A small card of seven events was conducted at the Bangalore races on Saturday.  The quality of racing on offer was reflected in the fact that a Class III sprint was selected as the day’s feature. There were a number of “doubles” that were scored during the afternoon. Trainers B Puttanna and Amit Caddy were joined by Yash Narredu while cornering the day’s honours. The youngster rode a winner for both the above mentioned stables. The Kumararajah MAM Muthiah Cup, a sprint for horses rated 40-65 ,had attracted ten runners. Improving three year olds like Red Red Rose, Nimfea and Temujin  had agreed to face the starter. The first named had won twice during the winter months and had been tested in “open” company earlier in the season. Despite conceding weight all around, her third behind Vijay Viraaj and Topspot had been quite suggestive. She had been showing out in her morning trials and was reported to be in fine condition.On the other hand, Nimfea had won over a similar trip in her only start this summer. After getting knocked around at the start, she had rallied brilliantly from the back to beat a group of talented opponents. Nimfea was expected to defy the handicapper by improving on her earlier performance. However, the paddock looks of Red Red Rose generated a lot of excitement. She looked outstanding in the parade ring and cornered strong support with the bookmakers. The filly performed on expected lines and cantered away with the day’s feature.

The race got off to a brisk start. Temujin, Loveofmylife, Rumour Has It and Red Red Rose got straight down to business and raced in close order till they reached the bend. Nimfea lost ground at the start and graced the rear.  The front-runners began to tire at the top of the straight. Temujin managed to shake-off Loveofmylife and started to move strongly towards the finishing line. It was hereabouts that we noticed the red colours of Red Red Rose. TS Jodha had brought her with a fluent gallop on the wide outside. Showing a rare burst of acceleration, she sped past the leaders. Within the next couple of seconds, she opened-up a huge lead into the final furlong. There was little doubt about the final outcome of this race, as Red Red Rose was seen getting stronger in the final furlong. After a minor tussle for the second spot, Temujin rallied towards  the inner rails and stayed marginally ahead of Loveofmylife at the finish. Nimfea failed to show any sort of sparkle today and was seen plodding in mid division as the rest of the runners  moved past the finishing line. Red Red Rose is in great form and the filly has the ability to defy the handicapper. It may not take her long to find her way into the highest category.

Apprentice Yash Narredu crossed the magic figure of “ten winners” on Saturday. While doing so, he found himself in second place behind PS Chouhan in the jockey’s championship this season. It will be interesting to watch him riding with a whip hereafter. He showed a lot of maturity while partnering B Puttanna’s Mystic Music in The NM Lingaraju Memorial Cup. A number of three year olds had accepted to run in this seven furlong handicap for horses rated 20-45. After winning as a rank outsider in a similar event earlier in the season, Mystic Music had received a stiff penalty. He was a trifle unlucky to clash with My Lakshmi in his next start. By entrusting him to Yash ,Puttanna chose to claim an allowance on him on Saturday. Byramji trained Rapid Advance was a hot favourite in this race. With Imran Chisty in the saddle, he was backed at all prices to start as a half-money choice of the punters. Imran decided to take Rapid Advance to the front and rode him accordingly. The colt showed the way to Sunday Cruz and Nagarjuna till the bend. All this while, Mystic Music was seen traveling comfortably in fourth position and improving steadily towards the leaders. Those who had backed Rapid Advance began to get worried in the straight. Mystic Music was moving dangerously towards the centre of the track and was gaining ground with each stride. Imran made free use of his whip, but it wasn’t enough to keep Mystic Music at bay. The Puttanna trainee managed to move ahead in the last fifty metres of the race and score a thrilling victory. Sunday Cruz plodded along to retain his third spot ahead of a disinterested Bronzino .

Yash Narredu had won an earlier race astride Amit Caddy’s Catch The Eye . He had partnered the five year old mare to victory in an earlier race this summer. Since he knew that she enjoyed running freely in front, he allowed her to do so today. Not able to go ahead of a speedy Stimulator in the back-stretch, Catch The Eye was seen travelling comfortably in second spot till they reached the final bend. The moment Yash released his grip on her, the race was over. Catch The Eye overtook Stimulator at the top of the straight and strode freely towards the winning post. There were two other runners who managed to move ahead of Stimulator in the final furlong. Sweet Angel and a strongly urged Spiritofchartwell did well to save place money for their respective connections. Stimulator seems to have reached a level at which he will find it difficult to win another race. He will need to come down a lot before scoring his next point.

Amit Caddy had to wait till the last race of the day before saddling his next winner. It was a seven furlong handicap, for horses five years old and over in Class IV, in which jockeys weren’t allowed the use of their whips. Top jockeys like Suraj Narredu and P Trevor were declared to ride, and the pair was  seen partnering the top market fancies in this race. In the hands of Suraj, Amit’s Trust Me Boy was a hot favourite ahead of Padmanabhan’s Imperial Verse. A mild skirmish at the start hampered Trust Me Boy’s chances. Since he was allotted the innermost draw, he got squeezed and the jockey was forced to drop him out of contention. With the leading group consisting of Thunder, A Game To Remember, Carducci and Imperial Verse skipping clear of the rest, the favourite was in a spot of bother. However, the horses began to bunch up in the straight. Imperial Verse overtook Carducci and tried her best to move successfully towards the finishing line. At almost the same juncture, Suraj cajoled Trust Me Boy to join the fray. Both Trevor and Suraj were seen pushing their mounts vigorously in the straight. Trust Me Boy found that little bit extra to beat Imperial Verse on the post. Carducci ambled along to take the third spot.

The HB Gundappa Gowda Memorial Trophy was the added attraction in the day’s card. Being a scurry for maiden three year olds, it managed to attract ten juveniles. The quality of runners on display was pretty modest. Based on her placed efforts in earlier starts, Prithviraj trained Good Fruit started as a half-money favourite in this race. Since she had ended second to New Emperor a few weeks ago, it was felt that she would be too strong for her present rivals. New Emperor’s thrilling effort in the Juvenile Million last Sunday had added lustre to Good Fruit’s performance. However, the filly was in no mood to gallop today. She failed to capitalize on an inner draw, and was seen being pushed in the early stages to stay in touch with the others. Second favourite Khoshgel tried her best to take advantage of the situation and almost succeeded in winning this race. With less than a furlong to travel, she was almost two lengths ahead of the pack. There were two of them who were gaining ground from the back. Since Good Fruit had used up most of her energies while rallying from the rear, it was left to Andina to capitalize on this opportuninty. Under some fine guidance from Vinod Shinde, the Lokanath trained filly stormed through the pack and won on the post.  Good Fruit took down a lot of money on Saturday. There was little doubt, that had she not behaved lethargically in the early stages, she would have won today’s race.

There were a couple of other short priced horses that bit the dust on Saturday. Most prominent amongst them was Faraz Arshad’s Icepick Willie. This nice looking horse had begun his career at the age of five. There was obviously something that had been troubling him as a youngster. His third behind Delilah this season had been quite suggestive. The trainer chose to entrust him to Suraj Narredu today. The half-money choice of the punters ran poorly in this race. He took a slow start and stayed at the back for most of the way. Despite being whipped in the straight, he failed to improve his position. The race was won by Warren Singh’s Jewel Lady. The eight year old showed her zest for racing by using front-running tactics. Apprentice Bhawani Singh’s four kilo allowance proved to be quite handy. She increased her momentum in the straight and won by a widening margin from a hard ridden Fortunate One and Attractive Bay. An announcement later in the afternoon confirmed that the favourite Icepick Willie had burst a blood vessel during the running of this race.

The only other race in the day’s card was won by Arjun Mangalorkar’s Shinnecock Hills. Running over a favourable trip of six furlongs, the speedy horse presented John with his second winner of the season. The expanding odds of early morning favourite Amazon Bay and the shortening odds against Prithviraj’s Diamond Quest had little effect on Shinnecock Hills chances. His camp continued to back him with confidence and sent him to the starting gates as a firm second favourite in this race. John held him back in third position behind Magic Wave and Delilah, and urged him only in the straight. The acceleration that Shinnecock Hills produced in the final furlong was praiseworthy. He darted ahead of the others and won with a measure of comfort from Delilah and Diamond Quest. In this sort of form, the winner can hope to win another age group sprint in the near future.