Deshmukh trained Tintinnabulation displayed commendable abilities while tackling the grueling trip of 2800 in the Bangalore St Leger (Gr.2), and winning another Classic for his sporting owners. He handled the trip, as also the present conditions, with absolute ease and had no problems while lifting this trophy. This horse seems to reserve his best for “big occasions”. He did the same in the Hyderabad Derby before landing the biggest prize over the Invitation Weekend at Kolkata. He blotted his copybook by flopping as a favourite in The Chief Justice’s Cup in late June. A lethargic start had led to his undoing. Altamash Ahmed’s An Acquired Taste, who had won that race, was the favourite to win The Leger on Wednesday. There was little doubt that there were a number of stars in the fray, but their present form was below par. Indian Derby winner Super Storm, Invitation winner Tintinnabulation, Kingfisher Derby winner Borsalino and Mysore Derby winner Wind Stream were amongst the seven starters in this race. Each one of them had suffered a mild setback in training, and were on the mend at this stage of their careers. An Acquired Taste had won both his starts after arriving from Mumbai, and was definitely the fittest horse running in the last classic of the year. Whether or not he would be able to tackle the extended trip on soft track, was something that would be known only once the race was over. Those who believed in An Acquired Taste, were happy to support him. Others took their chances with Tintinnabulation and Super Storm.  

Borsalino did his usual front-running and went ahead of Super Storm, Master Shifu and An Acquired Taste. Tintinnabulation and Wind Stream traveled towards the back end of this group, while Song Dynasty graced the rear. The runners moved in single file and there was no change in the order as they tackled the first mile and moved towards the rising ground near the four furlong marker. After Borsalino got tired at the bend, it was the turn of Super Storm to go ahead. Srinath pushed him further and tried to steal a march, but he wasn’t good enough to do so. An Acquired Taste ran out of steam and rolled outwards. It was clear that something was going to come from behind and go ahead of the tired leaders. Not one, but two of them appeared on the scene. Tintinnabulation made the first move and established a winning lead into the final furlong. PS Chouhan timed his challenge perfectly and the horse was good enough to give him a suitable response. He lengthened his strides and moved majestically towards the finishing line. Under some hard riding from Suraj, Wind Stream came charging from the back to move into second place. Super Storm and An Acquired Taste plodded along to take the minor slots on the result boards. The last named displayed limitations of stamina and was totally exhausted after today’s exercise. 

Another brilliant piece of riding by Chouhan astride Neil Darashah’s Sun Divine enabled the four year old to win the last race of the day. His never-say-die attitude paid rich dividends when his mount got up on the very last stride to score in a blanket finish from Icelander and Real Steel. On the basis of some outstanding tack work in addition to his recent form, Icelander was a “recovery bet” for most punters. On a day when only a single favourite had obliged the punters, it was hoped that Icelander would help them recover some of their losses. With Flying Tricolour and Will Star setting a decent pace, Icelander, Sun Divine and Real Steel were content to race in close order till the bend. Once the leading pair got tired, the fancied runners began their charge. Suraj ducked inwards with Icelander and sought the support of the inner rails. PS Chouhan produced Sun Divine towards the centre of the track and put him under pressure. Imran Chisty took the shortest way home and followed the footsteps of Icelander in the straight. While Icelander enjoyed a comfortable lead into the final furlong, there was no doubt that the other two were getting closer. Even Real Steel poked through the middle and looked threatening at that stage. In one of the closest finishes seen this season, Sun Divine managed to nose out Icelander and Real Steel at the wire. Only a head separated the three of them at the finish. 

The SM Ramakrishna Rao Memorial Cup, a class I handicap over 1200 metres, attracted some top class sprinters. Sprint Star, Secret Punch, Cape Ferrat and Quick Enough had clashed swords on numerous occasions in the past, and had always finished close to each other. Their present weights showed that they were equally matched today. The only newcomer to this group was Esteban. This Irfan Ghatala trainee had already won twice this season and was bidding for a hat-trick. The only thing in his favour was the timings that he had clocked in recent times. They signaled that he was improving with each run. Hyderabad challenger Vijay’s Conquer tore away to the front and set a strong pace ahead of Cape Ferrat, Esteban and Secret Punch. After a level start, the favourite Sprint Star was noticed gracing the rear.  Vijay’s Conquer continued his dominance in front and was able to shake-off Cape Ferrat and Secret Punch. But once he was challenged by Esteban, there was nothing more that he could do. He surrendered tamely and settled for the second place. Esteban responded gamely to Zervan’s urgings and went on to complete the coveted hat-trick. Sprint Star came charging on the wide outside to end a respectable third. Secret Punch seems to have lost his zest for racing, as he was seen struggling at the back. The winner has further scope for improvement and looks capable of making a mark in “graded” company. 

The colours of Dilip Thomas were very prominent on Wednesday, when two of his horses trained by Arjun Mangalorkar posted runaway victories. Both Winged Foot and Wrekin were so much superior to their opponents that it seemed as though they were the only ones galloping in their respective events. A nine furlong handicap for horses in class IV attracted seven runners. All of them were maiden three year olds that had been tested at least thrice amongst youngsters, and were now eligible to run at their own marks. Noble Reward and Bronzino had better form than the other five and were accordingly installed at the top of the betting boards. The presence of Suraj and PS Chouhan in their saddles was partly responsible for such a scenario, as each one of them was tackling this grueling trip for the first time in their short careers. By taking a slow jump, Bronzino lost most of his chances at the gates. He showed a bit of improvement near the half way marker, but was a tired horse in the straight. The action in front was restricted to Ranjha, Homeric and Noble Reward. The three of them matched strides till the top of the bend and were besides each other as they straightened for home. Noble Reward moved the best of the lot and was the first to show out in the straight. However, his dominance was short-lived once Winged Foot arrived on the scene. Under some able guidance from Imran Chisty, this daughter of Multidimensional sported a pair of wings and literally flew away from the rest of them. Homeric came with a second run  to beat a tired Noble Reward into third place. 

Wrekin’s victory in a seven furlong event was equally easy. The colt was clashing once again with horses like Trust Me Boy, Volans and Ice Stone. Since all of them had finished close to each other in a race won by Volans, and were tightly handicapped today, it appeared as though we were in for another close finish in this race. John changed his tactics astride Wrekin and sent him to the front. The chestnut enjoyed a two length lead over Fantastic Strike, Ice Stone and Trust Me Boy as they began their journey towards the home stretch. It was at this stage that John increased the tempo. He pulled out his stick and goaded Wrekin to go further. The response that he got from his mount was impressive. Wrekin lengthened his strides and gave no chance to any his opponents. He ended many lengths clear of a heavily punished Volans and Fantastic Strike. Trust Me Boy ran well below his known form and ended in the ruck. 

Darius Byramji was the other trainer to saddle a double during the afternoon. His two winners came in the form of Artesia and Ballantoy. While Artesia had fair form to win her race, Ballantoy’s victory took everyone by surprise. Artesia had finished a comfortable fourth in her maiden start in winter, and the filly was re-appearing on a race track after a break of six months. In a small group of nine maidens, she was a relative outsider at 6/1 with the bookmakers. There was one-sided support for Padmanabhan’s King Of The Court in this sprint. This debutant had been doing some outstanding work on the training track and his paddock looks justified the confidence of his backers. While Feet Of Fire and Cherry Hinton showed a lot of urgency and fought for an early advantage, Srinath was able to settle King of The Court in third place. Castle Stuart, Artesia and Conquistador traveled at regular intervals, as the small group entered the straight. With those in front feeling the pressure and rolling off the rails, the stage was set for the favourite’s “arrival”. King Of The Court stormed through the inner rails and established what looked like a winning lead at that stage. Srinath was oblivious to what was happening behind him. He did not realize that another runner had benefited from the yawning gap that had appeared through the centre. In an unbelievable turn of events, Artesia responded gallantly to Neeraj Rawal’s whip and produced a sparkling turn of foot in the final furlong. She made up more than five lengths on the favourite and managed to pass him close home. Feet On Fire and Cherry Hinton fought their own little battle for the third spot. 

The 40/1 outsider Ballantoy brought a smile to the face of veteran jockey D Patel, who actually rode a winner after quite a few years. The seven furlong race had a firm favourite in Arjun Mangalorkar’s Talita’s Girl. The sparingly raced filly had won her last start in winter, and because of a drop in scales this season, was placed comfortably in the middle of Class IV today. She looked the part in the parade ring and was fancied ahead of Blue Star and Right On Time. After a level start from the gates, the eleven runners began to spread out in the back stretch. While Ballantoy and Right On Time tore away to the front, Talita’s Girl started to drop out of contention. In fact, she was last of eleven as they turned for home, and PS Chouhan was failing to elicit any sort of response from her. Ballantoy managed to shake-off her nearest pursuers and raced strongly towards the finishing line. She enjoyed such a huge lead that it was almost impossible for anyone to get close to her. In a sudden turn of events, Talita’s Girl began her charge towards the inner rails. She covered a lot of ground in the straight and finished a respectable second ahead of Right On Time and Alpine Shine. It was difficult to comprehend what happened to her in the first half of this race. 

The lone favourite to score on a day of upsets was Tharun Thimmaiah’s Ice Kingdom. The grey filly had lost a certain race last time out, when her saddle had shifted in the straight. She was once again pitted against horses in her own age group, and despite her top weight, she seemed to have an edge over the others. Suraj settled her comfortably behind Delilah and See You Later, and continued to stay in touch with them till they turned for home. Ice Kingdom was shown “daylight” in the straight. She cruised past See You Later and appeared to be going comfortably at that stage. However, with Bella Pinky and Vinod Shinde making a strong bid near the distance post, the favourite came under pressure. Suraj had to give her a couple of cracks to keep her going, but once she re-gained momentum, there was little doubt about the final result. Ice Kingdom won this race by little over a length from Bella Pinky, See You later and a late rallying Serengeti. Incidentally, this was ice Kingdom’s first win of her career.