A pulse-pounding three-horse blanket finish in the principal added attraction, the MB Appaya Memorial Trophy warmed the hearts of the racing buffs in the royal city and never mind losing out on the favourite, the railbirds provided the three pros, G Vivek, Srinath and Antony Raj a standing ovation. The Bengaluru challenger Armstrong from Faraz Arshad's yard partnered by leading pro Srinath garnered the maximum support in this event run over a mile. Antony Raj was guiding the fortunes of another Bengaluru hopeful Twilight Tornado, while Vivek piloted the local hopeful Tarek from Bobby's yard.

Srinath pushed the public choice Armstrong to the front soon after the seven runners came under the starter's flag and called the shots for most part of the trip before Antony setalight Twilight Tornado at the distance post and Vivek reminded last start winner Tarek of the task ahead at the distance post. The two challengers in a never-say-die bid stormed into contention in the final 100 metres and with Srinath in no mood to give up flashed past the post locked together. The `magic eye' nodded in favour of the local contender, who gained the day nosing out Twilight Tornado, while another `nose' separated the runner-up from the favourite. The pulsating finish provided a silver lining to the event and the punters enjoyed every  bit of the high-octane action.

Spurred by the success, Vivek produced another exemplary effort in the next event to record a fine double. Astride the long shot Contributor in the BA Nanaiah Memorial Trophy run over a sprint, not many followers of form gave Contributor a chance, money pouring in on the Girinath schooled Perfect Justice, who had caught the while leisurely finishing on in her last essay and the Rakesh schooled Indian Patriot. Both the top fancies failed to live upto expectations, Perfect Justice finishing third, while Indian Patriot, it appeared, had lost his galloping shoes when the race came on a boil. Contributor vigorously piloted by Vivek edged out another long shot Wild Spell partnered by four-kilo claimer Koshi Kumar.

In line for a treble, Vivek astride the strongly supported Golden Time in the final race, the Fair Wood Plate run over a distance of seven furlongs found the second in demand at the betting ring, Top Dancer too hot to handle. The winner from Neil Devaney's yard piloted by Shreyas Singh hit the front and gallantly held on, pegging back the belated effort of the public choice. Acaster managed to save money in place, while Dragon's Gold completed the frame.

In what was touted as a two-horse contest between the Arjun Manglorkar-trained Norwegian Wood and Pharazon from the stables of Irfan Ghatala, the latter came up trumps romping home nice and easy in the hands of Alex Rozario. Wolf Creek from James McKeown's yard and the Aravind Ganapathy schooled Saigon also had their fair share of supporters, but it was the Irfan ward Pharazon, who proved too good, effortlessly pulling the plug on his 11 rivals. Saigon did well to finish second ahead of My Life My Rules, while Wolf Creek disappointed again, finishing in the ruck. The winner Pharazon on the strength of this effortless victory is set to provide an encore.

The Dominic schooled Art Gallery, who looked a picture of fitness at the parade ring came up tops in the HH Sri Chamaraja Wadiyar Memorial Trophy. The winner was sweetly fancied by the insiders and the right connections and Art Gallery justified the confidence of her trainer, producing a winning gallop in the hands of Inayat. The favourite Crosswater from Arjun Manglorkar's yard partnered by Antony Raj followed the winner home, while King Of Kesari finished a creditable third ahead of Star Concept.

The Rakesh schooled Meraki, who had gone down fighting to Red Hills in her last essay appeared to have benefited most from that run under her belt. In the hands of leading pro John, the well supported contestant stormed ahead at the distance post and quickly put the race to bed, winning the upper division of the Eclipse Plate by a widening margin of seven lengths. Meraki is on top of her game and it will pay to again support her in the higher category.

Eco System from Santosh Raj's yard shocked the followers of form in the opening event, the lower division of the Eclipse Plate edging out Romantic Heart and Mystical Merlin in a close finish. Top Rank from Bipin Salvi's yard was fancied most, but the mare to the disappointment of her supporters failed to display her true potential and finished in the ruck.