A modest card of eight events was conducted at the Bangalore races on Saturday. The Speakers Cup, a seven furlong handicap for horses rated 60 and above, occupied the pride of place as the day's feature. A number of older horses were being opposed by a solitary three year old named Carlton. The colt had reeled off three in a row at the start of his career and shown that he was a useful type. Amongst the older lot, Lokanath trained Ambitious Reward had the best form. His runs against tough opponents in winter had shown that he was destined for a higher category. Since today's feature was being held in the very early stages of the season, present form and fitness were going to play an important role in the outcome of this race. With Suraj in the saddle, Ambitious Reward received all round support to start as an even money choice of the punters. With some money flowing in the direction of Carlton and Arrogant Approach, those at the race course were anticipating an interesting finish to this event.

The twelve runners took an even start and were soon headed by Invincible Prince, Lad Star and Magnitude Star. Port Blair headed the chasing pack comprising of Carlton, Ambitious Reward and Arrogant Approach. The leading group was closely huddled as they turned for home. It was hereabouts that Invincible Prince was popped a question by apprentice Prasad. He responded well to skip clear in the straight. But Imran Chisty and Arrogant Approach were right behind him. The latter got stronger with each passing moment and was soon at the helm of affairs. With Imran waving his whip at Arrogant Approach, the four year old won by a widening margin from Invincible Prince and a late finishing Ambitious Reward. Carlton found it difficult to match strides with his older rivals and ended way behind the winner. As a youngster, Suleiman trained Arrogant Approach had proved to be more than useful.  After today's victory, he is sure to be rated in the highest category. Those who supported Ambitious Reward today, must back him again over a slightly longer trip later in the season.

For the third consecutive day, Imran managed to score a double. His next winner came in the last race of the day, when he steered Rashid Byramji's Rulers Secret to a hard ridden victory. The stable had chosen to run this youngster as a top weight in class IV, and the connections backed him with confidence. Rulers Secret was held back in the initial stages and asked to follow Santa Ana and Battle Empress. Both Rulers Secret and Big Ticket made their moves from the back and charged towards Santa Ana in the straight. While Rulers secret went past her to win by a length, Big Ticket ran out of gas and ended a fair third.

PS Chouhan was the other rider who excelled in the saddle on Saturday. He succeeded astride a couple of runners from Deshmukh's stable. A daughter of Multidimensional named Supreme Fairy made her racing debut over a scurry in The Smart Chieftain Trophy, and was sent to the gates as the shortest priced favourite of the day. Those who had backed her were worried to see her traveling in mid group till the bend. Chouhan produced her on the wide outside and by responding to his stick, Supreme Fairy kicked clear of Air Dancer and Sakchi. This hard fought victory should see her stripping fitter in the next start.

He had already won the lower division of a class III sprint astride Vijay Viraaj. A number of well performed three year olds were running in this event. Based on his superb form at Malakpet, Vijay Viraaj was an obvious choice of the punters. He was supported ahead of Red Red Rose and Topspot. The local horses had also done well in winter by posting authentic victories amongst other three year olds at this centre.  Allowing Topspot to do the early running, Vijay Viraj occupied the second spot ahead of Red Red Rose and the others. It became a two horse race in the straight. With Topspot refusing to slow down till the distance post, there was much tension in the Deshmukh camp. But once Chouhan got Vijay Viraaj into top gear, the race was over. The nice looking colt devoured ground in the final stages and kicked clear of Topspot and a tired Red Red Rose.

Another Hyderabad based horse won the upper division of the above mentioned event. Shehzad Abbas trained Cornwallis made full use of a lucky opportunity and posted a fairly comprehensive victory. Sharat Kumar's Emperor Cruise was an outstanding runner in this group. The on-money favourite dropped his jockey on the way to the starting gates and bolted rider less across the track. He became an obvious non-starteron Saturday. With no clear second favourite, the bookmakers were quick to install Loveofmylife at the top of the betting boards. However, their opinion about the final outcome of this race turned out to be lop-sided. While Loveofmylife performed like a dud, it was Cornwallis who sported a pair of wings and literally flew away from the rest. In a scramble for the minor slots, Wings Of Fortune and Bold Nature came from the back to save place money for their followers.

The day had begun with a couple of interesting races. In the first race of the day, a colt named Rustic Sunrise trounced a bunch of helpless maidens. This B Puttanna trainee possessed too much speed as compared to his eleven opponents and there was none amongst them who could end anywhere close to him. By making every post a winning one, Rustic Sunrise emerged majestically from the maiden ranks. Despite being eased up in the final furlong, he ended six lengths ahead of Allez Royale. Third placed Rapid Advance could do no better than finish a distance behind the runner-up.

The closest finish of the afternoon was witnessed in a mile handicap for older horses in class IV. Arjun Mangalorkar's Stimulate was a strong contender for the first prize. She had worked well and was traveling over a trip suitable to her style of running. John settled her nicely behind a speedy Amazonas till the bend and brought her with a nice looking run in the straight. She managed to collar Amazonas near the two furlong pole and go past him with ease, but she was extremely surprised to find Priceless Ace by her side. With Appu goading the Padmanabhan trainee with rare aplomb, it became clear that we were headed for a thriller. The lead changed hands a number of times in the next few seconds and the picture was quite hazy. But once they were in touching distance of the winning post, it was certain that Appu had won the day. Priceless Ace had managed to collar Stimulate on the post.