Trust Akshay Kumar to mess it up. He will do it stylishly. He lost a race on African Gold, which he should have easily won, but the chote nawab of the Charminar city made a mess of it and stylishly lost, much to the disappointment of a majority of the railbirds, who were unanimous in their opinion that Antony Raj astride Raise A Buck looked a top pro, while Akshay in comparison looked a novice. 

It all happened in the HH Sri Krishnaraja Wadiyar Memorial Trophy, the plum event run over a distance of seven furlongs. Akshay guiding the fortunes of the top fancy African Gold injudiciously chose to grace the wrong end of the field and to make matters worse went very wide entering the straight and though the public choice in a brave bid covered good ground, he failed in his mission to snuff out the challenge of the 15 to one long shot Raise A Buck, simply because he was asked to do too much, thanks to his experienced master, who performed like an inexperienced apprentice jockey. The shoddy effort cost the angry punters dear and hopefully the authorities will provide a satisfactory explanation. Second in demand at the betting ring, Mandarino from the stables of Irfan Ghatala piloted by Arvind Kumar too was not favourably placed, racing in the rear for most part of the seven furlongs trip before he ran on to finish third. 

It was clear that on this day Antony Raj was the best horseman on parade and his saddle artistry on his three winners separated him from the rest. Up against African Gold, Mandarino and Champions Way, none gave Raise A Buck a chance, but the gutsy local hero stole the limelight beating his more illustrious and higher rated rivals in the plum event.  All credit to leading trainer Rakesh, who has kept this seven-year-old in good form and the giant killer made Rakesh proud, while sending out a message that the boys from Mysuru are ready to take on the big boys from Bengaluru this season.

In the principal added attraction, the Jim Foley Memorial Trophy run over a mile, rank outsider Small Dreams piloted by Shreyas Singh upset the applecart of the overwhelming favourite Elfin Knight from trainer Pradeep Annaiah's yard. The unfancied winner paid a rich, big dividend of Rs 492 on a tenner at the tote window in Bengaluru. Elfin Knight and his pilot Trevor Patel looked in control a furlong from home, establishing a couple of lengths advantage before Shreyas brought Small Dreams into contention and the nohoper dashed through to gain the verdict close home. Lesser fancied Winfield in line for a hat-trick after her two straight wins from her last two starts in the Bangalore summer season finished third ahead of NRI Victory, while the second in demand at the betting ring Aquastic  from Sulaiman Attaollahi's yard performed below par and failed to save even money in place.

Earlier, Shreyas booted home the on-money favourite Splendid Dream to an impressive victory in the Pune Plate run over a distance of 1100 metres. Midnight  Blue from the stables of Rajesh Narredu followed the winner home ahead of Republican Star from Aravind Ganapathy's yard who found the sprint trip too sharp for his comfort. The winner on the strength of this impressive debut is certain to make his presence felt in handicap events in the weeks ahead.

In the opening event, the Virija Plate, the well fancied Armament from Ranjeet Shinde's yard partnered by promising apprentice Abhishek Mathre snuffed out the challenge of D Golden Cup from Vishal Yadav's yard to the delight of his supporters. The favourite Nimble Feet from the stables of Mansoor Khan raced in patches and eventually finished in the ruck, much to the chagrin of her large following. Miracle Honey did well to finish third and is one for the notebook.

The Darius Byramji schooled Power Of Gold and Carter from the stables of Sajid Qureshi topped the betting board in the lower division of the Somanathpur Plate run over a distance of seven furlongs before Power Of Gold at end gained the top billing. The public choice in the hands of Akshay Kumar produced a winning gallop in the final furlong to zip past Carter and shed his maiden status in style. Gandolfini in the hands of Srinath powered through late in the day to gain the runner-up berth ahead of the advantageously placed in at the scales, Verrazzano, while Carter only managed to complete the frame. 

The upper division was claimed by the second in demand at the betting ring, Monterio from the stables of Pradeep Annaiah who enjoyed a good opening week leading in three winners, Agera and Echoes Of Light on the opening day and Monterio helping Pradeep sign off in style in the concluding event on the second day. Carat Love from trainer Vishesh's yard was strongly fancied backed down from (5/2) to (11/10), but the overwhelming favourite found this company too hot to handle, finishing a poor fourth. The four to one shot One Nation followed the winner home ahead of Ancient History who caught the eye and it will not be long before this Shoban babu trainee earns her winning bracket.

Antony was at his brilliant best on the seven to one shot Crosswater from trainer Arjun Manglorkar's yard, beating the public rage Don Carlos piloted by Trevor in the final stride by the shortest of margins in the Lavasa Plate run over a distance of seven furlongs. The public rage looked set to score the moment Trevor drove Don Carlos past Crosswater 100 metres from home, but Antony in no mood to throw in the towel packed punch on Crosswater and the Arjun ward responding brilliantly shocked the favourite at the post. Mazal Tov charged home late to finish a creditable third and it will pay to support this Neil Devaney ward when saddled next.