Pesi Shroff’s Storm Tracker confirmed the fine impression that he had made ten day’s ago, by outpacing a bunch of top class horses in The Civil Service Cup at the Bangalore races on Saturday. Trevor rode a neat race while guiding him successfully across the finishing line. After winning back-to-back races at Mahalakshmi, the last one being over seven furlongs in a class II handicap, Storm Tracker was promoted to the highest category. He was given a break from racing and re-located to Bangalore. Pesi pitched him at the deep end by running him in The Chief Minister Cup a few day’s ago. Being a terms event, Storm Tracker was seen racing at level weights against higher rated horses. Moreover, the sprint that day wasn’t suited to his style of running. Overcoming both these handicaps, Storm Tracker ran his guts out to finish close behind Ancient Wonder, Speed Six and Chul Bul Pandy in that “graded” event. The four year old had been subjected to some steady preparation and was reported to be in fine health. He was now running at his own mark and was carrying a comfortable weight of 55.5 kilos. Those amongst the betting public who rely on their own calculations, Storm Tracker looked like an outstanding runner in today’s feature. He was backed accordingly and sent to the gates as the 90/100 choice of the punters. 

Top-weighted Vijays Conquer got down to his usual style of running and set a good pace ahead of Jersey Girl, Sun Kingdom and Storm Tracker. While Déjà Vu raced in mid division, Atlantus graced the rear. The field was tightly packed as they rounded the final bend and turned for home. While those in front began to slow down, a number of horses began their charge from behind. With whips flying, most of the jockeys were seen looking for a clear passage towards the winning post. The one that moved the best of the lot was Storm Tracker. Under Trevor’s guidance, he emerged from the pack and established a winning lead over the others. The only one who went in chase was Déjà Vu. Suraj tried his best astride this runner, but he was unequal to the task. Eight year old Atlantus covered good ground to finish a fair third. Storm Tracker is in the best form of his career and it may not surprise many if he continues to climb further from his present mark.  

Mumbai based Ultrasonic sported a pair of wings while skipping clear of her maiden rivals in The Moonlight Romance Trophy. A mere look at her in the paddock was enough to realize that she stood tall amongst the dozen contenders. The filly played up on her way to the starting gates, but such behaviour failed to deter her backers as they felt that she was too good for her rivals. PS Chouhan eased her out from the innermost draw and settled her comfortably to lead from Feet On Fire. The rest of them were outpaced from the word “go”. The Imtaiz Sait trained Ultrasonic increased the tempo in the straight, and lengthened her strides to score a bloodless victory. While Feet Of Fire hung onto her second berth, a late effort from Aryan enabled him to save place money for his backers. Ultrasonic is a speedy specimen, who is sure to do well over sprints during the Pune season. 

A brilliant finishing effort from Imran Chisty in the saddle enabled Darius Byramji’s Sussex Downs to lower the colours of Irfan Ghatala’s Shivalik Fire. After failing as a short-priced favourite twice in winter, Shivalik Fire was given an easy start this summer. Getting him fit for today’s mile in The J Lingaiah Memorial Trophy, he was entrusted to Suraj Narredu. Once again, he was backed confidently by Irfan’s supporters. Allowing Cool Approach and Sussex Downs to lead the nine runners into the straight, Suraj waited patiently with Shivalik Fire. He produced him towards the outer portion of the track, and made his bid thereafter. It was interesting to note that as they approached the final furlong, Cool Approach, Sussex Downs and Shivalik Fire were besides each other. While Cool Approach was slowing down towards the inner rails, the other two were in full flight. With both Imran and Suraj going for their whips, it was clear that we were in for a close finish. Sussex Downs maintained her advantage till the very end and crossed the wire ahead of Shivalik Fire and a tired Cool Approach. Suraj tried to reverse the official verdict in the Stewards Room, but his objection lacked merit. It was over-ruled in quick time. 

Apart from his failure astride Shivalik Fire, jockey Suraj Narredu continued his good work in the saddle by scoring another double on Saturday. He has been adding points every single day after his return from suspension earlier this month. He began the afternoon with some hard riding astride Amit Caddy’s Better Than Ever. Even though this four year old had never finished anywhere close to the winner, he was reported to have done some good work on the training track. With a top jockey riding him today, the bay cornered late support to start as a firm favourite in the day’s opener. Astonishing and La Isla Bonita did the early running, and the pair was totally exhausted at the bend. This allowed Better Than Ever to hit the front. Even though the public choice went to the front, he was seen making heavy weather of his efforts to stay there. Suraj aided his cause with the use of the whip, and managed to coax him successfully across the wire. Shahraan and Faith And Toil moved steadily in the straight to finish within touching distance of the leader. The last named was extremely unlucky in this race. After losing many lengths at the start, she was seen trailing the bunch as they turned for home. Her smooth progress in the final furlong confirmed that she is ready to strike before the end of this season. 

First-time Wind Wonder gave Suraj an armchair ride to victory in a class IV sprint on Saturday. This rangy horse was making his racing debut as a four year old. It was learnt that Wind Wonder had suffered from a few problems as a youngster, and his trainer refused to rush with him till he was fully satisfied with his fitness. Wind Wonder paid a compliment to Irfan Ghatala by his movements on the race track. The odds against him more than doubled at race time, and a number of punters were confused by this development. Some of them were seen ruing their decision after the race was over. Wind Wonder took a good jump and settled comfortably behind Isle Of Fire, as they tackled the first half of their journey. Bella Pinky, Star Of Desire and Fire Storm raced at regular intervals as the runners moved into the straight. It turned out to be a one-horse race thereafter. Wind Wonder responded to Suraj’s urgings and darted clear of the pack. He was eased-up a long way from home while scoring decisively from Isle Of Fire and Fire Storm. The winner is a nice type that seems capable of defying a winning penalty and winning on promotion. 

The eclipse of Ganapathy’s Light Of Success was quite surprising, as the filly had such strong credentials that it was difficult to see her getting beat by any of her eleven opponents. She had run over a longer trip last month and had been used for setting pace for stablemate Murioi in that race. Light Of Success had ended a fair sixth that day. She was now running at her own mark over a sprint, and was perfectly handicapped to score another point for her trainer. Sreeknath decided to hold her in second place behind Refreshed in the early stages and rode her for eventual speed today. He produced her towards the centre of the track and asked her to accelerate near the two furlong marker. Light Of Success rolled sideways under pressure. Her shortening strides allowed Cielo Signore to come charging through the inner rails and go past Refreshed near the winning post. Apprentice Arshad Alam brought the recently gelded four year old with a flourish to score an easy victory. Light Of Success just about managed to hold third place ahead of a late finishing Cash My Way. This result must be taken with a pinch of salt, as the favourite surely possesses the ability to perform much better than what she did in this race. 

The biggest upset of the day was witnessed in a seven furlong handicap for horses in class IV.  A number of three year olds were opposed by some older horses. Darius Byramji’s All Proof and Dominic’s Love Is Life were strongly fancied by their respective yards, and the proof of their optimism was reflected on the betting boards. One could back any of the others at 20/1 and over. A couple of things became clear at the start. Love Is Life refused to raise a fluent gallop and despite some strong belting from PS Chouhan, failed to move forward. His camp lost all hopes midway through this race .It is possible that Love Is Life did not benefit from the fact that his trainer had chosen to remove his blinkers in this race. While Summer’s Breeze and Chronicle held centre-stage till the bend, All Proof made some progress on the wide outside. But once they entered the straight, the race was more or less over. Prasanna Kumar trained Chronicle responded to Shiva kumar’s urgings and spurted clear of the pack. The 70/1 outsider got stronger in the final furlong and had little problem in keeping a hard ridden All Proof and Towers Of Hanoi at bay. Both All Proof and Love Is Life confirmed that they are fairly “ordinary” handicappers who would need to improve a lot to move into the higher classes.