Trainer Sharat Kumar's ability to bring out the best from an improving older horse in his yard was once again on display at the Bangalore races on Saturday. The feats accomplished by Lionheart, Atlantus and Ice Mint in recent times immediately came to mind, while watching the running of What A Friend (Placerville-Scarlet Lake) in The Kanteerava Cup. The six-year-old won for the third time in his last four starts this season, and made a winning debut as a rank outsider in the highest class. This was the same horse which had been discarded by his earlier owners and sold for a pittance a couple of seasons ago. Sharat managed to sort out his numerous problems this season. The well-bred horse began his Winter campaign in Class III, and steadily climbed the charts. What A Friend was handicapped at the bottom of the scales. A mere look at the acceptors was enough to realize that this was a very open affair. The Darashah family seemed to have a great chance of winning this race. Z Darashah-trained Ohiyesa and Neil's Hatsuhana headed the betting boards. Both of them had ended second in their earlier starts. Hatsuhana was better handicapped than her vanquisher What A Friend, and she looked wonderful in the paddock. With PS Chouhan astride, she started as the first choice of the punters in this race.

Rank outsider Bucethalis charged to the front and set a strong pace ahead of Rugged Beauty, Ohiyesa, Silken Thomas and Tanzanite, while the likes of What A Friend and Hatsuhana were seen biding their time at the back. The scene altered dramatically in the straight. Ohiyesa overtook the leading group, but his domination was short-lived. What A Friend came through the middle and Hatsuhana arrived on the wide outside. Hatsuhana moved the best of the lot and skipped away from the rest. Jockey Christopher extricated his horse from the chasing pack and went in pursuit of the leader. What A Friend displayed remarkable improvement by lengthening his strides and catching up with a helpless Hatsuhana. A better finishing effort enabled him to lift the day's feature. Ohiyesa ended a tame third while Able Associate's late effort saw him filling the last slot on the result board. It will be interesting to see what Sharat plans for this horse next season. What A Friend has been performing consistently and clocking steady timings. A further improvement may see him climbing the charts during the Summer Season.

The victory of What A Friend came immediately after another Sharat Kumar trainee had won an earlier event. In the hands of rookie Mallikarjuna, Frame Partner (Juniper-Research) dropped a bombshell by scoring effortlessly in a mile race for horses in class IV. He was the least considered runner in this group of eight and was easily available at 35/1 in the ring. With Golden Dixie, Seven Star, Sun Gold and Alianz showing early sparkle, Mallikarjuna chose to trail the pack. The moment he showed him daylight at the top of the bend, the race was over. Frame Partner sped past his rivals and won by a widening margin of over four lengths. Sun Gold and Golden Dixie finished side by side saving place money for their respective connections.

A couple of interesting races for three-year-olds highlighted the day's card. A maiden's event over seven furlongs generated a lot of excitement. Dancerella, At The Helm and Sovetskaya were the frontline contenders in this race. Both Dancerella and At The Helm had finished second in their earlier starts, and coincidentally, both had been ridden by Suraj Narredu. The champion jockey had chosen to ride Darius Byramji's At The Helm (China Visit-Perfect Mover) today. Taking that as a pointer, the punters chose to back her with confidence. Arjun Mangalorkar declared John to partner Dancerella. She was the only one in this group to have tackled this extended trip on an earlier occasion. The small over-weight that John was set to carry did not bother her fans. There was talk that the connections of Sovetskaya thought very highly of this light-framed filly, and that was the reason why they had chosen this race for her. However, the race was finally confined to At The Helm and Dancerella. With Mark Gallagher choosing to dictate terms with Forever Glory, both John and Suraj relaxed at the back. They came storming in the straight and went clear of the others. Both At The Helm and Dancerella raced stride for stride, before the former managed to seize the advantage. She was fully extended to score by a fraction of a length at the finish. Sovetskaya performed pathetically and looked extremely tired in the straight. She may need some more time before giving her best.

The Glass House Trophy happened to be a terms race wherein earlier winners could participate with statutory penalties. Arjun Mangalorkar chose to run Free Law in this race. This talented colt had shown a lot of speed while winning his maiden start. He was opposed by Samar Singh's Lovely Kiss (Rebuttal-Raisin). The latter had shown signs of her brilliance while showing the way to a speedy bunch of horses. The five-and-a-half kilos that she was receiving from Free Law today was expected to help her cause. The two runners shared favouritism at race time. John took Free Law to the front and set a strong pace ahead of Chantilly, Own Empire and Lovely Kiss, while the rest of the field lost pace with the leaders and disappeared from the scene. Even though Free Law enjoyed a healthy lead into the straight, it was clear that Jagadeesh was still waiting. The moment he released his grip on Lovely Kiss and asked her to quicken, the race was over. She came with a smooth acceleration and despite shifting towards the centre of the track, won easier than the official verdict. Chantilly plodded along to take the third slot ahead of a hard ridden Own Empire.

Jockey Valdir Desouza distinguished himself by riding a couple of brilliant races for the Amit Caddy stable. The manner in which he enabled Back Among Friends and Royal Surprise to win their respective races was almost identical. Both the four-year-olds were still maidens and were searching for their first victories. By figuring regularly on the boards they had been picking up small penalties and going up at the scales, thereby making their task even tougher. Back Among Friends (Royal Gladiator-Naughty Romance) was running over a suitable 1,100 metres and was opposed by Byramji's Mitraya. Desouza took a good jump before allowing Sky Glider to go to the front. Mitraya ranged alongside and the three of them powered away from the others. They began bunching up in the straight and Desouza seemed to be in a bit of bother. Back Among Friends received a check on the rails and the jockey was quick to rectify the situation. Even though Mark Gallagher and Mitraya had managed to get their nose in front, they still had a battle on their hands. Desouza roused Back Among Friends to come charging through the middle and score a thrilling victory.

The story on Royal Surprise (Trade Fair-Lothlorien) was similar. Here too, the fancied pair of Hard To Pin Down and Love Conquers All were at the helm of affairs before Royal Surprise arrived on the scene. She made full use of her light handicap and came menacingly through the middle. There was no doubt that she was the best moving runner in the straight. She got stronger thereafter and won comfortably. Desouza rode a nice balanced race on this small-made filly, and gave her every chance to tackle the mile trip with a lot of maturity. Hard To Pin Down, Allez Vite and Love Conquers All finished in a heap and a digital camera was required to separate the three of them. Allez Vite made up a lot of ground in the straight and was the fastest finisher in this race. She has been improving with each run, and looks good enough to score over a galloping course in the near future.

Satish Narredu's Sprawling Elegance showed a clean pair of heels to his nine rivals in the lower division of a scurry for horses in class IV. Arjun Mangalorkar's Sky Rider was a rage and was backed down to start as a half-money favourite in this race. His second behind Wild Nexus was considered to be good enough to tackle the present opposition. To the dismay of his numerous supporters, Sky Rider was lethargic today. He was seen being hustled to keep pace with Sprawling Elegance in the backstretch, and was unable to go near him in the straight. So much so, that in the final furlong he was even deprived of the second spot by a late-rushing Black Beauty. For the records, Appu steered Sprawling Elegance to a start-to-finish victory. It is difficult to visualize Sky Rider picking up a race in his present form and condition.