It was not an ideal day for racing, intermittent rains all through the afternoon playing spoilsport. However the railbirds who exercised caution reducing the unit of their bets not satisfied with the conditions returned home satisfied, three well supported public choices and a solitary second favourite Australis coming through in the six events, before the authorities decided to cancel the final two races after Prashanth Dhebe was unseated from Battalion in the Hyderabad Silver Vase, the plum event run over a sprint. 

In a bid to hit the front and hold advantage in what appeared a trifle sticky and slippery track condition, the speedy Side Winder, Regal Music, Rafa and Battalion charged out to gain pole position the moment the eight contestants came under the starter’s flag for the feature event. 

Approaching 800M, Battalion it appeared lost his footing and down came Dhebe. Side Winder and Regal Music took charge at this stage and headed the field approaching the distance post. It was at this juncture the old man Smile Stone, who has encountered many such situations and conditions in the past brought to light his experience producing a winning gallop in the final furlong to score from the public choice Rum Runner and Star Carnation. 

The principal added attraction the Garden City Trophy run over a distance of seven furlongs produced a shock result after the overwhelming favourite Psychic Warrior was withdrawn at the starting gates. Dr.Logan after a couple of below par performances decided to put his best stride ahead and in the hands of Ahsan Qureshi assumed command in the final furlong to romp home a convincing winner. Zafran from Neil Darashah’s yard finished a creditable second ahead of Standout who was installed a firm favourite after Psychic Warrior pulled out. 

The first event for juveniles this winter saw Anjeze from Sulaiman Attaollahi’s yard canter home in the 1100M event in a smart time of 1:6.73 seconds. The bred in the purple filly appears a goodtype of youngster and more will be heard of this filly in the months ahead. Here And Now who bolted ahead and enjoyed a good five length break when the juveniles hit the straight found Anjeze too hot to handle but gamely managed to gain the runner-up berth ahead of Sir Piggot. 

Striking Grey from Lokanath’s yard was a medium of a good successful gamble in the Belur Plate run over a mile. The four-year-old grey was backed down from (4/1) to (2/1) despite the fact that lesserlight Adarsh was partnering the grey. Striking Grey left his seven rivals for dead the moment Adarsh eased the iron grip on the grey and the winner galloped home by a widening margin of seven lengths. Now that Striking Grey has touched peak form and is at his best, it will pay to follow this Lokanath ward till he tastes defeat this season. KIngs Kid finished second ahead of Noble Splendour while Perfect Prince made the frame. 

After going down by the shortest of margins to Deepalika in her earlier essay, the Prithviraj-trained Spirit Of London garnered the maximum support in the Bidar Plate run over a mile. But the public choice again met a tartar in Australis from Satish Narredu’s yard who produced a sparkling gallop in the hands of leading pro Trevor Pate to put the issue beyond doubt in the final furlong. Red Galileo caught the eye while finishing a suggestive third and is one for the note book. 

Most track reporters impressed with her consistently pleasing performances in the morning trials, tipped Spiritous as a good betting proposition in the upper division of the Manipal Plate. The Prasanna Kumar ward looked a picture of fitness at the paddock parade and was an overwhelming favourite, her supporters going bang-bang in the betting ring. Spiritous tracked Pink Smile for most part of the five-and-half furlongs trip and the moment Antony Raj set her alight at the top of the straight there was only one winner and that was Spiritous.