The 2014 running of The Bangalore Oaks (Grade II) produced one of the best finishes that we have seen in a Classic event in recent years. Five fillies were in a line at the distance post, and it was almost impossible to spot the winner. Arjun Mangalorkar’s Winged Foot (Multidimensional-Real Excellence) emerged from a tightly packed group and was ahead at the all important end. One must give credit to John for this brilliant victory. He chose to stay patiently at the back, came the shortest way home, waited for an opening through the pack and finally punched his way to the front. If one takes into account the fact that Winged Foot was the lowest rated amongst this group of eight, this performance was truly special. For sporting owner Dilip Thomas, this triumph was equally joyous. The last time he won this race was with a filly named Nairn. He had to wait for over a decade before Arjun could give him the pleasure of replicating that distinction. He is known to invest in expensive race horses, but with the competition getting tougher with each passing year, winning Classics is not that easy. In addition to all the hard work, one needs to be lucky to win such events. The field in this year’s Oaks lacked an outstanding runner. None of them had raced beyond 1800 metres, and it was almost impossible to take a call on the staying abilities of these fillies. Duma, Alcazaba and Keturah enjoyed a rating which was almost double of that of Winged Foot. The well-bred Mannat had stormed home to a fine win over a mile earlier in the season, and that was perhaps the reason why she enjoyed being the first choice of the punters. Keturah’s second to Mariinsky in The 1000 Guineas gave hope to her backers. Mumbai import Trance had gone a decent gallop at her home centre, and the Imtiaz Sait camp was optimistic about her chances.  In short, everyone was keeping their fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

The race was run at a fairly modest pace. Beauty Is Truth showed the way to Alcazaba, Trance, Keturah and Mannat.  The three back-markers were Duma, Winged Foot and Sherman Oaks. Not more than six lengths separated them as they  tackled the first half of their journey. The only thing that changed marginally thereafter was the position of Trance. She made a move at the top of the final bend, moved ahead of Alcazaba and came alongside Beauty Is Truth. The two of them were ahead of the others as the eight fillies entered the straight.  It was hereabouts that both Trance and Alcazaba got tired and dropped out of contention. Mannat too failed to move forward and was a beaten horse long way from home.  Keturah was the first to show some sparkle. She came with a determined bid halfway down the Bangalore straight and engaged Beauty Is Truth in a duel. In the midst of all this, the three back-markers moved forward. Duma came through the inner rails, Winged Foot appeared between the two leaders and Sherman Oaks started to gain ground on the very wide outside. The five fillies were in a line at one stage. With whips flying and each one of them under pressure, there had to be a winner. The one that dug deep into her reserves of stamina and produced that little bit extra was Winged Foot. She forced her way forward and won by half a length from Sherman Oaks. Close behind her were Duma and Keturah. Less than two lengths separated the four of them at the finish. It was a fitting finale to a very competitive event.

Arjun and John were associated with an equally exciting victory in the very next race of the day. This time it was a horse named Capitalize that helped them complete their personal “double’s”. This horse had won his previous start in maiden company during the summer months, and was now running for the first time in a handicap event. He was competing against last outing winners Pacific Blue and Santa Ana today. Since this was his first run after gap of over five months, the bookmakers were generous to offer 7/2 against him. With money flowing in the direction of Amit Caddy’s Pacific Blue, the odds against Capitalize remained static.  The eleven runners were tightly grouped soon after the start. Blackbird, Golden Princess, Pacific Blue, Capitalize and Santa Ana raced in close order, as the field entered the straight. They were more or less abreast at that stage. Racegoers were waiting patiently to see who will quicken better than the other. It was Capitalize who made the first move, appeared on the wide outside and swept ahead of the pack. With John making free use of his whip, the top-weighted horse drew away from the rest. However, he too began to shorten his strides and came under pressure in the final furlong. This allowed rank-outsider Regal Soldier to get close to him. Capitalize just about held onto his early advantage and scampered home to win by a “neck” from the latter. Pacific Blue plodded along to finish marginally ahead of Santa Ana while taking the third spot. Capitalize is sure to improve after this run, and since he is likely to escape with a small winning penalty, it is quite possible that he will be able to pick up another race before the end of this season.

The added attraction in the day’s card was the running of The New Year Cup. This terms event for top class horses is known to attract the best talent  at this centre, and this year, it was no different.  Zultanite, Equine Lover and Silken Touch had already won at the highest level this season, while others like Rock With U , Jersey Girl and Immense had been knocking on the door. The stage was set for a keen battle, as the runners appeared to be closely matched. However, what transpired on the track was a revelation. Dominic trained Rock With U sported a pair of wings, and under some hard riding from Sandesh, galloped away for a very easy victory. Equine Lover did her usual front running and went tearing to the front. Rock With U moved steadily in second place, while Jersey Girl and Silken Touch followed at regular intervals. Zultanite refused to come out of the gates and was stranded at the start. The action in front remained more or less same till the bend. It was hereabouts that Sandesh made his move. He tapped Rock With U and asked him to “go”. The youngest horse in the race lengthened his strides and darted clear of the rest. With those around him getting tired, a pair of runners trained by Arjun Mangalorkar made late progress in the straight to take the minor slots. Immense ended second, while Ridgeway covered a fair bit of ground to finish a good third. This performance from Rock With U showed, that upto seven furlongs, he is perhaps the best horse in training at Bangalore.

The other professional to score a double today was Suraj Narredu. The leading jockey opened his account with an easy victory astride Amit Caddy’s Bank On Me. The five year old was the second favourite behind a well backed Imperial Verse. The public choice had run twice this season, and on both occasions, had ended fourth behind some good horses. It was felt that she was much better than her present opposition, and therefore, was backed down to odds-on favouritism. While Brownie and Honourable Empress showed the way to Bank On Me and Taylor Made, Imperial Verse stayed in mid group, and David Allan was noticed biding his time at the back. He was apparently riding her for eventual speed and was saving ground by traveling along the inner rails. The expected gap towards the inside appeared for him at the bend and the mare responded by coming through it. But what happened thereafter was unexpected. Imperial Verse made heavy weather of her further progress and began to plod at that stage. This allowed Bank On Me to surge clear of the pack. With Suraj waving his whip at her, Bank On Me got stronger with each successive stride and won by a widening margin from a late finishing Taylor Made. Imperial Verse was lucky to retain her third spot, as she was only a whisker ahead of Viva Diva at the finish.

Suraj’s victory astride last outing winner Super Start was gained with some able assistance from the saddle. After receiving a winning penalty, Super Start headed the scales in the final race of the day. Even though he was at a disadvantage at the weights in comparison to some others, the punters chose to stay with him. He started as a clear favourite ahead of Rumour Has It ,Shinnecock Hills,  Triumphant and Wind Surfer. In the hands of David Allan, Rumour Has It took off like a scalded cat and tore away from the pack. She was more than five lengths clear of Triumphant and Super Start, as the ten runners entered the straight. It was evident that Rumour Has It would soon come to a crawl. That is exactly what happened near the two furlong marker. Triumphant whizzed past her and tried to run away with this race. But Suraj was not giving up without a fight. He kept nudging Super Start for an effort and the horse kept bridging the gap. With less than twenty metres still to travel, Super Start collared Triumphant and surged ahead of him. Rank-outsider Indian came with a late bid towards the centre of the track to claim the third spot. It is learnt that the use of “blinkers” on Rumour Has it led to her disastrous performance today. She exhausted herself by bolting out of the gates, and according to her rider, gave him no chance of controlling her at any stage of this race. As regards the show put up by Wind Surfer and Shinnecock Hills, the less said the better. Both ran poorly to finish off the frame.

The nine event card on “Oaks Day” began with a maiden’s sprint on Saturday. On the basis of her very close second to Nesto on debut, Dominic trained Atmos received all round support to start as a short-priced favourite in this race. The fact that Red Red Rose, who had ended a long way behind Atmos that day had come out to win decisively on Friday, somehow enhanced the filly’s chances. First-timers Supreme Dominator, Alerio , Candice and Connemara looked fairly well in the parade ring. The race got off to a level start with Rulers Secret showing the way to Atmos, Supreme Dominator and Alerio. Since most of them were ambling along at an even clip, it was tough to decipher who was traveling better than the other. Things became more clear once the runners were asked for their final efforts in the straight. The first one beaten was the favourite Atmos, who was seen shortening her strides and fizzling out of contention. What surprised many was the sudden spurt by Rulers Secret. He did that in the final furlong and opened-up a nice looking lead over Supreme Dominator and Connemara. By the time the two of them could get near him, the winning post had come to his rescue. Supreme Dominator and Connemara look like readymade winners in their next start. On the other hand, Atmos showed a marked decline in her form and condition, and it may take the filly some more time before she manages to emerge from the maiden rank.

Neil Darashah’s Whispering Gallery was the shortest priced runner of the afternoon. The filly was lucky to be placed in the lower division of a class III sprint. The opposition looked so poor that the bookmakers were forced to install her as the half-money favourite in this race. The speedy filly was further aided by her innermost draw. She darted out of the gates and carried Vivek to a bloodless victory. The jockey was a mere spectator for most of the way as Whispering Gallery raced well within herself while cantering away from her helpless rivals.. What was interesting however was something that happened at the back. While Sun Glow, Salzburg and Cash My Way were seen racing at regular intervals, Smokey Sid graced the rear. The last named refused to move forward in the back-stretch and continued to race last of nine till the bend.  John gave him a couple of cracks and decided to push him in the straight. Smokey Sid suddenly discovered his galloping shoes and stormed through the pack. He finished purposefully to end a very good second. In my opinion, he could win a race at his present mark before the end of this season. Third placed Salzburg was another one that ran well enough to suggest that she too could dock a point for Darius Byramji’s stable this winter.

The only other event in the day’s card was a mile handicap for older horses in class III. In the absence of a clear favourite, this was another race that looked like a minefield. Even though horses like See Bright, Greyconnection and Chiron were backed in the ring, none of them really impressed in the paddock. While no-hopers Entertainer, Carducci and See You later did the front-running and packed-up in the straight, the stage was set for those coming from behind. After Mi Amor seized the initiative in the last furlong, she was challenged by Atlas Power . The fact that Vaibhav had given Atlas Power too much to do, led to his undoing. He trailed the twelve horse field into the final stretch, made his move on the wide outside, picked up a bunch of tired horses and still ended a respectable second. In the hands of apprentice Prabhakaran , the Dhariwal trained Mi Amor did well to keep Atlas Power at bay. See Bright and Greyconnection fought a minor battle at the back for the minor slots on the result boards.