A brilliant display of speed and stamina by Agostini , helped this nice looking colt from  Dhariwal’s  yard to land the biggest prize of the Bangalore Winter Season. Thriving under the strong handling of Louis Beuzelin, the bay stormed home to a fine win in The Bangalore Derby (Gr.1) on Republic Day. Bred at the Kunigal Stud Farm, this son of Burden Of Proof added another feather to the cap of the team at Dr Vijay Mallya’s racing establishment. The past few months have seen many horses owned by them winning Classics at most racing centres in the country. Enthused by his performance today, the connections took a quick decision to pay the hefty amount that would enable him to start as a final entrant in The Indian Derby next Sunday. Even though a week’s gap between the two races is extremely short, it is learnt that jockey Beuzelin was partially responsible for influencing this decision. He felt that Agostini wasn’t really punished in today’s race, and that the colt would be reasonably comfortable over another testing trip of a mile and a half in the next few days.  

This year’s Winter Derby at Bangalore appeared to be an “open” race. In the absence of an outstanding contender, the bookmakers were happy to offer 4’s and over for the entire field of a dozen acceptors. Barring final entrant Sur La Tete, none of them had won over 2400 metres. In fact, most of them were yet to traverse this distance. Agostini’s win in The Chief Minister’s Trophy over a mile and a quarter was quite suggestive. He had beaten a hard ridden Wind Stream near the winning post. Considering the fact that the terms of that race were stacked against him, the said performance was immensely satisfying. For those who felt that the extra quarter mile would not be a problem for this free-striding colt, Agostini became their first choice on Sunday. The Ministerian had done equally well over a similar trip at Mahalakshmi in December. He too had won a class II race by eight lengths and clocked a timing that was close to the track record at that centre. Karthik Ganapathy’s charge was re-located to Bangalore with an intent to target him at this race. While it is generally accepted that it is tough for Mumbai based horses to make a mark on the tougher track at Bangalore in their very first start, Karthik was hoping for the best.  Sur La Tete hadn’t done much of note at Bangalore, but her winning effort in the Oaks at Malakpet had taken everybody by surprise. Her camp paid Eight Lakhs to pitch her as a final entrant, and the filly was the third favourite behind the above mentioned contenders. 

The initial pace in the race was fairly slow, with no-hoper Amazonas showing the way to Arrogant Approach and Agostini. Argiano and Ambitious Reward were close behind them, while the others were closely huddled at the back. After a level start today, Czar of Romance was content to race in the rear. The scene in front remained more or less the same. While Amazonas and Arrogant Approach were seen being niggled to stay ahead, Agostini was cruising on tight reins. Beuzelin was having a tough time holding him back, but the young man was refusing to let him “go”.  After those in front ran out of steam near the four furlong marker, Agostini had no option but to move ahead. Despite being held on a tight leash, he slipped into the lead along the inner rails and showed the way to Argiano and Ambitious Reward. The Ministerian and Sur La Tete were struggling at that stage, and their riders had already called it a day. After skirting the final bend and getting him on an even keel in the straight, Beuzelin asked Agostini to quicken. The colt responded gamely, put his head down and galloped resolutely towards the finishing line. Within the next few seconds, he was more than four lengths clear of his nearest challengers. Just as he was being hailed the winner by his supporters, a horse emerged from the chasing pack. With Sandesh astride, Czar Of Romance made up much ground from the back and tried his best to threaten the leader. However, Agostini was traveling so well that it was almost impossible to catch him today. Czar Of Romance ran his guts out to finish a very creditable second. A tired pair of Ambitious Reward and Ace Badraan took the last two places on the result boards. The timing clocked by the winner was a bit slow, but then, the lack of initial pace had a lot to do with this scenario. 

Trainer Dhariwal was really thrilled with the outcome of this race. Agostini had justified his confidence and rewarded him with a Derby Triumph in the last few years of his career. Additionally, he had completed  a fine treble for the stable on Sunday. Dhariwal trained horses had already won the first two races in the day’s card. Both Prazsky and Connemara had been ridden to comfortable victories by PS Chouhan. For the second day in succession, the top rider was able to score a double during the afternoon. Prazsky had run a number of times over the past one year, but was still to emerge from the maiden ranks. She got an opportunity to do so against the likes of Vigorous and Summer Sensation today, and the filly seized it with both hands. Once Vigorous led the group and got tired at the bend, Prazsky appeared on the scene. She made up much ground towards the centre of the track and stormed ahead of the others. With Chouhan waving his whip at her, the chestnut got stronger with each stride to score ahead of a late finishing Clueless and a tired Vigorous. 

The NRCE Cup, a terms race for three year olds, saw ten maidens vying for the top prize. Satish Narredu’s Supreme Dominator and Arjun Mangalorkar’s Fairwood Park were strongly fancied by their respective connections.  Both of them had been beaten into second place in their previous starts. Since both had been working well, it seemed to be only a question about who would be able to tackle the extended trip of seven furlongs better. Not many considered the chances of Dhariwal’s Connemara. After showing out in the straight, the filly had been beaten by Supreme Dominator in an earlier clash. There was no real reason to feel that she would be able to reverse the verdict today. However, that is exactly what she did on the track. Allowing Imran Chisty and Fairwood Park to lead on sufferance, Chouhan was quick to occupy the second spot astride Connemara. The grey was content to stay there till the bend. The two of them pulled away from Supreme Dominator and the others in the straight.  The race finally boiled down to a fight between the two front-runners. Connemara moved strongly under the whip , overtook Fairwood Park near the distance post and strode freely past the finishing line. Supreme Dominator could do no better than finish a tame third. 

The other trainer to saddle a treble on Derby Day was Irfan Ghatala.  He had a number of fancied runners in the nine event card, and three out of them were able to deliver a hat-trick for the stable. Jackie Oh set the ball rolling. The filly had served notice of an imminent victory with her recent performances. She was lucky to find herself amongst a bunch of modest opponents. She found herself at the top of the betting boards, but once money came pouring onto Cadogan, Cheddar Face and Arta, the odds against Jackie Oh rose to unbelievable levels. Those who retained faith in her, and backed their choice at 5/1, were rewarded for their decision. Ryan Marshall pushed Arta into an early lead and tried to run away with this race. She was chased all the time by Oriental Star, Jackie Oh and Cadogan. The race took a serious turn in the straight. While Arta got tired in the final furlong and Cadogan caved-in under pressure, it was Jackie Oh that got stronger. John gave her a couple of taps and pushed her relentlessly. She devoured ground with each stride and went on to beat Arta and Cadogan with a measure of comfort. 

Irfan’s Ice Cutter had run only twice in his career and won both those starts with ease. The handicapper had been quite severe and given him a stiff penalty for each victory. The five year old was assigned 62 kilos in The Vidhana Soudha Cup. There were a couple of things in his favour. Firstly, he was yet to taste defeat, and furthermore, he was racing against horses in his own age group. Additionally, he was racing over his favourite trip of seven furlongs.  However, once Summer Sun got slammed in the betting rings, the odds against Ice Cutter drifted with the bookmakers. Taking-off smartly from a wide draw, Ice Cutter found himself racing alongside early leaders Lads Ability and Wrekin. Suraj had him under a tight grip as they turned for home. All this while, favourite Summer Sun chose to stay at the back, and it was apparent that Dashrath Singh was riding him for eventual speed. Once those ahead of him got tired, Ice Cutter made his way to the front. Skipping clear of the group, he had complete control over the proceedings. Suraj rode him strongly and Ice Cutter kept responding to finish ahead of a fast moving Summer Sun and Magnitude Star. There were many at the race course who felt that Dashrath Singh had mistimed his bid astride the runner-up. 

The very next race saw Dashrath Singh riding a strong finish to help Ice Storm across the wire. The Republic Trophy was a mile race for those rated 60 and above. Irfan’s Ice Storm was a firm favourite to bag this trophy. Since he was drawn on the inside, Ice Storm was able to travel along the rails for most of the way. With PS Chouhan urging him relentlessly, the bottom-weighted Potomac showed the way to Ratham and Spaniard. Ice Storm settled comfortably in fourth spot, while the others were headed by Aumento and Violent Storm. The nine runners began to bunch up in the straight. Ratham appeared on the wide outside and moved ahead of Potomac. Once John pulled out his stick, Ratham quickened further and tried her best to stay clear of the others. At almost the same moment, Dashrath Singh had begun to move astride the favourite. Ice Storm did well to respond to his jockey’s call and managed to nail Ratham near the winning post. Potomac rallied strongly along the rails to finish close behind them. Only a length separated the three of them at the wire. 

The Mysore Race Club Trophy, a terms race for those in the highest category, was the added attraction in the day’s card. This race had attracted some top class milers stationed at Bangalore.  Immense, Ridgeway and Super Storm were known to be much better than their opponents and the three of them were expected to figure in a close finish. The only thing against Arjun Mangalorkar’s Ridgeway was the fact that he had this tendency of bursting his blood vessels under pressure. The nine runners took-off to a level start. The speedy Equine Lover darted ahead to open-up a gap of a couple of lengths over Super Storm and Ridgeway. The fairly spread out field saw Immense and Inquisition gracing the rear. The scene near the final bend was identical. Equine Lover continued to dominate the proceedings till the two furlong marker. It was hereabouts that Ridgeway moved forward. Responding strongly to Srinath’s urgings, he strode clear of those around him. The only one who looked a bit threatening in the final furlong was Inquisition. He made up much ground from the back to relegate Equine Lover into third place. An announcement on the public address system confirmed that Ridgeway had once again burst a blood vessel during the running of today’s race. 

The only other event in the day’s card was The Nethravati Trophy. It was a seven furlong handicap for those in class IV. On paper it appeared to be a match race between Regal Soldier and Frankness. Both of them had won an earlier start this season. While Regal Soldier had finished second in his next outing, Frankness was running after an interval of almost six weeks. The action in the betting rings led to a lot of confusion. With a lot of money flowing in the direction of Cheval D’or and Dofantasy, the odds against Regal Soldier and Frankness drifted alarmingly. Dofantasy, As Good As It Gets and Stimulator took turns in leading the group, as the runners traversed the first half of their journey.  Frankness and Regal Soldier race right behind the leaders, while Cheval D’or was seemingly out of contention. There was a sudden change of scene in the straight. Darius Byramji’s Frankness had hit the front and the filly was traveling better than the others. With Imran Chisty waving his whip at her, she got stronger in the final stages of this race to win by a widening three lengths from an improving Regal Soldier and a totally exhausted As Good As It Gets. Cheval D’or came to a trot in the straight and was last of twelve at the finish.