for the minor placings. Clever Trick ran disappointingly to end a tame third. She may need to take a drop in class before winning another race.

The Narredu family had a great outing on Saturday, when the father-son duo of Satish and Suraj scored in three out of the eight races on offer during the afternoon. Aumento, Super Start and Wind Of Soul won their races with a measure of comfort, and since all three were strongly fancied by the yard, brought cheer to the faces of their supporters. Instead of running Aumento in a maidens event, Satish decided to run him in “open” company. He enjoyed a low rating and was seen receiving weight from other three year olds in this race. Knowing that he had a talented horse under him, Suraj rode an over-confident race on Aumento. Sittiing an unconcerned seventh in a group led by Frenemee, Arziki and Flashing Colours, he did not move till the bend. The only thing he ensured was to keep Aumento out of trouble. Traveling the widest of all, he pressed the accelerator in the straight. Aumento took off like a rocket and sped away to record an impressive victory over Frenemee, Arziki and Flashing Colours. The colt has it in him to repeat on promotion.

The win astride Super Start in The Southern Regent Trophy was equally impressive. The fact that it was achieved in a set which included the likes of Azetic Star and Force Ensign, made it quite significant. Bred as a half brother to An Acquired Taste, Azetic Star had started his racing career only three weeks ago. By finishing second to Noble And Nice, the Neil Darashah trainee had shown that he was a talented specimen. Based on that evidence, he started as an even-money choice of the punters. Super Start and Force Ensign were also supported by their respective camps. It was a bit surprising to see Azetic Star performing today. He had very little interest in the proceedings and was seen struggling in mid group. Srinath showed him “daylight” in the straight and gave him a couple of cracks, but Azetic Star was in no mood to gallop. The action in front was restricted to Noble Reward, Super Start and Force Ensign. The first two raced alongside in front, while Force Ensign traveled right behind them. Imran Chisty made a crucial mistake of trying to search for a path through the two leaders. With hardly any space between Noble Reward and Super Start, Force Ensign was forced to switch course and move outwards. By the time all this happened, Suraj Narredu and Super Start had established a winning lead into the final furlong. Force Ensign tried his best, but was still marginally short at the wire.

Suraj had an easier time while scoring astride Wind Of Soul in an age group sprint for horses in class III. The filly had shown signs of some good form while finishing fourth in a similar race held during the opening weekend of this season. She had led till the distance post before caving-in under pressure. There were no such problems today. Suraj took her to the front after a good jump, and she stayed there. Mr Carpe, Sunday Cruz and Pack Ur bags tried to keep pace with her till the bend, but finding the pace too hot to handle, called it a “day” . It was left to I Specialist and Meghalaya to make their moves from behind and take the minor berths on the result boards. Even though Suraj returned to the saddle only last week, he has moved into second place behind Trevor in the jockey’s tally. With a long way still to go in the season, he is sure to make a determined bid for the first prize.

The Camineto Plate, a sprint for maiden three year olds, was split into two divisions. A number of horses with a decent chance of landing the spoils participated in the upper half of this event. Socrates, Madame Bovary, Diamond Quest and Cadogan had figured on the result boards in similar events last winter. Since most of them had been working regularly on the training track, it was difficult to separate them on paddock looks. The bookmakers ring gave a clear indication that Diamond Quest was going to run a “big” race today, and that is exactly what happened. Allowing Suraj and Socrates to lead on sufferance, DK Ashish occupied the box-seat astride Diamond Quest. Urging his mount at the bend, the pair overtook Socrates and moved strongly towards the finishing line. The acceleration was so strong that the others had no chance to go anywhere close to him. Prithviraj trained Diamond Quest won by a widening margin from Madame Bovary, Cadogan and Socrates. The second placed Madame Bovary showed some resolve to finish strongly from behind. She could show out over a longer trip in her next start.

Lokanath’s Ambitious Reward got the day’s proceedings off to a popular start by cantering away with the lower division of the above event. In the absence of a strong opponent, Ambitious Reward was backed at every price and started as a firm favourite at 70/100. Imran Chisty had no problem in taking him to the front. The free striding horse led at a steady pace from Guts And Glory, Summer Gold and State Of Joy. The jockey increased the tempo in the straight ,and after a couple of cheeky looks at those behind him, relaxed his hold on the leader. Ambitious Reward sailed past the winning post, well clear of Guts And Glory and State Of Joy. For a first-timer, Guts And Glory ran a suggestive race and gave indications of an early success.

A huge difference in weights between two youngsters played a major role in deciding the result of a class IV handicap. The seven furlong event attracted nine acceptors. Neil Darashah’s Strengthandwonder headed the scales at 61.5 kilos, while the Ganapathy trained Southern Sky was placed nine kilos below him. With both camps being equally optimistic about their wards, the stage was set for a stiff battle. The bookmakers ring confirmed that there were equal amounts wagered on both of them. What actually transpired on the race grass was totally one-sided. Southern Sky enjoyed the postage stamp weight on her back and powered home to an easy victory. Sreekanth had her on a tight leash till the bend and allowed her to track Ungoogleable and Strengthandwonder till that stage. Once he released the brakes, the race was over. Southern Sky increased the tempo and made her opponents look totally flat-footed. Strengthandwonder and Ungoogleable fought a minor battle for the second spot. The latter may have lost this one, but his performance today showed that he is ready to pick up a similar event later in the season.

A group of fifteen lined up near the seven furlong marker to participate in the last race of the day. Dominic trained four year old filly Key Of Knowledge was the medium of a large sized gamble in this race. She had been available at 5’s and over all morning, before getting backed down to 9/4 at race time. The trainer declared apprentice Arshad Alam to ride her, thus lightening her burden by three kilos. This decision on his part turned out to be very productive, as the small made filly made late headway and won near the final post. Lacking early speed, Key Of Knowledge was niggled towards the inner rails and forced to maintain her fourth position behind Trillion Win, Arabian King and Volt. With Trevor making the first move astride Arabian King, the bay moved ahead in the straight. Key Of Knowledge emerged from the pack and went in chase. After a reasonably longish duel, the favourite got the better of the leader and passed him in the closing stages of this race. Volt plodded along to retain his third spot ahead of a totally exhausted Trillion Win.