The low-weighted Mighty Heart (Juniper–Sound Insight) skipped away at the top of the bend to register a facile victory in The Narasimharaj Cup at the Bangalore Races on Saturday. The Neil Darashah-trainee made light of the penalty that he had received for his earlier win, and showed that even at the ripe age of six, he is perhaps in the best form of his longish career. This victory reminded racegoers of earlier years when jockey Appu used to ride regularly for Neil's father's stable. It was after a fairly long time that the veteran jockey was riding a winner for the Darashah family on the local track. Giving Mighty Heart his trademark ride, Appu positioned him prominently till the bend before seizing the advantage and charging towards the finishing line. The horse responded gamely and made it look quite easy. The fancied pair of Clear Mandate and Flaming Lamborgini were in no mood to gallop and finished off the frame.

The race was run at a fairly decent pace with the favourite Clear Mandate making the early running ahead of a tightly packed bunch led by Mighty Heart and the others. Flaming Lamborgini took off to a tardy beginning and was caught wide for most of the way, while Tanzanite lacked early speed and soon found herself at the rear of the pack. Jockey Zervan tried to steal a march at the top of the bend and urged Clear Mandate to quicken further. The four-year-old was apparently unequal to the task today. The moment Mighty Heart came alongside, he caved in under pressure and called it a day. The winner was spotted a long way from home as he was still full of running. Ohiyesa arrived late on the scene to take the second spot ahead of a fast-finishing Tanzanite.

The long card of ten events was dominated by the Sharat Kumar stable. In a rare occurrence, the yard succeeded in landing three confident "gambles" during the afternoon. The trainer, who has a modest set of horses under his charge, was able to saddle Angel Queen and Rubellite to their respective victories. Both these runners had been steadily brought down in handicap over the last one year, and their outstation owner was delighted to lead them in on the same day. Sharat's third winner was What A Friend, who produced an unbelievable gallop on the wide outside to pick up a seven-furlong race for horses in Class II. The pattern of betting on all three horses was similar. All opened at 10/1 in the betting ring and were backed down to 5/1 at race time. Those amongst the betting public who chose to lend support to this trend were seen smiling at the end of the day. It was definitely a memorable afternoon for the supporters of this hard-working trainer.

Angel Queen (Inner City-Arduous) was the bottom weight in a race for horses in the lowest class. At the beginning of the day, she was perhaps the lowest rated horse at Bangalore. An accident marred the start of this race. Well-supported Splendid Dancer reared up awkwardly in the gates, which resulted in a serious injury to jockey Sreekanth. The horse was resultantly withdrawn before coming under starter's orders. A bunch of speedy runners led by Classical Charm and Absence showed the way to Angel Queen and Silver Court, as the nine horses entered the straight. All jockey Vivek had to do thereafter was to keep Angel Queen out of trouble. He brought her on the wide outside, showed her daylight and asked her to quicken. Angel Queen responded gamely to run away from Silver Court and a tired Classical Charm. Now that she has shown her real form, Angel Queen can be expected to move up the ladder.

Rubellite (Mischevious Music-Gold ‘N Honey) had been a costly failure as a four-year-old. After changing a few stables, the horse finally joined Sharat Kumar's string. After four unplaced runs this season, the horse had got demoted and was appearing amongst horses in his own age group. With the early betting being restricted to Foresight, The Dawn and Sun Gold, punters were confused when they saw Rubellite appearing prominently on the boards. It became obvious that this was going to be a close affair. I Fancy You set a fair pace ahead of a tightly packed bunch and brought them into the straight. The jockeys on the fancied runners were biding their time till that stage. Jockey Christopher seized a dream opening on the rails, and pushed Rubellite into a narrow lead ahead of I Fancy You, The Dawn, Foresight and Sun Gold. With all five riders in full motion, the competition got really intense. However, Rubellite proved to be the better horse on the day, and held onto stay ahead of The Dawn and I Fancy You.

A seven-furlong race for horses in Class II was split into two divisions. The upper division saw the appearance of Byramji's Lowndes Square. This five-year-old had run a brilliant race in his last start, and in the hands of Md Shafiq, had finished powerfully to lose by a whisker to Hatsuhana on that day. The presence of Suraj Narredu enhanced his chances today, and he was accordingly installed as the even-money favourite in this race. The Sharat Kumar camp had confidence in their ward What A Friend (Placerville-Scarlet Lake) to upset the applecart of the public fancy. A steady stream of money saw the odds against this horse coming down as the runners made their way towards the starting gates. Chintz bolted away to the front and set a scorching pace ahead of Bucephalas, Caprioska and Lowndes Square. What A Friend and Hatsuhana raced close behind the leading group and both of them were caught wide at that stage. The horses bunched up at the bend, and the leaders were seen to be struggling at this stage. In an expected move, two horses came charging from the back. Hatsuhana led near the distance post, but was soon joined by What A Friend. The two of them got stronger and sailed away from the others. After a hard-fought battle, John was able to steer What A Friend to an exciting victory. Despite bursting his blood vessels during the race, Lowndes Square managed to take the third spot.

The lower division of this race was won by Dominic's Rugged Beauty (Burden Of Proof-Clarinet). In an open betting affair, PS Chouhan pushed Rugged Beauty to the front and stayed there till the very end. She proved to be much too strong for a late-finishing Alpha Baby and Star Presence. The one to catch the eye in this race was Dramatic Dancer. Despite a rough passage, Dramatic Dancer was the fastest finishing runner in this race. It may not be long before she is allowed to show her true colours.

With the above mentioned victory, John completed his treble for the day. He had won astride a couple of public choices earlier in the afternoon. He was a mute spectator astride Padmanabhan's Touching The Town (Midtown-That’s The Touch). The trainer wasn't really worried about the extra two kilos that the filly was carrying on debut. Her track work had been outstanding and she was known to possess a lot of speed. Touching The Town blazed the race track and cantered away to a fine victory. Even though she was allowed to relax in the final furlong, the filly clocked one of the best juvenile timings this season. She is bound to be targeted at some bigger "plums" in the coming months.

Prithviraj's Brave Cat (Emerald Cat-Symphony) gave John his third success. This well-bred filly was backed at all prices to start as an odds-on favourite. She had come down to the lowest category after some dismal performances as a three-year-old. There was a buzz around the course about her chances. The track reporters said that she had done some outstanding work on the training track. The filly confirmed this opinion, but did not win the way they said she would. John had to persevere with her till the very end. It was only in the last 100 metres that she found something extra to go past a tired Ideal Match. Hamsafar appeared late on the scene to take the second spot. Brave Cat is bred to be quick, but the filly lacked the early sparkle associated with a sprinter.

With the withdrawal of Padmanabhan's Shivalik Prince, who was reported to be showing signs of sore shins, trainer Prithviraj's Shahraan (Hurricane State-The Big Fight) got a great opportunity to score his maiden victory. His third in an earlier start was all that was available on the record books. The other eight were running for the first time in their careers. Ashhad Asbar rushed him to the front and had him under the stick till the very end. A pair of runners from the Neil Darashah finished in close proximity of the winner. Intrigue and Cinnamon Rush made a determined move at the bend, but clearly lacked experience. They can be expected to improve after this run. This winner helped Prithviraj score his double for the day.

Darius Byramji's Rip Van Winkle (Gaswar-Minetta) won his third race this season when he dug deep into his reserves of stamina to overpower Native Talent near the winning post. The horse was running over his favourite trip of a mile and was running against horses in his own age group. Suraj Narredu pushed him to the front and set his own pace till they entered the straight. Native Talent chased him till the top of the bend before joining the issue. The two of them strode away from the others and fought out a thrilling duel. Making free use of the whip, Harish managed to take Native Talent to the front in the final furlong. However, Suraj refused to give up and kept working astride Rip Van Winkle. The latter produced a second run and got stronger at the finish. To the delight of his numerous supporters, favourite Rip Van Winkle scored a popular victory. Simply Phenomenal was the best of the beaten brigade.