It was a finish worth going miles to see. Four horses flashed past the post in a blanket finish. The `magic eye' to the delight of the railbirds nodded in favour of the overwhelming favourite Areca Legend from trainer Prasanna Kumar's yard powerfully piloted by Imran Chisty. Areca beat the other legend in the fray, Lady Legend from the stables of Sulaiman Attaollahi by the shortest of margins and the `Lady' finished ahead of Dream Catcher by a nose and the Kishen Thomas ward partnered by Zervan pegged baack Diamond Rays by the proverbial whisker. The pulse-pounding finish was a treat to the eye though it certainly is not what the people with weak hearts want to witness from the stands. 

Back after a very long lay-off, Silver ikon from trainer Prithviraj's yard piloted by Kiran Rai hit the front in the Bangalore Turf Club Trophy run over a sprint. Chisty astride the in-form Areca Legend followed the leader while Dream Catcher and Diamond Rays raced in close attendance while Lady Legend and Star Carnation tailed the small six-horse field. The favourite at the top of the straight streaked ahead and looked good to score before Diamond Rays, Lady Legend and Dream Catcher stormed into contention in the final furlong. It was anybody's race as the four jockeys packed punch to outwit the other. Chisty held his nerve in this nail-biting finish. Now that Lady Legend is back in the groove, she is certain to resume her winning ways in the month ahead. Diamond Rays and Dream Catcher too are in good heart and will soon demand their pound of flesh in the weeks ahead. 

On form, the Pradeep Annaiah schooled Aeisir looked head and shoulders above his six rivals in the principal added attraction, the Hyderabad Silver Vase run over a distance of seven furlongs. The public choice in the hands of the promising Darshan assumed command when the race came on a boil and powered home in impressive fashion. Rafa from Dominic's yard did well to ffinish second ahead of the topweighted Royal Sceptre while Into The Spotlight after making all the running ran out of gas at the distance post and only managed to make the frame. 

The concluding event, the upper division of the Chickballapur Plate saw the Darius Byramji-trained Multifaceted make a resplendent winning comeback. The public rage hit the front soon after the 11 runners came under the starter's flag for the sprint event and Zervan didn't really need to move a muscle on the winner who is certain to test the best at the campus this season. Last start winner Depth Charge gained the runner-up berth ahead of the second in demand at the betting ring, Angelino who was seen gathering momentum after the first two had gone clear and were in no danger of being caught by the rest. 

Earlier, the Scottish pro David Allan started the season recording a fine double. David first booted home Rorito from Padmanabhan's yard to a convincing victory in the Manipal Plate and later punched home another second favourite Roman Senator from Padmanabhan's yard. On the strength of his suggestive effort in his last essay, Mighty Red from trainer Arvind Ganapathy's yard was fancied most in the Manipal Plate run over a mile. But the favourite after promising much failed to deliver and only managed to finish behind the runner-up Ozark. The winner looked good and it will pay to follow her again next time out. 

Alexandre Dumas garnered the maximum support in the Red Baron Plate and the supporters of Trevor Patel back after an injury, pinned their hopes on Alexandre Dumas to help Trevor strike it rich on his return. But that didn't happen as the public choice took a long time to warm up and only managed to pip owner-mate Cuban Pete to gain the runner-up berth. Roman Senator despite not being favourably placed at the top of the straight produced a stunning gallop to floor his 11 rivals and on the strength of this victory is set to provide an encore. Alexandre Dumas with this run under his belt will be a different proposition next time out. 

The Inayathullah-trained Mega Ikon was tipped as a good thing by all insiders and the stable connections. No sooner the bookies opened Mega Ikon at (18/10), the supporters of the Inayathullah ward piloted by Jagdeesh went bang-bang and the bookmakers quickly offered only 12/10 on the strongly fancied favourite who made every post a winning one in the lower division of the Chickballapur Plate. Aaron The Baron who has switched yards and now is under the care of Dheeraj surprised most finishing a game second ahead of Constantinople while Wings Of Desire raced in patches while making the frame. 

The Arjun Manglorkar-trained Simone came up trumps in the opening event, the Ghataprabha Plate run over a 1100M dash. The winner partnered by apprentice jockey Ankit Yadav proved too good for her 11 runners while providing her pilot his maiden success. Estella did well to finish a game second ahead of the grey Premier Premises while Hunters Moon came home fourth.