Michael Eshwer schooled Stilton who had let down as an on-money favourite in his last essay, came good in the higher class, winning the 1200 metres Hoysala Cup, a race for horses rated 40 and above, in a three-horse photo-finish on Friday. Profiting from the draw, jockey Christopher took Stilton on a start to finish mission, with the top-weighted Splendid Smith and Taurian in striking distance. Favourite Florican, as is his wont, dropped back to the last position and had to cover too much ground to cover in the end which proved difficult. Florican had earlier won in the hands of Appu but Mallesh Narredu who replaced him, perhaps did not have a clue as to how to ride him, as he ran into problems while trying to maneuver his position from the rear and was a lost cause well before he picked up momentum in the straight. Stilton who led the field into the straight was strongly challenged on the inside by Splendid Smith who despite a cramped passage, persisted in the same route. Stilton allowed Splendid Smith to squeeze through and put his head ahead but the former fought back and managed to win by a narrow margin. Taurian, who picked up speed in the final furlong, came with a big run, only to miss the berth narrowly, a head and a short head separating the first three runners. Jockey Velu who rode Splendid Smith, tried to reverse the verdict in the Stewards’ room, by raising an objection against the winner’s jockey for interference but the objection was rightly overruled. Jockey Mark Gallagher can be a devil of a rider but sometimes, the same aggression is not forthcoming and he is capable of some poor finishes as well. He failed to get favourite Abraxas to collar the front-running Cellisima who managed to save the day and recorded a win after a long gap. He was astride another loser on Onetouch Toomuch who did not get into a favourable position early on and had too much ground to cover on Jazz Dancer who proved good in the end. Jockey Ryan Marshall is always in the eye of the controversy for one reason or the other. He often finds himself on strong public fancies that have this knack of not justifying the expectations. One such horse was Andalusia who was entrusted the job of carrying the public purse but the daughter of Warrshan, despite the jockey’s efforts, could not collar All Ours who won at nourishing odds. This type of a result is frequent whenever two runners of a stable run and it is no surprise that professionals are subject to some hostile comments from the public. Cindy Girl was backed to the exclusion of her rivals in the BARI Plate (Div.I) on the basis of the blazing track by the daughter of Tejano. Cindy Girl had all the chances but weakened close home, making the way for Prince of Byerly to win at the expense of Chilly Wind. Silva Storai on Mucho was more intent on watching the action from the edge of the track rather than being in the thick of things!