It was good to see Zervan stretch every sinew to register his fourth win of the season astride the Padmanabhan schooled Pearl Reward,  who gallantly pegged back the effort of Pentagram in the H B GundappaGowda Memorial Cup, the plum event on the eve of the Maharaja’s Cup.

On the strength of his impressive second behind Speed Hawk in his last essay, Mickey Mouse from LokanathGowda’s yard garnered the maximum support  but the favourite shot his bolt when the race took a serious turn. Pearl Reward at this juncture assumed command but the moment Trevor setalight Pentagram, the winner looked in a spot of bother before Zervan pulled out all stops and drove him home to the delight of his supporters. The performance of Merion who had his fair share of supporters was too bad to be true and the Arjun Manglorkar ward deserves another chance.

Though Padmanabhan and Zervan came up tops in the plum event, it was another small trainer Narayan Gowda who stole the limelight recording a grand treble to the delight of his camp. Narayan first struck through the strongly fancied Secret Prayer in the lower division of the Royal Tern Plate.The winner looked outstanding in the parade ring and all Rajesh Kumar needed to do was guide him through the six furlongs trip. Little Brown Jug finished second ahead of I Smile who is slowly yet surely moving towards the winners’ circle.

Next Forest Queen powerfully piloted by Ashok Kumar won the upper division of the event,  edging  out  Ontime. The topweightedVencedora from Arjun Manglorkar’syard  was quietly fancied by the insiders and the right connections  who again burnt their fingers, the filly failing to make the frame.  It was the same with the Dashmeshfilly  Silver Legend last week and today Vencedora took a similar route, much to the disappointment of her connections.

In line for a treble, Narayan Gowda knew that his mare Attractive Bay  was in with a decent chance in the concluding event and all she had to beat was Joey from Darius Byramji’s yard. The fact that Attractive Bay got Joey at the shadow of the winning post delighted her trainer most who was seen pumping his fist before running down to lead in the five to one shot piloted by Rajesh Kumar.

Earlier Narayan’s brother Lokanath led in the lesser fancied Able Master who gamely held on to score from the long shot New Mallet in the Kumararajah M A M Muthiah Memorial Cup. The public rage Absolutelyfabulous was withdrawn at the starting gates and this provided a chance for Able  Master to earn his cornbill and he managed to do that, assuming command at the distance post before scampering home in the hands of M F Ali Khan.

Sharp Witted, Big Ticket and The Artist  were the three top fancies in the N M Lingaraju Memorial Trophy. The consistent Big Ticket gained the day but needed to win it again in the stewards room following a protest lodged by YashNarredu, the rider of the second placed Mystic Music against Ashish. The stipes and stewards rightly and  quickly threw the protest which did not merit attention out of the window.

The two divisions of the Basque Plate produced contrasting results. In the lower division, the on-money favourite Freestyle from Faraz Arshad’s yard failed in her mission to justify her topbilling, finishing a tame third. The seven to one shot Lozen from Darius Byramji’s ward piloted by Irvan Singh shed his maiden status beating rankoutsider Top Smiles close home, while in the upper division the Hyderabad challenger Faster Than Light cruised home without a fuss. Rain Kissed caught the eye finishing a close third behind Neymar despite going wide and it will not be long before this Komandur ward will earn his winning bracket.

Among the beaten brigade, Pentagram impressed most and now that this Suleiman ward  has  come good after a couple of dismal efforts, he appears fit and ready to register a win before  the curtain is drawn this summer.