A strong performance by Dominic's Rock With U highlighted a nine event card at the Bangalore races on Sunday. He displayed remarkable speed and stamina while cantering away with The Chief Ministers Cup (Grade III). This terms event, for horses four years old and over, had attracted nine acceptors.  There were a number of them in this group who were reputed sprinters. Padmanabhan's Speed Six and Arjun Mangalorkar's Shivalik Star enjoyed a rating much higher than the others, and since all of them were allotted weights within three kilos of each other, these two runners definitely competed with a great chance of landing the top prize. Speed Six's heroics during the Invitation Weekend in early March were noteworthy. After losing the Sprinters Cup in a very close finish to Nefyn on the opening day, he had come out the very next afternoon to annex The Suresh Mahindra Memorial Multimillion over 1400 metres. The six year old had run into some great form during the winter months, and it was felt that a mere reproduction of the same would enable him to win today's feature. With fair support for the speedy Light Of Success, these three market fancies cornered most of the betting. For the records, the eventual winner Rock With U was freely available at 12/1 with the bookmakers.

With the withdrawal of Ancient Wonder, only eight of them participated in this race. Making full use of an innermost draw, PS Chouhan urged Rock With U to hit the front. The four year old was soon joined by Speed Six, and the two of them skipped clear of Light Of Success and Shivalik Star. The order remained exactly the same till the top of the straight. The race took a serious turn at this juncture. A couple of factors changed the entire complexion of this contest. While Rock With U got stronger with each stride and darted ahead of the rest, Speed Six shot his bolt near the furlong marker and called it a day. Late bids from Shivalik Star and Whispering Gallery, enabled them to saunter into the minor berths. But the winner was sighted a long way from home. Despite being eased up in the final furlong ,Rock With U won by a widening margin. The manner and style of this victory was a clear indicator of things to come later in the season. He will be a formidable force in similar events scheduled to be held over the next two months. As regards Speed Six's performance today, it was well below his known form.

PS Chouhan had an equally easy time astride Deshmukh's Movie Moghual, who helped him to complete a personal double for the afternoon. The Hyderabad challenger was a piping hot favourite in the last race of the day. A mere look at the three year old in the paddock was enough to realise that he was the horse to back in this event. Movie Moghual justified the confidence of his fans by putting up an expected performance. After being held up in mid group for the first half of their journey, the colt was allowed to gallop in the straight. He quickened like a seasoned campaigner and strode clear of a late finishing Sairani and an exhausted Jersey Bride. The last named has failed to live up to the fine impression she had made while succeeding in her maiden start last season.

Apprentice Yash Narredu made full use of the opportunities given to him by trainer Amit Caddy and succeeded in posting a couple of victories on Sunday. The trainer had cleverly placed Delilah and Catch The Eye in the two divisions of an age group sprint reserved for horses in the lowest category. Since both these runners were blessed with initial speed, he was happy to claim an allowance on them. While Delilah was strongly fancied by her connections, Catch The Eye scored as a relative outsider. After cantering behind a runaway Isle Of Fire till the bend, Delilah surged ahead in the straight. In the upper division, it was smooth sailing for the favourite thereafter. Delilah was followed in single file by Isle Of Fire and Soviet Melody right upto the winning post.

The lower version of this race was the day's opener. Sharat Kumar's  Encourager attracted a lot of support and started as an even-money favourite in this race. He tried his best to remain in front, but was soon overtaken by Catch The Eye. With Yash keeping her on an even keel, she increased the tempo in the final stages and skipped clear to register a fine victory. With Encourager running poorly, the minor slots were grabbed by a late finishing Magnetize and a tired Sayyonee. These successes are sure to do a world of good for Yash Narredu's confidence. For a youngster who had won the first race of his career only a few days ago, scoring a "double" immediately thereafter must be like a "dream come true " for him.

The Moonlight Romance Trophy, a seven furlong race for maiden three year olds was touted as a match race between Satish Narredu's Supreme Dominator and Padmanabhan's Remembrance Of You. Both these runners had done well in winter by finishing close behind some highly regarded youngsters, and their ability to tackle the present trip was generally accepted. Allowing a small group of no-hopers to lead on sufferance, Srinath and Remembrance Of You travelled comfortably in fourth spot and stayed there till the bend. On the other hand, Supreme Dominator stayed further behind and it was clear that Suraj was riding him for "eventual acceleration". The fancied pair got down to business in the final furlong. Even though Remembrance Of You made the first run and enjoyed a length's advantage near the distance post, she was soon challenged by Supreme Dominator. He moved menacingly on the wide outside and came alongside the filly. With Remebrance Of You shifting out slightly under pressure, the duo fought out a stirring battle for rest of the way. It was Remembrance Of You who lasted out to stay marginally ahead till the duo touched the finishing line. Suraj raised an objection against Srinath on the grounds of "interference", but it was over-ruled by the Stewards.

The shortest priced runner to race this season happened to be Pesi Shroff's Honeymoon. This filly won her only start at Mumbai, and had since been re-located to Bangalore. She was targeted at a class IV sprint on Sunday. Since the quality of her opponents was quite mediocre, the highly regarded Honeymoon literally started as a money-back favourite in this race. Zervan allowed Temujin to go to the front, and bided his time in second spot till the final turn. He released his grip astride the filly and brought her into contention in the straight. Honeymoon bounded forward and sealed the fate of this race. She won easily from Temujin and and a late finishing Vigorous. The winner is a talented sprinter and we are sure to hear more about her in the near future.

A seven furlong handicap for horses in class III had a strong favourite in Amit Caddy's Ayrton. This nice looking colt was backed to complete a treble for the stable. With Suraj astride, he was fancied ahead of Frankness and the others. Frankness had won twice for the asking, and the Darius stable was pretty confident that she had the ability to complete a hat-trick. Castle Stuart and Absolute Red were the others that were considered by the punters. A groan greeted the start of this race. Hot favourite Ayrton took a sluggish jump and lost considerable ground at the start. The speedy Ancient Title shot to the front and showed the way to Samara Sun and Castle Stuart. While Frankness was tucked-in comfortably towards the inner rails, Ayrton was struggling to make up ground on the wide outside. With the leaders beginning to slow down in the straight, it was time for Imran Chisty to make his move. He brought Frankness through the middle and rode her vigorously. She responded immediately to his urgings and darted ahead of the pack. It was smooth sailing thereafter. Frankness won with absolute ease from Castle Stuart and a late rallying Absolute Red. The winning margin of six lengths was a compliment for those who ended behind her today. Ayrton could do no better than finish a tame fifth.

Darius and Imran Chisty were in the spotlight in the very next race of the day. In a sprint for horses in class II, four year old Evraz was a strong choice of the punters. With the odds against early morning favourite Wind Of Soul expanding rapidly, it seemed as though Evraz was the only serious contender in this group  Since this big made horse was known to be better suited over a slightly longer trip, it was accepted that he would have to accelerate from behind. Wind Of Soul and Hillsboro set a strong pace ahead of Scenic Blast and Catamaran. Evraz travelled in mid division as the eleven of them turned for home. The entire field started to get closer in the final furlong. Seven or eight of them were in serious contention at that stage, but no one could really visualise what happened thereafter. A roar greeted the arrival of Evraz and Imran Chisty on the wide outside. But their domination was extremely short-lived. It was Hidayat  Khan's Smithsonite who came with raking strides from the rear and shot through the pack to seal a well deserved victory. Evraz was forced to settle for the second spot ahead of Frenemee and Hillstone. Just about three lengths covered the first seven finishers in this race.