Two professionals, trainer Irfan Ghatala and jockey S John proved that you cannot keep a good man down for long. And that he will bounce back hard and prove his mettle in the next given opportunity.  It is not that the administrators of the game were at fault suspending the two for over an year. One needs to play the game by the set of rules and no individual is bigger than the game. But the resilience and the willingness to scale the summit displayed by the two after serving out the long sentence is admirable. Irfan emerged the champion trainer this winter despite a couple of his favourites failing to justify top billing this week and John who needed to win on Super Force in the concluding event on Saturday, to edge out Trevor Patel, did that in style to wear the champion jockey crown.

It was clear from the time John started to don silks this winter that the leading pro wanted to prove a point. The champion produced many top drawer efforts which had the knowledgeable stand up and applaud the saddle artistry of the man possessed and John maintained the standard right through to scale a new high.

Irfan, a trifle unlucky missing out on the Derby, Brilliant Cut going down narrowly to Angel Dust led in good winners including Toroloco who he has kept going at this age, though it must be mentioned that his strike rate with favourites has been below par but in a season where favourites have gone down like nine pins and no questions asked or for that matter no explanations sought, the conductors of the game will need to exercise a strict vigil to  ensure that the punters who are the chief patrons of the game stand a good chance with their investments.

Coming to the action on Saturday, the followers of form after being floored on Friday started on a promising note, the fancied New Prince cantering home in the hands of Vinod Shinde. The winner who had impressed most while finishing a creditable third behind J Gatsby and Honour in his last effort made every post a winning one without unduly extending himself.

The second event, the lower division of the Leading Bookmaker Trophy was won by the lesser fancied Golden Diamond in the hands of Imran Chisty.  

Imran next struck through Jersey wonder in the Leading Owner Trophy. The winner was surprisingly ignored in the betting ring despite his runaway success in his last attempt. Jersey Wonder apart, Honour too was in with a definite chance but money came pouring in on the Irfan Ghatala schooled Montenegro. But the on-money favourite flopped badly and what hit the railbirds most was that Montenegro even failed to make the frame. Jersey Wonder won warding off the belated effort of Honour while Bonfire took the third spot.

The Sulaiman schooled Serjeant At Arms who had made a smashing debut rightly opened a short-priced favourite in the Bangalore Juvenile Million, the plum event run over a distance of seven furlongs and the top colt proved that he at present is the best juvenile in this campus romping home in resplendent style. While most punters strongly fancied the Sulaiman ward and were rewarded, a couple of trainers who thought that their youngsters were also in with a good shout, pointing out that Serjeant At Arms had beaten nothing now will understand that the top colt has now beaten the best in their yard without Trevor needing to move a muscle.

The bred in the purple Serjeant At Arms has a big scope for improvement and taking into account that he will only get better over an extended trip, he will be a frontliner contender for the Colts Trial Stakes in summer.

Fresh from his success last week, Topspot from Pradeep Annaiah’s yard recorded his second straight success edging out rankoutsider King Julien in the upper division of the Leading Stud Trophy run over a sprint. Apprentice jockey Surya pushed the winner ahead soon after the big field of 11 runners came under the starter’s flag and never let the initiative slip. King Julien and Castle Stuart made a strong bid in the final furlong but Surya held his nerve to reign supreme.

After Imran chose to opt out on Super Force having reportedly hurt himself at the gates while guiding the fortunes of Bonfire in the Leading Owner Trophy, John got the opportunity to emerge the champion. He needed to win on Super Force to tie with Trevor who was a point ahead and beat him on the second count. Trevor too was in with a chance to seal the issue piloting German Guide. But John and Super Force gained the day, the Faraz Arshad ward who had lost out to Topspot by the shortest of margins in his last essay romping home to the delight of his supporters.

Earlier the Champion Trainer Trophy was claimed by the Dominic schooled Racing Fire in the hands of Suraj Narredu  and John stayed in the race for the champion jockey title with his victory on the Arjun Manglorkar-trained Tree Lounge in the Leading Tipster Trophy.

In the upper division of the Champion Jockey Trophy, the Inayathullah camp planned a big gamble on Wise Guy, boldly putting Deepak Patel on Wise Guy but it was not a wise move taking into account that the lesserlight lacked the punch needed to score, finishing second behind Rapid Advance.