Narayan Gowda’s Ethophian won his first race in Class I, when he managed to scramble home by a whisker in The Civil Service Cup at the Bangalore races on Saturday. Ably guided by his regular partner apprentice Kiran Rai, Ethophian succeeded in making every post a winning one. For a horse who was a maiden about six months ago, this was a tremendous performance. After winning four races in winter and claiming a couple of runner-up berths during that period, Ethophian had made his way to the present category. By doing what he did in Saturday’s feature, the bandaged five year old showed that he is a tough competitor. The seven furlong handicap had attracted a group of eleven runners. Since most of these horses had been running against each other in recent times, their present fitness was going to have a decisive say in the final result of this race. Bottom-weighted Im Different had graduated to this level by posting an unexpected victory about three weeks ago. Much was expected from this horse as a youngster, but minor niggles from time to time had stopped him from achieving his true potential. It was clear that Im Different had the weights in his favour today and the chestnut would prove to be a strong contender for the top prize.  Others like Immense, Jersey Shore. Gentle Knowledge and Ethophian found some support with the bookmakers. The race lacked a clear favourite and this fact was amply visible on the betting charts. As far as the serious punters were concerned, this was one race that they wanted to avoid. 

The runners took-off level from the starting gates and were closely huddled in the first furlong. Ethophian, Gentle Knowledge, Jersey Shore, Treasure Mountain and Talisker were at the helm of affairs and could be seen traveling next to each other. While Im Different moved steadily in mid division, Immense lacked early speed and was seen racing in the rear. Kiran Rai found the pace a bit slow and decided to press the accelerator. Ethophian increased the tempo immediately, and went a couple of lengths clear of the top-weighted Gentle Knowledge. Jersey Shore continued to hold third ahead of the others, as they hugged the false rails and moved towards the bend. Ethophian continued his dominance in the straight and it seemed as though he was headed for a comfortable victory. But A Imran Khan astride Gentle Knowledge and TS Jodha on Im Different had other ideas. They put their respective mounts under serious pressure and rode forcefully. While Ethophian’s lead started to diminish with each stride, the other two moved forward.  The winning post came to the rescue of the leader. Ethophian hit the wire fractionally ahead of Gentle Knowledge. Im Different ended close behind the two of them. The one that was moving the fastest at the finish was Im Different. He made up much ground in the straight and was a trifle unlucky to miss today. Those who wagered on him , can hope to recover their losses in his next start. 

For Kiran Rai, the win astride Ethophian was the second leg of his double, as he had started with a runaway victory astride Prithviraj’s Balas Dream in the day’s opener. Facing a poor set of horses in the lowest category, Balas Dream was backed with confidence. Her bandaged legs failed to dissuade her supporters, as she had done some good work on the training track. Her fans were a happy lot at the end of this race. Balas Dream led from the word “go’ and tore away from her pursuers. Mister Grey and Shared Heart followed her at regular intervals. It became a procession thereafter. Even though the order remained the same till the end, the margins between the three of them began to get bigger and bigger. Fashion Flame came with a late burst of speed to finish besides the third placed Shared Heart. She could be more effective over a galloping course and the mare has the ability to make a mark in the next few months. 

Jockey Trevor was the other jockey who scored a double on Saturday. The added attraction in the day’s card was The J Lingaiah Memorial Trophy. The mile handicap for older horses attracted a nice group of nine runners. Arjun’s Alfons De Borja and Padnmanabhan’s  Aashikaara headed the betting charts ahead of Beauty Is Truth and Cinch. The first named received further support at race time and was a clear favourite as the horses entered their stalls. Aashikaara took a good jump and settled into a nice lead ahead of Alfons De Borja . The others were closely bunched as they tackled the first half of their journey. The two leaders skipped clear of the others and marched resolutely into the straight. It was evident that Aashikaara was traveling the better of the two and it would take a Herculean effort from Alfons De Borja to catch him. While Trevor goaded Aashikaara with his whip, Yash Narredu had to make do with his hands and heels. The former got stronger in the final stages of this race and won comfortably from Alfons De Borja. Shaka Zulu displayed some very old form to come charging from the rear and claiming the third spot ahead of a hard-ridden Cinch. This was the third victory for Aashikaara in his last four starts. The manner in which he has been improving after each run is a compliment to his astute trainer. 

Trevor’s riding on his other winner Assiduous was praiseworthy.  Guiding the 6/1 outsider from Suleiman Attaollahi’s yard in the previous race, the young man showed a lot of maturity. This race had a pair of well supported runners. PS Chouhan’s mount Champakali and the Srinath ridden Mantra carried most of the money in this race.  With no-hopers Refreshed and Delilah doing the early running, Trevor was content to wait behind them. He allowed Assiduous to hug the rails in third position, and kept him ahead of Mantra and Champakali. The group was closely huddled as the field skirted the wide false rails and turned for home. Not wanting to lose precious ground by changing course and bringing Assiduous on the wide outside, Trevor waited a bit further. The expected opening between the two leaders appeared near the two furlong marker. He urged Assiduous through the gap and charged towards the finishing line. The colt responded immediately and continued to gallop under Trevor’s guidance. Even though Champakali came with a sustained run in the closing stages of this race, she was unable catch the winner. Mantra claimed the third spot by overtaking  Refreshed near the winning post. Four year old Champakali can be placed to win a similar race this summer. Mantra’s run was a bit confusing. It is quite possible that the four year old could be more effective over a slightly longer trip. 

The upper division of the above mentioned sprint was annexed by Arjun Mangalorkar’s Smokey Sid. After the failure of a couple of well-backed horses from his yard earlier in the afternoon, there was some compensation for Arjun’s followers.  With money flowing in the direction of the Dominic trained Ace Mesmerise, the odds against Smokey Sid, Hackett and Amazonas continued to expand till the runners reached the starting gates. While Dominic had claimed an allowance of three kilos by entrusting the favourite to apprentice Prasad, Arjun had claimed four kilos through Yash Narredu. The race was run at a fairly fast pace. Smokey Sid used his early speed and led from Ace Mesmerise and Hackett. The three of them were well ahead of the chasing pack led by Amazonas and Entertainer as they took the rising ground near the three furlong marker. The front-runners were close to each other at the final bend. It was hereabouts that the race took a serious turn. While Smokey Sid relished the conditions and skipped clear at that stage, both Ace Mesmerise and Hackett got tired. This enabled a hard ridden Amazonas to come with a late bid and claim the runner-up berth. It may not be prudent to read much into the result of this race. In my opinion, it will be difficult for any of those in the beaten brigade to come out and win a race this season.

The quality of youngsters participating in events confined to maiden three year olds at Bangalore has been steadily declining this season. Those that were unable to win through the winter months are now getting an opportunity to score amidst lesser mortals. On Sunday we saw eleven of them lining up near the 1100 metres marker. Since Good Fruit and New Emperor had figured on the board in some of their earlier starts, the betting was generally confined to the two of them. First-timer Actual had stray support with the bookmakers, while the others were totally neglected from a betting perspective. One did not have to wait too long to spot the winner. With New Emperor darting into a five length lead within the first couple of furlongs, and the others beginning to feel the pressure, the result became a foregone conclusion. With Shoban Babu continuing to urge him in the straight, the Nityanand trainee extended the margin of  his victory, and was many lengths ahead of Good Fruit and Actual as they  cantered past the winning post. The modestly bred winner is a speedy type. This trait could help New Emperor to score over a sprint, the day he runs against modest opponents in “open” company.

The day ended with Amit Caddy’s Kingston Town showing a clean pair of heels to his nine opponents. It was a race for horses four years old and over that had been rated in the lowest category. The six point drop in scale at the end of the winter season had permitted a number of horses to compete at this level. The sparingly raced Kingston Town had done well to finish third in his previous start. The one’s that had ended ahead of him on that occasion were Ace Lexington and Prazsky. While these two horses were presently rated in class III, Kingston Town was lucky to get relegated to class V. Since he looked “outstanding” against his present opponents, the bay was backed confidently by his supporters. They felt that any price was a good price. Jumping out of the gates as a half-money favourite, Kingston Town tore away from his rivals. Oriental Image tried to chase him till the bend, but was soon out of contention.  Just being ridden hands-n-heels by P Mani, the leader got stronger in the straight. Feet Of Fire rallied late to beat Oriental Image into third place. The timing clocked by the winner was significant. It was almost similar to that docked by those who had won over the same trip in higher categories on Saturday. If you consider the manner in which Kingston Town carried the heavy impost of 61 kilos today, it is easy to conclude that he will be too-good-to-miss in his next start.