A trademark ride from the hugely talented Richard Hughes enabled Sun Kingdom (Royal Kingdom-Porsche Too) to scramble home to a thrilling victory in The VIF Bangalore Derby on Republic Day. The jockey had to use all his acumen and exert every single muscle in his body to keep this "local champion" going till the very end. After traversing a mile and a half, four out of the 15 starters headed the field and finished within a length and a half of each other. To the relief of the large gathering at the race course, the favourite managed to land the spoils. Irfan Ghatala's Sun Kingdom had solid credentials to start as the 75/100 favourite in this race. Apart from running a fair second to ownermate Moonlight Romance in the Kingfisher Derby, this horse had never lost a race on the local track. His victories included The Summer Million, The Colts Trial Stakes, as also The Bangalore 2000 Guineas in mid-December. He had won most of his races with a late bid from the rear, and shown that he loves it longer. Considering the quality of his opposition, one was inclined to feel that he stood-out in this set. On the basis of a smashing victory over nine furlongs, Padmanabhan's Kilimanjaro was next in demand at 7/1. This moody customer was another one who had shown his abilities over a galloping course. Ganapthy's String Along and Darius Byramji's pair of Braavo and Unleashed were the others that were considered by the punters.

After a careful perusal of the 15 runners in the parade ring, one was inclined to believe that despite appearing absolutely fit, Sun Kingdom was nowhere close to what he had looked during The Summer Season. According to most seasoned "pundits", his recent form wasn't all that exciting, and they advised caution to those planning to go nap on this horse. They clarified that he had been beaten easily by Immense in The Mysore 2000 Guineas. A rusty Astounding Gallop had finished on the haunches of Sun Kingdom on that day. In his only subsequent start, he had managed to beat Braavo by one length. Both these performances indicated a sharp drop in his physical condition. A couple of things in his favour were his last season form, the average quality of his rivals today and the presence of Richard Hughes in the saddle. The last factor was expected to make a difference to the result of the 2010-11 edition of the Bangalore Derby, and in my opinion, that is exactly what happened.

The 15 runners charged out of the gates and took a while to settle down to business. Spark Of Atan, Rezoom and Braavo raced prominently in the backstretch and showed the way to a closely packed field headed by String Along and Astounding Gallop. In his usual style, Richard Hughes never left the inside rails and kept Sun Kingdom off the pace as they began to take the rising ground. Kilimanjaro, Unleashed and Sunny's Secret were further behind at the same juncture. With the front-runners beginning to get tired, the field began to bunch up near the bend. Sensing traffic problems and wanting enough galloping space for his mount, Richard Hughes began to move. He manoeuvred his way towards the wide outside and started his charge. Sun Kingdom responded to the urgings, lengthened his strides and hit the front. It was a pleasure to see the horse and jockey moving in total rhythm with each other. String Along rallied along the rails to move into second place near the distance post, but was caught and passed by Unleashed and Sunny's Secret at the wire. Both these placed runners stayed better than the others and were moving the best at the end. Only a length and a half separated the first four finishers, with the winner clocking a modest timing of a fraction more than Two Minutes and 33 Seconds. The connections of Sun Kingdom were toying with the idea of taking him to Mumbai for the Indian Derby. After today's performance they are likely to change their mind.

The quality of horses in Class I at Bangalore has been deteriorating in recent times. With most of the older ones losing form and fitness, the younger lot are finding it easy to score in this category. This phenomenon has been very pronounced this year. Even till a few years ago, it took a really good three-year-old, who would turn four in January, to make a winning debut in Class I. It has now become a walk in the park for them. After the conquests of Immense, String Along, Sirono and Clear Mandate in the months preceding the Derby, it was the turn of Dhariwal's Couleur Rouge (Serious Spender-Color Me Red) on Wednesday. The filly carried the bottom weight to a runaway victory in The Mysore Race Club Trophy. Only seven runners faced the starter in this terms event. Couleur Rouge was the lowest rated runner who was meeting her senior rivals at a distinct weight disadvantage. However, the manner in which she disposed them off was a revelation. She was held back in second spot behind Splendid Surprise for the first half of this mile journey. Sylvester Desouza allowed her to go ahead in the straight, and the filly loved these tactics. It ceased to be a race thereafter, as she was seen travelling much better than the others. In a scramble for the minor placings, Criminal Lawyer responded to the whip and took the second spot ahead of Spearhead and Atlantus.

Sylvester Desouza had begun the day with an equally easy victory astride Darius Byramji's Ben Ten (Emerald Cat-Canadian). Eight juveniles accepted to run in the richly endowed Ted Fordyce Cup. Ben Ten, Shoot Out and Hillsboro had placed in their only runs, and the respective stables fancied their charges. Ben Ten and Shoot Out headed the small field and raced in close proximity till the bend. A mere nudge from Desouza saw Ben Ten getting stronger and stronger. He gathered momentum and went clear of the pack. Hillsboro rallied late to end a fair second. Despite losing a fair bit of ground at the start, Rhythmic Dancer finished strongly to take the third spot. Favourite Shoot Out got tired and faded away from the scene.

The Indian Republic Trophy, a mile and a quarter handicap for horses in Class II, saw a small group of four runners. Since most of them had run against each other during the earlier part of this season, there was a common line between them. On-money favourite Cavalry Charge and The Last Samurai looked better than Lush Lashes and Sweet Caroline. A positive switch in the saddle, with Suraj Narredu replacing apprentice Rajesh, saw some serious money flowing in the direction of The Last Samurai (Glory Of Dancer-Chasing Shadow). Since he had got left at the gates in his previous start, his connections were hoping that he would break level today. The runners took off to a level start and raced in single file for most of the way. Cavalry Charge showed the way to Lush Lashes, Sweet Caroline and The Last Samurai. The only thing that changed in the straight was the final result. The Last Samurai came charging from the back and sailed past a helpless Cavalry Charge. This horse completed a superb spell of racing for the Darius stable, which incidentally scored five points over the last two days.

Suraj completed his double astride Irfan Ghatala's Brunetta (Juniper-La Reine) in the upper division of The Vidhana Soudha Cup. She managed to wear down Saddle Queen in the final furlong before staving off a strong challenge from the late finishing Spark Of Solitaire. A heavily whipped Redshift made up much ground to finish on the haunches of Saddle Queen. The lower division of the same race was won by Lokanath's Mr Ambassador (Ajaad-Genuine Article). He was the medium of some heavy betting at race time and was soon at the top of the betting charts. Imran Chisty rode a perfect race on this horse. He raced him in mid-group till the bend and essayed his challenge in the straight. Mr Ambassador came with giant strides to collar Kripa and True Impression near the winning post.

The highly regarded Sunset Grill was handed out a drubbing by the Amit Caddy trained Dance N Celebrate (Emerald Cat-Lyrical Queen). This Irfan Ghatala-trained filly opened as an odds-on choice in The Nethravati Cup, but the odds against her expanded with the passage of time. There was some spirited betting on Dance N Celebrate and Athabasca Star. Suraj Narredu took Sunset Grill to the front, but was soon headed by Dance N Celebrate. The two of them headed the field into the straight. With Athabasca Star getting left at the gates, the finish was restricted to the two leaders. Jockey VR Desouza gave a couple of taps to Dance N Celebrate, and the response was brilliant. She literally flew away to register an effortless victory. Sunset Grill faltered under pressure, but still managed to hold onto her second place ahead of Bon Giorno.

A smashing performance from a first-timer ended the day's proceedings on Derby Day. It was a scurry event for maiden three-year-olds. With hardly any clue available from previous performances, one had to rely on "information". It was learnt that the Prithviraj stable was quite confident on Sunday Cruz, while the Dhariwal-trained Mi Amor was equally fancied. The pair of them was joint favourites at 11/4 while the others were available at 7's and over. Arjun Mangalorkar's Free Law (Burden Of Proof-Freebee) ended as the star of the show. In the hands of C Alford, the compact looking colt charged out of the gates and ran the others off their feet. He romped home to win in one of the smartest juvenile timings this season. Sunday Cruz and Mi Amor ran on to take the minor placings.