Pesi Shroff trained Mariinsky performed on expected lines and cantered away with The Abaran Bangalore 1000 Guineas (Gr.2) at the local races on Saturday. Amongst a small group of seven, she showed that she belonged to a different league as compared to her opponents. The decision of her connections to bring her to Bangalore for the winter classics proved to be a perfect one. Over the past few months, the filly had shown that she was improving with every run. After her summer campaign at Bangalore, Mariinsky had returned to Pune and won The FD Wadia Trophy. She conceded weight to most of her rivals in that race and won with a measure of comfort. She was immediately taken to Kolkata for The Fillies Trial Stakes. Starting at very cramped odds, she justified the faith of her numerous supporters. On each occasion, Mariinsky would come with a late bid in the final furlong and win comfortably. Even though both these wins were scored over 1400 metres, her trainer had no doubts about her ability to tackle the metric mile. She was accordingly targeted next at today’s feature. After her arrival at Bangalore, Mariinsky had given all round satisfaction by winning a mock race at this centre. On paper, the Mysore 1000 Guineas winner Isn’t She Special shaped as her closest challenger. Since she had already won over this trip, there were a few who felt that she could topple the favourite. But the bookmakers were convinced about her chances and refused to offer anything more than half-money on Mariinsky.

With the Mysore challenger Duma losing a lot of ground at the start, the other six went at a good gallop. Beauty Is Truth and Whispering Gallery set a strong pace ahead of Isn’t She Special and Keturah, as the runners began taking the rising ground near the three furlong marker. Jockey Trevor was totally unperturbed with his fifth spot, and he had Mariinsky on a tight leash as the runners approached the final bend. John tried his best to wrest the initiative astride Isn’t She Special, but the filly was finding it tough to do so. At just about the same juncture, there were two of them who moved forward. While Mariinsky appeared towards the inner rails, Keturah arrived purposefully on the wide outside. But it was clearly visible that Mariinsky was the best moving runner in this race. She increased the momentum and strode clear of Keturah and a tired Isn’t She Special. That is exactly the way they finished at the end. Mariinsky confirmed that is much better than any filly based at Bangalore. It is difficult to say at this stage whether or not she will be able to tackle a much longer trip. In case Mariinsky is able to do so, then she could prove to be a strong threat to her male counterparts.

Neil Darashah’s three year old Nesto made an impressive debut by winning his first career start on Saturday. Bred at the Manjri Stud, this son of Phoenix Tower showed great maturity by producing a nice turn of foot in the final furlong of this scurry. Eight well-bred youngsters entered the starting gates. Padmanabhan’s Baracchus attracted attention on paddock looks and was fancied ahead of Dominic’s Atmos. The latter was well muscled and seemed to be fully tuned for this event. After a level start, it was Red Red Rose and Atmos who headed the pack. The race got divided into three groups. The leading pair raced about five lengths ahead of Smart Connections and Nesto. The other four led by Baracchus were another five to six lengths behind them. They were exactly in the same order as they entered the straight. It was hereabouts that Nesto made his move. Srinath asked him for an effort near the distance post, and he responded gamely. Just as Atmos got the better of Red Red Rose on the inside, Nesto appeared on the scene. Coming through a gap between the two of them, he responded to his riders call and galloped away to a smart victory. While Atmos retained her second spot, Baracchus made a late bid and dislodged Red Red Rose from her third berth.

A very close finish was witnessed in a seven furlong handicap for those rated 60 and above. Ganapathy trained Supreme Regime was a hot favourite to win this race. He had been subjected to a couple of mock races in the company of his more exalted stable-mates named Murioi and Sothern Emperor. Prior to the start of this event, the 65/100 offered by the bookmakers seemed to be extremely generous. Sreekanth had a bit of a problem in settling Supreme Regime behind marginal leaders Frenemee and Athletic Star. The others led by Diamonite and Rich Celebration were seen traveling a few lengths behind the three of them.  Supreme Regime raised hopes of an easy victory by going ahead in the straight. He led comfortably into the final furlong before coming under pressure. He suddenly shortened his strides and allowed Madame Bovary and Diamonite to get the better of him near the finishing line. Even Rich Celebration managed to finish with half a length of Supreme Regime. PS Chouhan did really well to time his challenge astride Madame Bovary to a nicety. He brought this Darius trained filly with a strong gallop on the wide outside and pipped Diamonite on the post.

Jockey John was the lone professional to score a double on Saturday. His win astride Sharat Kumar’s Rakshitha was one of the easiest during the afternoon. This three year old filly had ended a fair fifth behind Artic Attraction, Shinnecock Hills and Santa Ana in an upper category. Since she was now pitted against horses in the lowest class, there weren’t many who looked elsewhere while selecting a winner. She tracked Ordered Steps till the bend , before taking control of this race. Being ridden out hands-n-heels, Rakshitha powered away to win impressively from Nation’s Glory and Recordmaker. Now that she has found her winning rhythm, Rakshitha can be expected to move up the ladder.

John’s next victory was achieved in The Sharavanabelagola Cup. He was partnering Arjun Mangalorkar’s Greyconnection in this race. While eleven horses took a level start , Hidayat Khan’s Chiron came out riderless from the gates. Magnomical, Cocktail Circuit and See You Later dominated the early proceedings and showed the way to Greyconnection and the others. A fancied See Bright dropped back towards the inner rails and was seen gracing the rear.  With those in front coming to a crawl in the straight, it was Greyconnection who hit the front. Under some powerful guidance from John, the filly kicked clear in the final furlong. Zermatt , Summer Sun and Carducci took the minor slots on the result boards. Suraj Narredu kept See Bright too far behind the leaders, and the top-weighted filly was unable to do much at the end. A couple of minutes after the race was over, a yellow cone was hoisted. The Stewards had apparently ordered an enquiry into the “start” of this race. Jockey Srinath informed the officials that he wasn’t in Chiron’s saddle when the start was effected. The TV replays and the  evidence given by other jockeys who were drawn alongside Chiron , confirmed that the starter had made a huge mistake while performing his duties. It was really pathetic to see the starter justifying his actions in front of the Stewards. Normally, races held under such circumstances are declared “Null and Void”.  However, those present in the room chose to introduce a new norm at this centre. They allowed the result to stand and declared Chiron as a non-starter. All bets placed on this horse were refunded by the bookmakers. It will be interesting to see if the Stewards of The Bangalore Turf Club apply the same rule consistently while handling similar situations in future.

An age group handicap over seven furlongs was the opening race of the day. Narayana Gowda’s Ethophian was backed with supreme confidence by his connections. Despite being ridden by a rookie named C Harish, this runner continued to attract money till the time of stalling. The colt took a slightly lethargic jump and was seen traveling in mid group behind Somerset Rose and Blizzard Of Oz. Realizing that he was many lengths behind the leaders, Harish began to move astride Ethophian. He devoured ground through the pack and was soon besides the front-runners. The favourite cruised into an impressive lead in the straight. A tap or two at that stage was all that was required thereafter. Ethophian got stronger with each successive stride and galloped away to a bloodless victory. King Of Heroes appeared late on the scene to end a faraway second. Another few lengths behind him was an exhausted Blizzard Of Oz, The winner appears to be quite talented, and is sure to add another point or two to his master’s tally.

The upper division of the above-mentioned race was expected to be a match event between Byramji’s Prince Of Darkness and Prasanna Kumar’s Glycys Bay. While Glycys Bay had ended a good second to Zermatt in his previous outing, Prince Of Darkness had cruised into third place behind The Muse and Optimus Zone. The Stewards of the Club had suspended jockey D Patel for offering no assistance to Prince Of Darkness in that race. With Imran Chisty in the saddle today, the big made horse was expected to put up a better performance. Imran took him into an early lead and showed the way to Sweet Angel, Royal Admiral and Glycys Bay. The four of them were at the helm of affairs and raced comfortably till the bend. It was hereabouts that things took a serious turn. Both the market fancies began to shorten their strides. While Prince Of Darkness came to a halt towards the inner rails, Glycys Bay moved sideways under pressure and faded out of contention. It was left to Supreme to come charging from behind and claiming the honours ahead of Sweet Angel, Royal Admiral and Rebuttal’s Hope.  This Attaollahi trained winner was partnered by Ryan Marshall. Prince Of Darkness added his name to a long list of horses trained by the Byramji camp that have flopped this season. An intriguing feature about these horses has been that they fail to figure on the result boards, and  more often than not, are almost a dozen lengths behind the eventual winners.

A couple of divisions of a sprint for horses in Class IV were the only other races in the day’s card. JS Pillay trained Optimus Zone displayed a marked improvement  over his known form while trouncing a bunch of helpless opponents. His fine looks in the parade ring were indicative of his present condition. Even though there was inspired support for Silhouette, Zizzi and Super Silver, the ultimate winner continued to enjoy the confidence of the punters. Arshad Alam took him to the front in the early stages of this race, and Optimus Zone dominated the rest of the proceedings. He stormed away in the straight to record a runaway victory. In a scramble for the minor slots, Tradition made up late ground to take second ahead of a tired Super Silver. Both Silhouette and Zizzi were seen plodding at the back, and it may be a good idea to leave them alone from a betting perspective this season.

By putting up a similar performance in the upper division of this race, Ganapathy trained Natural View brought the curtains down on the day’s programme. In the absence of a worthy opponent, Natural View was backed to the exclusion of her rivals. The three year old filly had won a race in the lower category at Mysore, and had run a couple of times on promotion.  Her recent track trials indicated that she was back in business.  Those who had chosen to back her at a very short price, were a bit worried to see her traveling in mid group till the top of the bend. Raaga and A Move To Remember enjoyed a four length lead till that stage. But the way she accelerated thereafter was commendable. Appearing on the very wide outside, she just cantered past the rest of them. It seemed as though there was only one horse running in that race. Natural View increased her margin of victory and clocked-in many lengths clear of Starscream and a late finishing Dance With Me. This got-abroad winner has further scope for improvement, and it may not surprise many if she defies her winning penalty.