On the eve of the Invitation Cup in Mumbai, the eight-event card on Saturday at Bengaluru proved to be a disaster from the punters point of view. Only two favourites, Millbrook and Rule Of Engagement justified their top billing, while the half-dozen other favourites including public rage  Antibes chose to take a back seat, resulting in most punters returning home with a hole in the pocket.

The Kishan Thomas schooled Gun Point dropped the biggest bombshell in the lower division of the Sun Kingdom Plate. The winner piloted by Vivek edged out the well supported Shanaey from Prithviraj’s yard by the shortest of margins, much to the chagrin of followers of form who had confidently made big investments on the strong favourite after the good word started to make rounds in the stands that the Prithviraj camp was `moral’ on Shanaey. The fact that the favourite went down by the shortest of margins was what hurt most and worse was that not a single public choice obliged in the next four events. Gun Point paid out a handsome dividend of Rs 379 on a tenner at the tote window and that made the day for a few fluke seekers.

The Inayathullah-trained Gypsy was another long shot who surprised most winning the concluding event, the upper division of the Windstream Plate run over a distance of seven furlongs,  in the hands of jockey B Nayak, pegging back Southern Power. The topweighted winner was not in the list of a majority of punters simply because the connections of Gypsy had chosen Nayak to guide the fortunes of the nohoper. But Gypsy and Nayak chose to hammer the last nail in the coffin before standing tall at the winners’ enclosure.

Thousand Words on the strength of his impressive last start victory was fancied most in the upper division of the Sun Kingdom Plate, but he too failed to live up to the expectations, going down to the lesser fancied Caesars Palace close home after making all the running in the 1100M dash. A big coup on The Inheritor from trainer Sharath Kumar’s yard flopped badly, the Sharath Kumar ward after tracking Thousand Words for most part of the journey finishing a poor fourth behind Ocean Dunes. This result proved to be a big blow for the `Jodi’ punters too, who confidently doubled their investments on the Thousand Words and The Inheritor Jodi.

Earlier in the plum event, the Karnataka Police Trophy, a popular Jodi went out of the window. Going by the book of form it was an out and out, Lake Tahoe versus Bellator in the feature. But it was the Sulaiman Attaollahi schooled Electra who tore the form book inside out, while taking the Police Trophy home. The two fancied runners, Bellator and Lake Tahoe finished behind the winner, the former gaining the runner-up spot ahead of the public choice from Darius Byramji’s yard, who blotted his book while he was in line for a hat-trick.

It was good to see  Warren Singh lead in a winner after a long long time. The grey Speedster piloted by Akshay Kumar comfortably made every post a winning one while easily getting the measure of last start winner and the on-money favourite Antibes from Arjun Manglorkar’s yard. In line for a hat-trick, Almanach from Pradeep Annaiah’s yard too had his fair share of followers, but like Lake Tahoe, he too failed to accomplish the mission, finishing a tame third and that resulted in another `Jodi’ flying out of the window. The manner in which Speedster won the Sprint Star Plate run over a distance of 2000 metres, the grey mare looks ready to provide an encore but considering she is a moody type and never consistent, the Warren Singh ward is not a good betting proposition, be it the next start or any time in future unless she decides to put her best foot forward again when next saddled.

The opening event, the lower division of the Windstream Plate was claimed by the seven to one shot Elite Agent from the stables of Narayan Gowda. The winner piloted by Rajesh Kumar produced a sparkling gallop in the hands of Rajesh Kumar to snuff out the challenge of Ozark. The favourite Prime Star raced in patches before eventually finishing in the ruck.  

Millbrook from Arjun Manglorkar’s yard and  Rule Of Engagement, who had let down large following in her last essay were the only two favourites to score. The former won the maidens event in emphatic fashion from Belvedere, while Rule Of Engagement, who again was strongly fancied produced her best in the hands of the promising apprentice J H Arul to the delight of the Pradeep camp. Now that Rule Of Engagement has broken ice, it will pay to follow her again next time out.