An extra day’s action conducted at Bangalore on Friday came to a grinding halt after a spate of thundershowers rendered the race track unsuitable for racing. Resultantly, the Stewards of the Club had little hesitation in canceling the last three races of the afternoon. Continuous rainfall over the last three days had led to a penetrometer reading of 5.0 on race day morning. The official going was listed as “soft”. There was little doubt that if there were further showers during the day, the jockeys would find it extremely dangerous to render proper assistance from the saddle. That is exactly what transpired. A steady drizzle after the second race turned into a deluge thereafter. In fact, the BTC Stewards Cup was conducted in pouring rain. This trophy event was a sprint for maiden three year olds. Highly regarded runners like Vigorous, Conquistador, Zagato, Madame Bovary and Cannes were part of this twelve horse field. Based on her flying second to Capitalize, Irfan Ghatala’s Vigorous was a prime favourite in this race. With an in-form PS Chouhan astride, she was expected to be too strong for her rivals. However, that was not to be. She disliked the slushy going and performed pathetically. It was finally Darius Byramji’s Madame Bovary who struck form to waltz away with this trophy. 

Kolkata import Sreevahini showed good early speed and set a strong pace ahead of Vigorous, Conquistador, Zagato and Madame Bovary. The rest of the runners led by Cannes were spread right across the track, and it was evident that it was almost impossible for any of them at the back to have a say at the finish. The front runners began to bunch up at the bend. Under some strong urging form John, Arjun Mangalorkar’s Conquistador gained momentum and went ahead of the others. With those around him starting to slow down, it seemed as though he was headed for an easy victory. But Sreekanth had other ideas. He pulled out his stick and asked Madame Bovary for an effort. The small-made filly responded gamely and surged strongly towards the leader. In a matter of seconds, she overtook Conquistador and strode successfully towards the finishing line. A late burst of speed enabled first-timer Priceless Ace to make up acres of ground from the back and take the third spot. He is one horse that can be earmarked to emerge from the maiden ranks in the near future. Another one that caught one’s eye in the parade ring was Cannes. After an ordinary start, Suraj handled her tenderly to ensure a safe passage through these difficult conditions.  

Darius had already led-in another winner earlier in the afternoon. With a brilliant start-to-finish effort, three year old Guts And Glory dug deep into her reserves of stamina and lasted out to win from Cadogan and Aryan Warrior. Unlike earlier starts, wherein she had taken time to get into her strides, Guts And Glory was a transformed filly today. She stormed out from an inner draw and made all the running.  She not only won her maiden race today, but also presented jockey PS Chouhan with his 1000^th winner of his career. It took exactly fifteen years for this top class jockey to achieve this landmark. On 16^th August 1998, PS Chouhan had begun a long journey with his first win on a race track. On exactly the same date today, he crossed this coveted milestone. This was definitely a very unique co-incidence. 

The other professional to score a double on Friday was trainer Amit Caddy. While Cool Hand won a sprint for horses in the lowest category, Summer Sun put up a spirited display over seven furlongs and won in a group of fifteen runners rated in a higher class. After winning an identical race in winter, Cool Hand was promoted to class IV. However, when the scales were dropped at the end of that season, Cool Hand was back to his winning mark. A setback in training in early May, saw him missing from action for a major part of summer. It was exactly three weeks back that he actually took part in a race. The trainer chose  to run him this time as a top weight in a lower class on Friday. He enhanced Cool Hand’s chances by entrusting him to Arshad Alam. Not only does this young boy enjoy a two kilo allowance, but he also renders perfect assistance from the saddle. The even-money favourite led from the word “go”, and showed the way to April Babe and Fire Storm. Impressiveattitude and Nation’s Glory were under a bit of a pressure to stay in touch with leaders. It became a one-horse-affair in the straight. Cool Hand lengthened his strides and pulled away from a late finishing Impressiveattitude and Nation’s Glory. In this sort of form, the winner can easily pick up a similar race during the Mysore season. 

Summer Sun had lost as a strongly supported favourite in his previous start. The five year old had raced against horses in his own age group that day. Jockey Srinath had been unable to extract Summer Sun from a traffic jam towards the inner rails and had to be content with the fourth spot. Amit felt that his charge was capable of performing much better, and therefore, he took a chance of running him against younger rivals within a week of his last run. There were a number of factors against him today. Apart from having to contend with younger horses, he was seen conceding lots of weight to his fourteen adversaries. In addition to that, he was drawn on the innermost portion of the track. With continuous rainfall, the going was terrible towards the inner rails.  Summer Sun overcame all these hurdles with some astute assistance from the saddle. Realizing that his mount doesn’t have initial speed, Suraj allowed him to settle after a level jump. The pair immediately moved off the inner rails and found a better path through the middle of the track. Allowing Viva Diva, Affrikah and Alpine Shine to lead on sufferance, Suraj bided his time at the back.  It was only after the runners skirted the bend, that he made his move. Bringing Summer Sum through an unhampered passage on the wide outside, he pulled out his stick. A couple of backhanders got the desired response. Summer Sun took over the running and sped away from his rivals. He ended quite a few lengths clear of a totally unfancied Cowboy Cal, Deep Blue Sea and Ice Stone. Public choice Affrikah put up a doleful performance and ended in the ruck. 

The only other race held today was The Lt Col Gaunt Memorial Trophy. It was a sprint for horses, four years old and over, in class III.  The open nature of this race was reflected on the betting charts as the tightly handicapped field reached the starting gates. Top-weighted Wrekin tried to repeat his last outing winning performance with another forward effort. He shot into a three length lead over The Muse and Pack Ur Bags. Fancied runners like Impressive Bolt and Samara Sun were close behind them as they turned for home. With Wrekin getting exhausted near the two furlong pole, it was Impressive Bolt that assumed command of the proceedings. The Sirajuddin trainee thrived in wet conditions and strode clear of the pack. A Imran Khan kept him on an even keel and pushed him strongly towards the winning post. The pair ended many lengths clear of Pack Ur Bags and Samara Sun.  

The various prizes associated with the culmination of a season were announced at the end of the day’s proceedings. Irfan Ghatala and Suraj Narredu were worthy champions amongst the professionals. Both of them won by a comfortable margin over their nearest challenger. While Irfan ended many points in front of Amit Caddy, Suraj cruised ahead of Imran Chisty. The fact that Suraj had missed the early part of the season due to a suspension that he had picked up in winter, his winning 31 races in such a short span of time was quite remarkable. Alaindair was an obvious winner of the “Champion Horse Of The Season” title. For the umpteenth time in succession, Kunigal Stud Farm retained its hold on The Leading Stud Farm Trophy.