A fairly ordinary card of eight events was framed for Friday's racing at Bangalore. With the Derby Day round the corner, and most of the "big guns" waiting to act on the bigger stage, it was a great opportunity for the mediocre performers at this centre to earn their corn bills. Leading trainer Dhariwal continued his good work by saddling a popular treble during the afternoon. Talented saddle artists Suraj Narredu and Sylvester Desouza delighted their fans by scoring astride fancied runners, and both of them succeeded in completing their personal doubles. Dhariwal's tremendous run with juveniles continued to roll, as an experienced Midtown Magic (Midtown – Icy Ice) and a first-timer named Muqtadir (Imtiyaz – Love Me Do) scored for his stable. Four-year-old Skyliner (Hurricane State – Broken Sky) gave jockey Chris Hayes an armchair ride to victory, linked the treble for the stable and confirmed that his earlier effort behind Sirono was no flash in the pan. On the whole, it was a profitable day for the punters as most of the races were won by well-supported runners.

The Sangam Trophy, a terms race for three-year-olds happened to be the day's feature. Being winners in their earlier starts, both Midtown Magic and Magnitude were set to concede four kilos to their seven maiden opponents. It was difficult to oppose Midtown Magic while selecting a winner. The nice looking colt had come with raking strides in the final furlong to register an easy triumph over 1,200 metres. In the process, he had overtaken the front-running African Queen with a measure of comfort. Even though he was giving her an extra four kilos today, it was fair to assume that this wouldn't hamper his chances. The extra furlong looked like an added advantage, and since he was seen getting stronger at the finish on that day, the bookmakers seemed to share this sentiment. Midtown Magic was installed as the half-money favourite to lift this trophy ahead of African Queen and the others.

Rank outsider Lovely Kiss made use of her innermost draw and charged away to lead from Magnitude, Midtown Magic and Waikato. African Queen was slightly sluggish at the start and the filly was caught wide for most of the way. The group raced in almost the same order till they reached the final bend. A rare burst of speed from Lovely Kiss in the straight saw her skipping clear of the hard-ridden pair of Midtown Magic and African Queen. The 300/1 outsider looked good till the distance post before succumbing to pressure. Lovely Kiss shortened her strides in the final furlong to end a good second. On the other hand, Midtown Magic produced his known acceleration and sauntered away to an easy victory. Desouza allowed him to relax in the final stages, as he was travelling nicely at the end. African Queen managed to finish a "nose" behind Lovely Kiss. It is fair to say that Midtown Magic is a good colt and has a bright future, but the story would be incomplete without a word about the brave performance of Lovely Kiss. This ward of Samar Singh ran her heart out. She led from the start and covered the first six furlongs in less than one minute 13 seconds. It will take a very good horse to beat Lovely Kiss in her next start.

Dhariwal's Muqtadir was an even-money favourite in the upper division of a sprint for maiden three-year-olds. Finding fault in his trotting action, the veterinary doctors at the gates decided to check him before allowing him to start. Finding nothing abnormal, they asked Desouza to remount. A strong murmur rose in the stands as the runners got flagged-off from the six-furlong marker. Being drawn on the wide outside, Muqtadir lost ground at the start and was seen trailing the ten-horse field as they strode towards the home turn. Early leader Purple Glow was collared by Sunny Express, and the two of them began to pull away from the others. Muqtadir came through the pack, and under the strong urgings of his Brazilian jockey, made headway towards the winning post. He joined issue with Sunny Express in the last 50 metres and wore him down to score a sensational victory. The camera was consulted before declaring the winner.

The easiest of the three victories for the leading stable came in the form of Skyliner. After winning earlier this season, this filly had shown a lot of speed while finishing in the close proximity of Sirono. The fact that Sirono had gone on to win in Class I was enough to confirm that Skyliner should win today. After receiving one-sided support in the betting rings, she ran on expected lines. Chris Hayes allowed her to settle comfortably behind Another Destiny in the early stages before making his move. Skyliner tore away from the rest and posted an authoritative victory. In a scramble for the minor placings, Balas Glory finished ahead of Friendly Bond and Montedoro. The winner is capable of picking up a sprint race when she runs at a low weight in the highest class.

The other division of the maidens race was won by Padmanabhan's Preordained (Choisir – Go Out Backwards). With the benefit of an earlier start, this filly looked nice in the paddock. On the basis of some fancy track work, it was Darius Byramji's Hockenheim that headed the betting boards. First timer Dancerella was another one that cornered some of the punters money. However, it turned out to be a one-horse affair. Preordained went to the front, and stayed there. David Allan managed to look back in the straight before allowing his filly to relax in the final furlong. One can read a little more into this performance, as the winning time was much faster than that clocked by Muqtadir in the higher division.

Suraj Narredu was distinctly lucky to open his account for the day with Byramji's Never Say Goodbye (Royal Gladiator- Zauberwelt). It was a mile handicap for horses in class III. Irfan Ghatala's Sun Absolute was running for the third time in her career, and was attempting to complete a coveted hat-trick. She had treated Unleashed and Delacroix with total disdain in her previous start, and shown that she belongs to a much higher category. This performance was further highlighted when both Unleashed and Delacroix stormed home to sensational victories in their next starts. Irfan chose to use the services of apprentice Rajesh, thus lightening the load on the back of this nice-looking filly. The only way that she could possibly lose today was if the apprentice boy made too many mistakes. To put it mildly, he made a mess of things. Stormyred, Never Say Goodbye and Yamas were at the helm of affairs for most of the way. They were chased by Hard To Pin Down and Senor Speedy. For some strange reason, Sun Absolute was being held back on tight reins. Since she had made every post a winning one in her last start, it was difficult to comprehend this sudden change in tactics. Even after turning for home, the boy refused to show her daylight, and chose to push her behind a wall of horses. Only when he realized that he may cause an accident, Rajesh pulled her outwards and decided to give her a push. Sun Absolute, who was finally allowed to run freely only in the last 100 metres of this mile trip, covered a lot of ground to finish within a length of the winner. For the records, Never Say Goodbye and Yamas fought a ding-dong battle down the length of the straight, before the former managed to put her neck in front.

Suraj completed his double with an easy success astride Mahesh's Foresight (Diffident – Matoaka). The five-year-old finally emerged from her numerous problems to score an overdue victory. Chasing Mercutio into the straight, Foresight made up ground on the leader and sailed past him with a measure of comfort. The one-eyed mare lengthened her strides to win as she liked. Good Companion came with a late stretch run to finish third. There was a lot of support for Alianz, but he performed pathetically. After a sluggish start, he refused to raise a gallop. Despite the jockey’s best efforts, he refused to improve his position and finished in the ruck.

A neat gamble was landed by the Satish Narredu stable with Cool Whistle (Ajaad – Run For Roses) in the lowest class on Friday. This modest-looking filly had ended fourth behind Fruit King in her last start. She was meeting the same horse today, but on better terms. Dominic's stable was confident of Fruit King's chances, as they felt that the horse had improved after his winning effort. The two runners were fancied ahead of the others, and it soon became apparent that the finish was restricted to the two of them. In the hands of apprentice Adarsh, Cool Whistle went to the front and led marginally from Fruit King. The pair of them was clear of the others as they entered the last furlong. Under the relentless pressure from PS Chouhan, Fruit King made up ground and came close to the leader. But then, that was all he could manage. Cool Whistle refused to slow down, and managed to stay ahead till the wire. A late-rushing Smart Edition powered her way into third place.