Saturday’s racing at Bangalore was dominated by jockey Ryan Marshall , who enjoyed the best afternoon of his long career while steering four long priced horses to commendable victories. Each one of them responded nicely to his urgings and produced the desired acceleration in the straight. Since all of them were available at lucrative odds, his wins were not very popular with the big betters. The punters were at the receiving end all afternoon, as seven out of the nine races witnessed the total eclipse of strongly supported contenders. Horses like Albertino, Evraz and Shivalik Star, that looked outstanding on paper and were supported accordingly, were forced to bite the dust. Ryan’s biggest and best victory was achieved astride Speed Six in the day’s feature. The Bangalore Turf Club Trophy, a terms race for horses three years old and over and to be run over six furlongs, had attracted the finest sprinters based at this centre. Each one of them had raced against the other in recent times, and based on current form, Shivalik Star appeared to have an edge over the other six.  Apart from being the youngest in this group, this four year old was re-appearing after a pair of bloodless victories at Mysore. Since he had been traveling on tight reins and stopping the clock at record-breaking timings, it was felt that he would be too strong for his opponents. Shivalik Star’s early pace was his main weapon and he had been using it with comfort. To add to the hype around him, the terms of today’s event were heavily loaded in his favour. The bookmakers shared this optimism and were happy to install him as a short priced favourite. The only one who was backed to beat Shivalik Star was Equine Lover. Her victory on the opening day of the season was quite suggestive, and she received stray support in the betting rings.

The day’s feature got off to a level start. With Equine Lover showing a lot of urgency and darting to the front, John was content to wait with Shivalik Star. He held him back in second as the runners took the rising ground and made their way towards the final bend. Speed Six was a couple of lengths behind in third, while Chul Bul Pandy was seen biding his time at the back. The others were seen being niggled to stay in contention. The race took  a more serious turn in the straight. John released the brakes on Shivalik Star, and got the desired response from his mount. The pair overtook Equine Lover and moved strongly towards the finishing line. Speed Six ,who was traveling right behind a tired Equine Lover, almost ran into her heels. Ryan Marshall took evasive action by changing his path. The moment Speed Six saw daylight, he began to quicken. Within the next few seconds, he overtook Shivalik Star and cantered past him. The rest of the journey was even easier. Speed Six displayed some fine form while registering a smart victory. Shivalik Star got tired at the end and was beaten into third place by a hard ridden Chul Bul Pandy. Jersey Girl took the final spot on the result boards. If Speed Six is able to maintain his form and fitness, he is sure to win many such races this winter.

The dream run for Ryan had begun in the second race of the afternoon. This sprint for maiden two year olds had attracted some top juveniles. Even though there were quite a few who looked “heavy” and “underdone”, there was no doubt that many amongst this group were headed for much higher laurels. The fittest horse in this race was undoubtedly Arjun Mangalorkar’s Fairwood Park. He had been tested regularly on the sand track and this mount of John had shown that he was ready to make an impressive debut. However, he caught a tartan in Booker Jones today. With Ryan Marshall in the saddle, Suleiman Attaolahi’s Booker Jones seized the early initiative and settled comfortably towards the inner rails. He was soon collared and passed by Vivid Impression and Saltoro Ridge. The three of them were followed closely by Fairwood Park as the runners entered the straight. It was hereabouts that John managed to wrest the initiative. He pushed Fairwood Park into a narrow advantage over the others. He literally got a fright when he saw Booker Jones rallying towards the inner rails. The latter gained a marginal advantage near the distance post and retained it till the very end. Vivid Impression just about managed to retain her third place ahead of an improving Jingle Bells. The winner is sure to improve after this run, as this 15/1 outsider  had looked a bit “soft” in the parade ring.

Ryan’s next two winners came astride horses trained by Arjun Mangalorkar. The victories of Castle Stuart and Volt helped the trainer swell his kitty by three points on Saturday, as he had already won a race earlier in the afternoon.  Castle Stuart had flopped over a mile in his last outing. After leading the field into the straight, he had stopped near the distance post and faded out of contention. Arjun gave him another chance by running him over a shorter trip today. With money flowing in the direction of Artic Attraction, Peter Parker and Estelita, Castle Stuart started as an “outsider” in this race. Ryan pushed him to the front and raced comfortably ahead of Cruise Clear, Artic Attraction and Estelita till the bend. All this while, Srinath and Peter Parker chose to stay at the back. The scene changed suddenly in the straight. Castle Stuart accelerated brilliantly at that stage and kicked away from a bunch of tired pursuers. Strong favourite Artic Attraction was seen moving sideways under pressure and was failing to go anywhere close to the leader. Peter Parker appeared on the scene after the race was more or less over. He rallied towards the inner rails and finished a comfortable second ahead of Artic Attraction and Estelita. The third and fourth placed runners will take a fair amount of time before re-entering the winner’s enclosure and should be left alone from a betting perspective in the near future.

His fourth and last victory of the day astride Volt was the “final nail in the coffin” of most jackpot pool hunters. Saturday was one of those day’s when the Jackpot as well as the Mini Jackpot pools were carried over to another day of racing. After a number of failed efforts in the lowest class, Arjun had decided to run Volt at a low weight in the higher category. In soft underfoot conditions, this dickey-legged horse had failed as a favourite in his only start this season. On a harder track today, Volt ran kindly for Ryan Marshall and succeeded in producing a sparkling turn-of-foot in the straight. After Super Saloni had hit the front and the mare shaped like a winner in the final furlong,  Volt appeared on the scene. He made it look very easy by just strolling past the leader. The two fancied runners in this race were Mountain Splendor and Sunday Cruz. Both ran like “duds” and finished off the frame. This is one afternoon that Ryan Marshall is unlikely to forget in a hurry. A small roll  on his four winners would have paid a small fortune at the totalizators.

Darius Byramji’s classic hopeful Evraz was entered in a mile and a quarter race on Saturday. After scoring back-to-back victories in his last two starts, the most recent  one being over a mile, this well built horse was asked to take on class II opponents. The stable wanted to test him over a bit longer to decide his future campaign. Since he was placed near the bottom of the scales, it was generally felt that he would be too strong for his five rivals. Even though each one of them had shown that they were equally comfortable over this “staying trip”, the bookmakers refused to offer more than 65/100 on Evraz. The race got off to an even start with Magnitude Star, Sussex Downs and Applejack showing the way to Potomac, Evraz and Apollo King. Just about four lengths covered the entire group as they tackled the far corner and began their journey towards the straight. Imran Chisty showed some urgency near the final bend and pushed Evraz into contention. The bay covered a lot of ground through the inside and hit the front. Those who expected him to lengthen his strides and move ahead of the pack ,were in for a surprise. His failure to produce the expected acceleration allowed Applejack to join the issue. Under some relentless pressure from John, Applejack continued his good work towards the inner rails and maintained his half length advantage till the finishing line. Apollo King gained ground from the rear to finish an impressive third. This victory was the first leg of Arjun Mangalorkar’s treble on Saturday.

Another piping hot favourite to bite the dust was irfan Ghatala’s Albertino. The three year old had shown great promise by winning the first two starts of his career. Irfan took him to Mumbai to have a tilt at the Poonawalla Multimillion. He did well to run prominently in that race. His only run in summer was in The Nanoli Stud Juvenile Million. By ending a good third behind Murioi and Mariinsky, Albertino showed that he was maturing into a top class horse. He was taking on a group of mediocre opponents in The Kumararajah MAM Muthiah Trophy today. With the talented Sandesh in the saddle, Albertino was expected to justify the short price quoted on him by the bookmakers. A huge groan greeted the start of this race. Albertino had reared up in his gate and missed the kick as the start was effected. By losing more than a “distance” at that stage, he was seen trailing  the pack. Once early leaders Jolie and Rumour Has It got tired at the bend, it was Satish Narredu’s Super Start who hit the from. Under some hard riding from Suraj, the bay went on to win from a late finishing Alcazaar, Rumour Has It and Cullinan. Since this was Super Start’s first run after being gelded, he is sure to improve after today’s experience.

One horse that actually justified the support that he received from the racegoers was B Puttanna’s One Of A Kind. The three year old had ended a good fifth behind Castle Stuart and Mannat on the opening day of the season, and was now running on demotion. After working him on a couple of occasions, Srinath had agreed to partner him in a seven furlong race for those in the lowest category. After tracking Law of The land, Yourescintilating and View From Above till the bend, One of A Kind was sent to the front. A couple of taps with the whip was all that was required thereafter. The colt opened up a huge lead in the final furlong and went sailing clear of Attitude Xtreme and a late finishing Gur Kripa. If the handicapper is not really harsh on him, One Of A Kind can be expected to run well on promotion.

The day ended with another long-priced runner shocking the punters. Sharat Kumar’s Cool Baby came with giant strides from behind and romped home to an easy victory. The class III sprint attracted a number of three year olds that had been literally knocking on the door for the last few months. Ace Mesmerise, Kafka, Diamond Quest, Shinnecock Hills and Wind Surfer had all finished second or third in their previous runs. Each one of them had been working well on the training track and there was little to separate them on paper. Based on his inner draw, excellent movements on the sand track and the two kilos claimed off his back by apprentice Noornabi, the speedy Ace Mesmerise climbed to the top of the betting charts. With Arshad Alam in the saddle, Cool Baby was totally neglected in the betting rings. Dominic trained Ace Mesmerise did the customary front-running and brought the field into view. He enjoyed a two length advantage over Diamond Quest, Strombolite and Sun Glow at the bend. For the next few seconds it seemed as though he would be able to carry this momentum to a popular victory, but that was not to be. Cool Baby emerged from the chasing pack, galloped resolutely on the wide outside and strode away to a shocking victory. A tired Ace Mesmerise just about managed to retain his second spot ahead of a hard ridden pair of Sun Glow and Wind Surfer. Incidentally, this was Cool Baby’s third win in the last five months.