A small card of seven events was held at the Bangalore Turf Club on Thursday. The KN Chennabasappa Memorial Trophy, a sprint for horses four years old and over in class II, happened to be the day’s feature. The twelve acceptors in this race were closely matched. On the basis of a very close second to Real Steel in his last start, Irfan Ghatala’s Hillsboro seemed to have the first chance. The trainer had tested him with blinkers on the training track, and being satisfied with what he observed, had chosen to use the said equipment today. Despite his wide draw, this mount of Suraj Narredu headed the betting charts. The others that were considered by the punters were Thoughts N Actions, Brabus Speed, Rich Celebration and Nickel Chrome. While the first three had been figuring regularly in the result boards, the last named had disappointed this year. This talented filly was taken to Kolkata after her winter campaign, and this had somehow affected her form. It was possible that she had suffered from travel fatigue. In her last start, the Dhariwal trained Nickel Chrome had ended behind Hillsboro and Rich Celebration, and therefore, was available at 8/1 with the bookmakers.

The race was run at a fast pace. The speedy Flying Tricolour darted to the front and showed the way to Catamaran and Hillsboro. PS Chouhan nursed Nickel Chrome in fourth and managed to hold that position till the bend. Rich Celebration was caught in a traffic jam and Imran Chisty was seen trying to extricate himself from that position. After Flying Tricolour came under pressure and rolled outwards, there was a yawning gap that appeared towards the inner rails. Suraj seized the opportunity and pushed Hillsboro through it. The favourite did well to quicken at that stage and took control of the situation. After going a couple of lengths clear of the rest, the bandaged Hillsboro refused to go any further. This is exactly what PS Chouhan had been waiting for. He brought Nickel Chrome with a well timed run, overtook Hillsboro and strode away for an easy victory. Rich Celebration made up a lot of ground in the final stages to end a very close third. In fact, Rich Celebration was the fastest finishing runner in this race. As regards Nickel Chrome, this performance reminded race-goers of her performances as a three year old. She had obviously re-discovered her best form to win the day’s feature.

There was further joy for the Dhariwal camp, when Mi Amor stormed home to a thrilling win in the concluding race of the day. The five year old had been floundering under her heavy impost and running some poor races this season. The three kilos claimed by apprentice Arshad Alam today, proved to be very handy. She devoured ground in the final furlong to put it across her rivals. After Kilimanjaro and Veyron had run out of steam in the straight, the race was confined to the heavily backed Neron, Super Surprise and Mi Amor. All three made their moves at an identical juncture and began their march towards the winning post. Neron enjoyed a lead of a length and a half over the other two, and appeared to be well in control of the proceedings. However, it all changed in the next few seconds. Mi Amor dug deep into her reserves of stamina, gained ground on the wide outside and stormed home to a close victory over Neron and Super Surprise. The last named was a trifle unlucky as he had suffered from an interference that he had received during the early stages of this race.

A remarkable recovery after a fly-jump from the gates by Neil Darashah’s Royal Salute was the main talking point at the Bangalore races on Thursday. After starting more than ten lengths behind the early leaders, the brave three year old won from an almost impossible position. The seven furlong handicap for horses in class IV had a couple of strong contenders. Dominic trained Ace Mesmerize was a strong favourite in early morning trade, but once money started to pour onto Royal Salute, the bookmakers ran for cover. Within a short period of time, Royal Salute firmed up further and reached the gates as an even money choice of the punters. While Ace Mesmerize expanded to 4/1, you could write your own card on the others. A huge groan greeted the start of this race. Royal Salute reared up in his gate and lost precious ground at that stage. While the others led by Ace Mesmerize sailed into a comfortable lead, the favourite had a huge task ahead of him. Jagadeesh chose to skirt the entire field and urged Royal Salute to move forward. The bay showed amazing acceleration to move from last to first, as he was soon at the helm of affairs. Joining Ace Mesmerize in front, Royal Salute got down to business. There were many who felt that this horse had used up all his energies by doing so, and therefore, he could be a spent force in the straight. But they were in for a surprise. Royal Salute matched strides with Ace Mesmerize right down the straight, and wore him down near the finish. It was clear, that had the favourite taken a level start, the verdict would have been extremely big. On this showing, Royal Salute is sure to win on promotion. In an interesting fight for the minor placings, Sue Nevell got up in time to get the better of Golden Princess and Zenica.

The most exciting finish of the day was witnessed in a seven furlong race reserved for horses ,five years old and over, in Class III. The first five finishers in this race ended within hand-shaking distance of each other, and just about a length covered them at the wire. Top-weighted Cool Approach was a clear favourite in this eleven horse field. His recent fourth in a higher category enthused many to support him with confidenceon Thursday. He ran prominently till the final furlong before fading out of contention. Ground Marshal and Hillstone made the early running, but they too were missing at the finish. It was almost impossible to take a call in the final furlong, as almost seven runners were abreast at that stage. Under some strong riding from Imran Chisty, Darius Byramji’s I Specialist covered a lot of ground on the wide outside and put his neck in front of the others. At almost the same juncture, PS Chouhan and Mark of Genius wove their way towards the inner rails and came charging like a train. The pair failed narrowly in their bid to collar I Specialist at the wire. Strive And Serve and Magnomical were equally prominent in the photographs taken at the finish.

Leading professionals Suraj Narredu and Irfan Ghatala continued to retain an advantage at the top of their respective tables by scoring doubles today. Suraj began the day with a runaway victory astride a horse trained by his father. After a number of unplaced efforts this season, Satish Narredu’s Red Admiral had come down in handicap. He was lucky to find himself in the lower division of a sprint for horses in class IV. The field looked so poor, that it was difficult to spot a winner. The fact that Suraj was riding Red Admiral, was the only indication for the bookmakers to install him as the first favourite in this race. Red Admiral took a good jump from the widest draw and was soon alongside Rise To Glory, as the pair led the nine horse field into the straight. Suraj changed gears thereafter and asked Red Admiral to “go”. The response was almost immediate. The small made horse increased the tempo and sauntered clear of the rest . With nothing really moving from behind, a tired Rise To Glory was allowed to retain his second place, marginally ahead of Manta Ray and Cheddar Face. None amongst the beaten brigade look capable of winning a race in the near future.

Suraj’s other victory was scored astride Irfan Ghatala’s Wind Wonder. This four year old had made a late start to his career and run for the first time in the middle of June. The manner in which he disposed off his class IV rivals that day, forced the handicapper to give him a 20 point penalty. However, his present opposition lacked quality and it was apparent that he was set to score another point for his stable. Wind Wonder started as a half-money favourite and justified the confidence of his backers with another bloodless victory. After tracking Superb Style and Sweet Secret till the bend, he moved forward in the straight. He had no problems in taking over the running and the journey thereafter was fairly easy. Despite being eased up a long way from home, Wind Wonder crossed the winning post many lengths ahead of Wind Of Soul and Sweet Secret. Fourth finisher The Muse was definitely unlucky, as this filly received a number of “checks” at a crucial juncture in this race. Irfan has a strong horse in Wind Wonder and he is in great heart at the moment. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Wind Wonder seems destined for the highest class at Bangalore.

Irfan  had a double for the afternoon, as he had already won an earlier event with Strombolite. The three year old filly had emerged from the maiden ranks a few weeks ago and was seen competing at her own mark in handicap company. She had a tough opponent in Kafka. This horse had beaten her in their only clash in winter, and since they were meeting at level weights today, it was felt that he could do so again. While PS Chouhan partnered Kafka, Irfan chose to claim an allowance on Strombolite and entrusted her to apprentice Anjar Alam. The race was a straight forward procession. Strombolite was the first one out of the gates and the free-striding filly settled into a comfortable rhythm ahead of Kafka and Oceanic Wind. The leader raced easily towards the inner rails and enjoyed a healthy advantage at the bend. Despite Chouhan’s strong urgings, Kafka failed to bridge the gap and ultimately threw in the towel to settle for the runner-up berth. Amazon Bay came from a long way off the pace to finish a fair third. The winner is a nice speedy type that is sure to make further progress in her career.