Some fine assistance from the saddle coupled with a comfortable passage through the inner rails, helped Supreme Star  bag The Karnataka Mile Championship Cup (Grade II) at the Bangalore races on Sunday. In the capable hands of Suraj, the Malesh Narredu trainee lasted out to win in an exciting finish from Machiavellianism and Agostini. After conceding chunks of weight all around and despite getting beaten into a close second place, Machiavellianism was gallant in defeat. He ran his guts out in the final furlong, but was unlucky to miss by a very small margin. This well endowed event had attracted top class milers from all over the country. A strong contingent from Mumbai was being opposed by Machiavellianism from Hyderabad and a large number of local aspirants. After spending the winter months in Kolkata, Charlatan had returned to Bangalore to have a tilt at this prestigious event. On the basis of his victory in the Bangalore Winter Derby and a second place finish behind Alaindair in The Indian Turf Invitation Cup at Malakpet, Agostini was installed at the top of the betting boards. The son of Burden Of Proof had been blazing the track in recent weeks and was reported to be in perfect health. There were many who felt that it would be difficult to beat this nice looking colt. On the other hand, Supreme Star had run some of his best races this winter. After winning a pair of important events at Mahalakshmi, he had arrived in Bangalore and was bidding to make it three-in-a-row on Sunday. However, with smart money beginning to flow in the direction of Agostini, Supreme Star and Machiavellianism with the bookmakers, the race appeared to have an “open” look. It was pretty evident that racing patrons were in for  some exciting action on the race track.

The day’s feature got off to a fluent start. Making full use of his innermost draw, Suraj managed to push Supreme Star ahead of the others. Once the five year old found his rhythm, he hugged the inner rails and allowed Roswald and Ethophian to go ahead of him. Agostini loomed large besides Supreme Star, while Machiavellianism and Czar of Romance were content to stay at the back. The order remained exactly the same as they tackled the first half of their journey and headed towards the final bend. With the two leaders getting tired in the straight, it was time for the “big boys” to make their moves. While Suraj waited for an opening on the inside, Trevor got a clear passage towards the centre of the track. He brought Agostini with a nice looking run and assumed command of the situation. But his domination was short-lived. At almost the same juncture, PS Chouhan asked Machiavellianism for his final effort. The top-weighted runner responded to Chouhan’s whip and started to gain ground on the others. But the one who moved the best at that stage was Supreme Star. Coming the shortest way home, he suddenly burst clear of the pack. He got the better of Agostini and strode ahead of him. By the time Machiavellianism could bridge the gap, the race was over. The timely arrival of the winning post helped Supreme Star in remaining half a length ahead of his closest challenger. Agostini disappointed his supporters by getting tired in the final stages and finishing a couple of lengths behind in third place. Both Czar Of Romance and Immense made up much ground from the back to figure on the result boards.

Even though he failed astride Agostini,  Trevor was the lone jockey to record a double on Sunday. He shared the day’s honours with trainer Faraz Arshad. Both of Trevor’s winners were raging hot favourites. Three year old Coldstream was making his racing debut against some seasoned youngsters. Based on his recent track work, the well-bred chestnut colt was the first choice of the punters. The Dhariwal trainee looked very well for a first-timer. After a mild skirmish near the start, Coldstream went ahead of the others. He was soon joined by Expert near the four furlong marker. The pair raced close to each other in the back-stretch and only a length separated them in the straight. With Jagadeesh making full use of his whip, Expert bridged the small gap and came alongside the favourite. But Trevor had kept something in reserve. Once he began to urge Coldstream near the distance post, it was easy to locate the winner. Coldstream got stronger with each passing moment and won fairly comfortably from Expert. Miracles Of Life plodded along to take the third position. Equal Terms was seen doing some good work in the closing stages of this race. It was apparent that this daughter of Razeen would be more effective over a longer trip.

Pesi Shroff’s Amazing Grace was targeted at The Sir M Visvesvaraya Memorial Cup. The mile handicap for horses in class II had attracted eleven acceptors. Local hopefuls like Supreme Regime, Ace Bucephalas and Mannat seemed to have little chance against Amazing Grace. This sparingly raced filly was known to possess a lot of class, and one could hear loud whispers at the course confirming that “she should be backed till beaten “.  Amazing Grace proved them right by putting up an exceptional performance. Not worried by the runaway tactics employed by Supreme Regime and Scarlet O’hara, Trevor chose to hold Amazing Grace at the back. After remaining more than half a dozen lengths behind the front-runners, she was shown daylight in the straight. Just being ridden hands-n-heels thereafter, Amazing Grace devoured ground on the wide outside and strode clear of the pack. Despite being eased up in the final stages, she won comfortably from Ace Bucephalas, Scarlet O’hara and a late finishing Mannat. We can expect to see Amazing Grace winning at the highest level this summer.

Faraz Arshad won a couple of races with Optimistic and Stimulator. The former had been given a very stiff penalty for a runaway victory in late March, and it was felt that he would find it difficult to put it across Diamond Quest over 1400 metres today. Both Optimistic and Diamond Quest were known to be comfortable over the present distance, but Diamond Quest was touted as being the better of the two as he was returning to the present category after doing well at a higher level. Kiran Rai found the early pace a bit slow and decided to take Diamond Quest to the front. Arshad Alam and Optimistic were right behind the favourite, and the duo was seen biding their time till the bend. The race took a serious turn thereafter. While Optimistic galloped strongly in the straight, Diamond Quest folded-up under pressure. He faded away from the scene to finish a very poor fourth. Dofantasy and Arziki came from the back to finish in the money. In this sort of form, Optimistic is sure to make further progress in the next few months. As regards Diamond Quest is concerned, it may be a good idea to leave him alone from a betting perspective in future.

A Imran Khan returned to the saddle and partnered Faraz Arshad’s Stimulator to a facile victory in the concluding race of the afternoon. Giving no chance to his opponents, the three year old made every post a winning one. Fancied runners like Seven Of Hearts and Big Copper Penny tried to pace with him till the bend, but they got progressively tired in the straight and faded away from the scene.  Stimulator finally won as he liked from Secret Touch and a late finishing Tradition. The winner is a speedy type and he appears to have an ability to win on promotion.

A class IV sprint was split into two divisions. The upper version was said to be a match race between Nimfea and Conrod. While Nimfea was making her seasonal debut, Conrod had run well against the highly regarded West Side Story a few weeks ago. With the benefit of a race run coupled with the four kilos claimed by an in-form Yash Narredu, Conrod carried the confidence of his connections. There was a lot of jostling in the early stages of this race, and the main sufferer was Nimfea. Finding a wall of horses ahead of him, PS Chouhan decided to hold her back till the bend.  You’re Rocking, Entertainer and Conrod were at the helm of affairs and the trio moved steadily into the straight. Those who were visibly upset with Nimfea’s discomfort till that point in time, were suddenly hopeful. The filly had moved smoothly on the wide outside and taken over the running. Making use of his whip, Chouhan urged her relentlessly across the finishing line. This was an excellent performance from the Darius trained filly. She is sure win her share of races in the near future.

The lower division was the opening race of the day. Last outing winner Major Attraction and Zulu Fantasy cornered all the money.  Both were known to be speedy types, and the seven kilos between them was expected to make the final difference. Top riders A Imran Khan and Christopher were declared to partner these two horses. Neither of these boys could have imagined what actually transpired in this race. Babu Rao’s Magic Wave had run almost twenty times in the past one year or so, and had repeatedly failed to win a race. This speedy six year old would always go to the front and come to a crawl in the straight. Rookie Indrajeet Singh employed the same tactics today. Magic Wave did the customary front running and brought them into view. The riders of Major Attraction and Zulu Fantasy stayed in close attendance and both of them were waiting for the leader to stop. But they were in for a surprise. Magic Wave continued to march relentlessly towards the final post and gave no chance to his pursuers. He refused to slow down and won by a widening margin fro Major Attraction and Zulu Fantasy.

The only other race in the day’s card witnessed the eclipse of short-priced favourite Woodberg. The four year old filly had won at a similar mark in winter and there was no reason why she could not replicate the said performance. She had worked exceptionally well on the outer sand and according to most track reporters was the bet for the day. Suraj took the half-money favourite to the front and seemed to be in control till the straight. It was hereabouts that she came under pressure. She meekly surrendered the lead to Jet Set Go and faded from the scene. With Ashish guiding him capably, Jet Set Go ran away with this race. Woodberg just about managed to hold onto second ahead of a feebly handled Zagato. An announcement much later in the afternoon confirmed that Woodberg had hampered her chances by bursting a blood vessel during the running of this race.