The thunder of hooves is a punter"s delight and all railbirds are ready with there permutations and combinations in their effort to strike it rich this summer.

 Despite the fact that the champion trainer from Mumbai, Pesi Shroff and a couple of other leading trainers Cooji Katrak and Vijay Singh from Kolkata  have chosen t o skip the prestigious Bangalore summer season which attracts the cream from all the five premier racing centres, the summer according to most leading pros will be very competitive taking into account that  most classics will generate good response and many will fancy their wards to enter the Hall Of Fame. 

The top youngster in the game, Suleiman Attaollahi, it is no secret  will be looking forward to register a classic double through Serjeant At Arms who has emerged the best youngster in the campus after his two resounding victories in winter. Serjeant At Arms, it is learnt will be provided a lung-opener early in the season before the Colts Championship Stakes  and the blue riband of the season, the Kingfisher Derby scheduled to be held on July 10. 

Suleiman satisfied with the performance of Serjeant At Arms in winter disclosed that the top colt in the classic mold is in good health and is certain to make a mark this summer. 

" He is a good horse and I'm confident that he will match strides with the best. A couple of other outstation trainers down here for summer in their yard have quality performers and it will all boil down to who has made the maximum improvement before the classics," said Suleiman. 

Suleiman apart, another promising young trainer Neil Darashah back after his successful stint at the Blue Mountains, Udhagamandalam, recording a classic double including the Nilgiris Derby through Battalion from the Manjri Stud Farm disclosed that the summer classics wear an open look. 

"Battalion is back at his best and in my yard I have another classic hopeful Thomas More who will relish the Bangalore track and the Mumbai contingent headed by Mallesh Narredu too is strong. The competition this summer will be tough and you know that when the going gets tough, it is the tough who get going, said Neil immensely pleased with his success in the Ooty season. 

Bangalore Turf Club, chairman A C Satish Chandra in a `meet the press' session on Wednesday  revealed that the track is in good shape following a couple of showers and most pros including former leading jockey Sinclair Marshall endorsed the view of the chairman. 

"The track is firm and is in good condition. And the horses and their riders will enjoy the exercise in their effort to corner glory," said Satish pointing out that 87 good horses from other centres will make it a summer to remember. 

More than 800 horses are expected to compete in the 26-day season spread over three months. And the biggest plum of the season, the Kingfisher summer Derby  offers stakes of Rs 2.5 crore, the second richest event, next only to the Mumbai Indian Derby in the Indian racing calendar. 

The Bangalore St.Leger, a classic event which was confined  only to four-year-old horses all these years will now be open to older horses in addition to four-year-olds  and this will provide the quality older horses a chance to test their potential against the best on the circuit.

Immensely pleased with the preparation for summer, Satish announced a 11.7 raise in the stakes this summer. The chairman also pointed out that the club had decided to reduce the club commission by 0.5 percent on all pools at the tote. When pointed out that BTC could well have reduced it to one percent and that certainly would have resulted in bigger revenue to the club taking into account that most punters are now shifting to bookmakers simply because the dividends paid on the tote are much poorer than what is offered by the bookies, Satish said: "We will look and monitor and if necessary we are open to further reduction on the commission." 

Following the Government Of India ruling the TDS deduction on winnings will be from Rs 10,000 against the listed Rs 5,000 and this will come into effect from June 1. 

Dr.K M Srinivasa Gowda will head the six-member Board Of Appeal and the overall rating scale has been compressed to about 55 kgs. 

All said and done the stage is set and the thunder of the hooves is certain to provide a lyrical ring rather than the ominous tone this summer.