The 2014 edition of The Colts Championship Stakes (Grade I) featured a long and interesting card of nine events at the Bangalore races on Sunday. The presence of Malesh Narredu’s Be Safe had scared away many opponents, and finally there were only seven that were left to face the starter. Since this talented horse had been giving weight to those in his own age group and scoring comfortably, it was obvious that at level terms, he would be tough to beat. He came into this race with an impeccable record. Four outstanding victories in five starts was something that was registered in the record books. But what was missed out were the details of his unfortunate run in the Poonawalla Multimillion at Mumbai. After encountering numerous traffic problems, he had finished with a burst of speed to end a very close second. According to most racing “pundits”, he was unlucky to have lost a race that he should have normally won that day. Be Safe had already tested his skills on the local track by winning The Juvenile Million over the opening weekend of this season. Giving weight all around, he had come with a sustained run in the straight to pulverize his opponents. He had apparently thrived in local conditions and was looking wonderful in the parade ring. His victory today was considered to be a foregone conclusion. The bookmakers were scared to offer any price on him, and Be Safe started as the shortest priced runner in the history of this event. Amongst the other six, it was Shehzad Abbas’s Silver Phantom who had better form than the others. But the grey’s movements on the training track indicated that he wasn’t fully wound up for this race. Because of this, it was felt that Last Chance and Vijay Viraaj would fight for the runner-up berth.

The seven of them took a level jump from the gates. Vijay Viraaj pulled PS Chouhan to the front and tried to skip clear of Silver Phantom and Be Safe. With Chouhan trying his best to settle him down, Vijay Viraaj suddenly lost interest in the race and dropped to the rear. The action in front witnessed Silver Phantom traveling at a steady pace ahead of Be Safe and the others. Srinath and Last Chance were content to stay at the back. Finding the pace a bit slow, Be Safe was trying his best to carry Suraj to the front, but the experienced rider managed to restrain him from doing so. The runners traveled in single file while negotiating the final bend. It was at this stage that Suraj eased his grip on the favourite. Be Safe moved like a well oiled machine and increased his tempo. Without being extended, he cantered away from the others. It was literally like a “stroll in the park” for him. The action at the back was restricted to Silver Phantom and Last Chance. The latter got up in the last few strides to claim the runner-up berth. As regards the winner, this was an outstanding performance. He won by almost eight lengths in a timing that was as fast as that clocked by Maisha in The Fillies Championship Stakes. What was important was the fact that he had done this on tight reins. On this performance, it is difficult to visualize his defeat in The Kingfisher Derby. An elated Malesh Narredu confirmed that the extra quarter mile in the biggest race of the Bangalore Summer Season would not be a problem for him. Considering the quality of those who are expected to face him on the second Sunday of July, Be Safe is sure to start as a piping hot favourite. On all known form, and barring accidents, the coveted Derby Trophy should be his for the asking. Incidentally, Be Safe had presented Malesh with the second Classic of his career as a trainer.

The added attracton in the day’s card happened to be The DM Shivaswamy Memorial Cup. This sprint for horses rated 60 and above attracted some really nice horses. Suleiman Attaolahi’s Arta and Rashid Byramji’s Triumph were the fancied pair in this race. While Arta was attempting to make it four-in-a-row, Triumph was placed at the bottom of the scale and was receiving weight from his eleven opponents.  Since a number of horses wanted to hit the front, there was a mild skirmish at the start. Both the fancied horses got hampered by these traffic problems. While Imran Chisty steadied Triumph and dropped back with him, Yash Narredu made rapid progress astride Arta on the wide outside and went ahead of the others. The runners were closely huddled together as they entered the straight. Triumph was about four lengths behind the leader and his rider was still waiting with him. Imran Chisty chose a path on the wide outside for Triumph, and pressed the accelerator. Triumph responded immediately to his rider’s call. His raking strides in the final furlong enabled him to score a runaway victory over Arta, Absolute Majority and Frenemee. The winner clocked a brilliant timing while winning today’s race. He will be too-good-to-miss the day he is campaigned at a low weight in the highest category.

The Chaitanya Chakram Trophy, a nine furlong handicap for horses in class III, was another interesting event conducted on “Colts” afternoon. A number of three year olds were testing their skills over this grueling trip against their older and more seasoned rivals. Speed King, Star Of Destiny, Bold Majesty and Connemara were the youngsters fancied by their respective stables. Darius Byramji’s Evraz was considered to be the best amongst the older boys. The eight acceptors took off to a fluent start. Noble Reward and Star Of Destiny went to the front and set a fairly strong pace ahead of Bering Sea and Speed King. Bold Majesty, Evraz and Connemara raced in the rear. The order was almost the same till they tackled the first half of their journey and took the rising ground near the three furlong marker. It was hereabouts that they started to get close to each other. Once those in front got tired, it was time for the backmarkers to make an appearance. While Bold Majesty and Evraz galloped through the middle, Connemara moved strongly on the wide outside. All this while, the one-paced Noble Reward continued his good work along the inner rails. In the capable hands of Christopher, Bold Majesty came smoothly towards the centre of the track and went on to claim the trophy ahead of Noble Reward, Connemara and Evraz. Just a couple of lengths separated the first four finishers in this race.

With a large number of three year olds accepting to run in a maiden’s sprint on Sunday, the race got split into two divisions. The upper version had an interesting mix of horses, including some from Mumbai and Hyderabad. Based on their previous form, there was little doubt that the best amongst this group was Nosher Cama’s Westphalia. The got-abroad filly had done some good work on the training track at Mahalakshmi and  started as a first favourite in a similar event at that centre. In her only start in mid-April, the filly rallied late to finish a fair third on debut. Ever since her arrival at Bangalore, Westphalia had thrived in the cool and comfortable conditions at this centre. Since she had shown a lot of sparkle on the outer sand, most track reporters had selected her as the day’s best betting proposition. She justified their confidence by putting up a perfect performance. In the hands of Neeraj Rawal, Westphalia took a good jump and settled comfortably alongside a free-striding Madame Sultana. The pair raced ahead of the chasing pack and led by a few lengths into the straight. A mere tap at that stage was all that was required to get her moving. Westphalia lengthened her strides and raced away to a comfortable victory over a late finishing Forest Queen and a totally exhausted Madame Sultana.

The lower division was the opening race in the day’s card. Pradeep Annaiah’s Youre Ashwashakthi was the hot favourite in this race. There were a couple of reasons for such one-sided support for this runner . Firstly, this horse had shown sparkle in his morning trials and was being partnered by PS Chouhan. More importantly, the quality of his opposition was extremely modest. Taking off from an extreme draw Youre Ashwashakthi came and occupied the third slot behind Alecia and Tickles. He continued to travel the widest of all till they reached the final turn. It was hereabouts that those on his inside began to get tired. PS Chouhan was a picture of supreme confidence as he relaxed his grip on the favourite. Without really pushing his mount, he cruised into the lead.  Youre Ashwashakthi moved ahead of Alecia, but did not really accelerate like a money-back favourite is expected to do. At almost the same juncture, Authentic began an interesting move towards the leader. After trailing the bunch till the final turn, he improved with each stride. Chouhan realized the danger immediately and pulled out his stick. But this did not help, as Authentic had already gone past  Youre Ashwashakthi. DK Ashish had grasped this god-sent opportunity with both hands and pushed the Satish Narredu trainee to a surprising victory. At the behest of the Stipendiary Stewards, an enquiry was initiated into the running and riding of Youre Ashwashakthi. An announcement later in the afternoon confirmed that the favourite had burst a blood vessel during the running of this race.

Another three year old that impressed during the afternoon was the Hyderabad based Supreme Fairy.  The filly had made her racing debut a few weeks ago and scored amidst a group of maidens. She was now appearing for the first time in “open” company. Padmanabhan’s Scarlet Emperor was the strongly fancied runner in this race.  This nice looking horse had run once during the winter months and ended second on that occasion. The trainer, who had been  impressed with the said performance, wasted little time in taking him to Mumbai to have a tilt at one of the “plums” at that centre. After running a poor race , Scarlet Emperor returned to Bangalore. After another third placed effort against maidens on the first day of this season, Scarlet Emperor was running at his own mark. Since Supreme Fairy was conceding weight to him, Scarlet Emperor became an odds-on choice of the punters. Those who had backed him were in for a surprise, as Scarlet Emperor put up an insipid performance. He tracked Pacific Blue till the turn before assuming command of the proceedings. But once Supreme Fairy sailed past him, the nice looking specimen caved-in under pressure. His shortening strides enabled  Supreme Fairy to win effortlessly. PS Chouhan rode the winner with a lot of understanding and used her final burst of speed with great alacrity.

The only professional to score a double on Sunday was jockey A Imran Khan. Since this talented rider has put on a fair amount of weight, he is able to partner only top-weighted runners. His first success was astride Sirajuddin’s Winning Story. The filly had won a race in the lowest category in Winter and earned promotion to a higher class. But a recent drop in scales had brought her back to a winning mark. After a forward run earlier this season, the filly had bee subjected to steady preparation. Mumbai import Aqua Aria was strongly fancied by her connections. After joining Neil Darashah’s yard, the filly had been impressive in her morning trials. In the hands of Zervan, she was expected to score a decisive victory. But she was clearly unlucky to clash swords with an unstoppable Winning Story on Sunday. Imran showed early intent by pushing Winning Story from her outer gate. The filly moved smoothly to occupy the second spot behind Best Cruise within hundred metres of the start. A tightly bunched up group comprising of Kimora, Suezy Oh and Aqua Aria raced close behind the leaders. The race became a one-horse affair in the straight. Responding perfectly to Imran’s handling, Winning Story moved ahead at the bend. She increased the tempo and raced away for a very impressive victory. In a scramble for the minor berths, Aqua Aria managed to finish ahead of Kimora and Summer Dawn.

In the very next race, Imran was declared to partner Resurgent. The withdrawal of early morning favourite Better Than Ever on veterinary grounds, made this a wide open affair. Nocturnal Hunter, Deep Blue Sea, Resurgent and Strarstruck  were equally fancied by their respective yards. The speedy Game Dancer did the early running and set a good pace ahead of Resurgent, Nocturnal Hunter and Deep Blue Sea. The other four were outpaced from the word “go”. Imran waited a fairly long time before pressing the button. Nearing the two furlong pole, he made his move astride Resurgent. His mount responded gamely and marched towards the finishing line. However, the race was not yet over. A fast finishing Deep Blue Sea moved dangerously towards the inner rails and came alongside the leader. Both Resurgent and Deep Blue Sea flashed past the post together. Even though the commentator called Deep Blue Sea as the winner, the digital camera confirmed that Resurgent had lasted out to win by a whisker. The bobbing of heads had tilted the scales in favour of Resurgent. Front-running Game Dancer lasted out to retain her third spot ahead of the top-weighted Starstruck.

The day ended with a spirited display from Sharat Kumar’s Go Green, who literally flew on the wide outside and landed a nice gamble for the stable. This was another open-betting affair with no clear favourite. However, late support for Go Green ensured his steady climb to the top of the betting charts. In a race reserved for horses five years old and over, he was one of the youngest participants in this event.  The six furlong trip suited his style of running , and a number of unplaced starts in winter had ensured a comfortable rating. Apprentice Prabhakaran rode this horse for eventual acceleration and allowed him to travel behind Isle Of Fire, Hackett and Youre Rocking till the bend. It was only after the tightly packed group entered the straight, that he pulled him towards the wide outside. The moment Go Green saw “daylight”, he began to quicken. Picking up a bunch of tired leaders, he went ahead in the final furlong. Making free use of his whip,  Prabhakaran guided him to a popular victory over a late finishing pair of A Game To Remember and Shoot Out. In this sort of form, Go Green seems to have the ability to score amongst a similar set of horses on promotion.