Trainer Todywalla's decision to bring Class Apart (Burden Of Proof-Royal Deeds) to Bangalore proved to be fruitful when the bay filly showed a clean pair of heels to her five opponents and went on to lift The P Dayanand Pai and P Satish Pai Bangalore Winter Million on Saturday. With the likes of Amadeus and Picasso dominating the action in Western India, Dallas thought it wise to pitch her amidst a modest bunch of runners at this centre. In recent years, we have seen many Bangalore-based juveniles winning their first start and moving immediately to Mumbai. Many of them have succeeded in the bigger "plums" on offer at Mahalakshmi, and have gone on later in their careers, to become the Classic hopefuls of their respective yards. The scene has altered dramatically this year. Not a single youngster at Bangalore has looked anywhere close to resembling a national champion. Those like Aidan, Nearness Of You and Araceli that chose to venture towards Mumbai, have beaten a hasty retreat. A mere look at the runners in The Bangalore Winter Million was enough to reconfirm this ordinary state of affairs. Araceli and Preordained led the local brigade. The first-named had finished more than three lengths behind Class Apart in a race held about a month ago. Nothing had changed since that day, except the location, and there was no reason to believe that Araceli would succeed in reversing the verdict. Preordained had won in a smart timing, but the ones that had followed her home, were quite ordinary. On all known form, the aptly named Class Apart looked outstanding in this set. The bookmakers installed her as a marginal favourite ahead of Preordained and Araceli.

Chris Hayes, who knows the Bangalore track like the back of his palm, decided to make all the running. He eased Class Apart into an early lead and showed the way to Araceli and Preordained. The others were spread out across the race track. The order remained the same till they entered the straight. The only thing that changed thereafter was the total eclipse of Araceli, who suddenly lost pace and dropped completely out of contention. David Allan and Preordained made a determined bid to catch the leader, but it was all in vain. Class Apart responded brilliantly to her rider's call and galloped away to a comfortable victory. Preordained managed to retain the second spot ahead of a late-rushing Own Empire, while Bavaria managed to push Araceli off the frame.

The nine-event card on Saturday included a couple of races for maiden three-year-olds. The scurry event had a large number of acceptors, and was accordingly split into two divisions. The lower division started the day's proceedings. It was billed as a match race between two highly regarded youngsters. Padmanabhan's Loveatfirstsight (Ivan Denisovich-Flintstone) and Darius Byramji's At The Helm came into this race with some solid preparation. The former was known to be blessed with exceptional speed, and was accordingly installed as a firm favourite. David Allan and Loveatfirstsight made full use of their inside draw, and set a solid pace ahead of At The Helm. The two fillies tore away from the rest, and were more than a distance clear of the third horse at the bend. Despite shifting towards the centre of the track, the leader managed to hold her advantage till the very end. At The Helm should benefit immensely from today's exercise, and will be too good to miss in her next start.

Sirajuddin's Win Again (Sussex-Dancing Diane) ran away from his rivals in the upper division of the same race. The bookmakers started off by installing Win Again as the first favourite, but had no option but to increase the odds against him, when money began to pour in the direction of Rhythmic Dancer, Right On Time and Affirmative. Win Again remained friendless till the very end. The race turned out to be an anti-climax. None of the fancied runners were able to match strides with Win Again, who ultimately ran away from Colour Of Money. Third placed Right On Time finished more than a distance behind the winner. For the records, Loveatfirstsight clocked a better timing than Win Again.

The other feature that stood out on Saturday was the re-appearance of Carla (Burden Of Proof-Cool Jazz) on a race track. This brilliant filly had shone as a three-year-old and made a smashing debut during the Bangalore Summer Season. Racegoers are unlikely to forget the stirring duel between Carla and Sirono that was fought on the local track. While Sirono made steady progress towards the highest class and succeeded in her mission, Carla got derailed on the way. After a setback in training, she produced a couple of lacklustre performances. It was heard that this filly would be retired to stud. However, not wanting to give up without allowing her another chance, the connections worked hard with her. Their painstaking efforts bore fruit when Carla resumed her training on the sand track. Carrying the top weight in a sprint for horses in class III, the filly steamrolled her eleven opponents and registered a remarkable victory. She won by nine long lengths from the well-regarded Lads Fury and Citrali. Her fans would like to keep their fingers crossed, as this filly has the makings of a top-class sprinter. It may not take her very long to score in the highest category.

The Bull Temple Trophy, a mile handicap for horses in class II, was expected to be a real cracker. The horses were closely matched, and the same was reflected on the betting boards. A late burst of money saw One Life To Love starting as the first favourite, but the final result showed that all this money had been totally misplaced. While Caspian Sea, Sweet Caroline and Gazaki were prominent till the bend, the others including Nessie, One Life To Love and Sun Dancing graced the rear. The field began bunching up in the straight, and we suddenly had a new leader. Gazaki spurted to the front and appeared set to land the spoils, but her party was spoiled by Con Artiste (Hurricane State-Its A steal). In the hands of apprentice Ganesh, the filly devoured ground on the wide outside and posted an admirable victory. Con Artiste gave trainer Padmanabhan his second winner for the day.

A sprint for older horses attracted a large number of acceptors, and was accordingly split into two divisions. The upper division saw the eclipse of a strongly fancied Youre Stunning. This sparingly raced horse from the Pradeep Annaiah stable has been known to be slightly unsound. Considering the quality of his opposition, the gray was backed down to firm favouritism. Those who had chosen to support him were left to rue their decision. Youre Stunning caved-in without a fight, and allowed Enduring Speed (Greensmith-Divine Elegance) to beat him by a widening margin. The Dominic-trained winner was handled competently by apprentice Noornabi. The lower division saw last outing winner Term Me On (Pennine Ridge-Inca Tern) scoring an encore. This ward from Sharat Kumar's yard had won earlier this month in the hands of rookie Mallikarjuna. A positive switch in the saddle made all the difference. S John rode Tern Me On to a comfortable victory ahead of Trillion Win and Your Destiny.

The day ended with a victory for Mahesh's Crown Vision (Brave Act-Crown Secret). The small-made filly had won a race in the early part of winter, and had subsequently been withdrawn on veterinary grounds. She was given a nice rest before her next start. Suraj Narredu had tested her on the training track and elected to partner her in this race. She received good support to start as the 6/4 favourite today. The filly ran a game race and scored a popular victory. Suraj drove her relentlessly to keep Swift Star and Juno at bay.