Trainer Arjun Mangalorkar and his fans enjoyed a "special" afternoon on Saturday, when all four runners from his yard performed creditably on the Bangalore race track. While three of them won with ease, the fourth one was unfortunate to find a robust opponent. Kyles of Bute, Emerald and Sky Diver won in identical fashion, as all three of them proved to be much stronger than their rivals.

However, last outing winner Lush Lashes failed in her start-to-finish bid over nine furlongs, as she was nailed and passed by a much tougher Star Assembly. For the second successive day, racing was conducted on soft ground and timings were relatively slow. On a day when most favourites took a back seat, it was a lone punter who solved the extremely tricky jackpot pool and walked away with a huge bonanza.

The Bangalore City Gold Cup (Grade III) was slated as the day's feature. It was a terms event with only a sex allowance separating the fillies and mares from their male counterparts. On sheer ratings, the Padmanabhan-trained Palazzio's Sun looked better than the others. The winner of this year's Sprinter's Cup at Mumbai had only to reproduce his best form to lift this trophy. His last couple of runs had been quite ordinary, but the subsequent track trials had shown a marked improvement.

According to most track reporters, Palazzio's Sun was looking fit and working well. The five year-old was installed at the top of the betting boards. Captivating, Originality and Bhagirathi looked like his obvious threats, and in the small field of seven, the betting was restricted to the four of them. What actually transpired on the track was totally different. Two rank outsiders came from the back of the pack, and finished ahead of this fancied group of runners. The early pace in this race was fast and furious.

Captivating charged ahead of Palazzio's Sun, Originality and Diamond Hunter, and showed the way till the runners took the rising ground and turned for home. Bhagirathi and Kyles Of Bute graced the wrong end of the field and were seen being scrubbed to keep pace with the leading bunch. The race took a serious turn at this stage. Captivating was unable to sustain her efforts and jockey Sampson was trying his best to keep her going.

Imran Chisty was urging Palazzio's Sun to take over the running, but the big-made horse was refusing to do so. Diamond Hunter was moving better than the two of them, and it was only a matter of time before he would manage to seize the initiative. Not many noticed the menacing moves of Kyles Of Bute, who was getting stronger by the second.

He produced a devastating turn of foot, and under the powerful handling of John, came from the back to sail past a bunch of tired front runners. He won by a widening margin from Diamond Hunter, Palazzio's Sun and Captivating. Kyles Of Bute has been one of the most consistent performers from Arjun's stable, as there is hardly a season when he does not win a race.

Without taking anything away from Kyle Of Bute's smart victory, it must be mentioned that Palazzio's Sun burst a blood vessel during the running of this race. Emerald and Sky Diver were the other winners from his stable. Emerald had ended second in four of her six career starts and the connections were hopeful of a win today. She started as a second favourite behind the Byramji trained Waltz Away. The public choice had shown out in his only start, and a mere reproduction of that form was considered to be good enough to lift The Track Lightning Trophy.

However, we never got to see much of him as he dislodged Imran Chisty after stumbling near the starting gates. To the dismay of most punters, the favourite ran riderless in this race. Emerald chased The Darling Boy for most of the way before assuming command of the proceedings. Despite swishing her tail, the filly cantered away for an easy victory. Sampson rode a confident race on this winner.

Sky Diver completed the treble with his front-running tactics. Despite carrying a heavy impost, the brave colt made every post a winning one. He tackled the seven furlong trip with maturity and confirmed his favouritism by sauntering away from a late-finishing Badda Rupaiyya. There was late support for Not Not Seven, but the three year-old was found wanting. He tried to keep pace with Sky Diver but was totally exhausted in the straight. He needs to come down in his ratings before he can make a serious bid to enter the winner's enclosure.

Born To perform ran creditably to take the third slot. The day began with the eclipse of a couple of hot favourites from the Amit Caddy stable. Trillion Win's effort to win the first race of her career in the lowest class was thwarted by the Sharat Kumar-trained Attaturk. John was able to push him to the front and the five year-old turned out to be much too speedy for his rivals. Attaturk won by a distance from Aetius and Trillion Win.

The 70/100 favourite plodded all the way and showed that she is not genuine. It may be a good idea to stay away from her in the future. Stephane made free use of the whalebone, but Trillion Win refused to quicken. An hour later, it was the turn of Legend Reborn. He had run brilliantly behind Intezara last week and showed that he is ready to strike. Legend Reborn was fancied strongly ahead of Rainbow Rising and Carnival Of Joy.

The favourite took a lethargic jump and was seen being scrubbed at the bend. The speedy Carnival Of Joy loved Suraj's handling and won from start to finish. The Neil Darashah trainee won the first race of her career. Summer Wine made a late bid from the back to dislodge Rainbow Rising from the second spot. Legend Reborn stopped in his tracks to finish a dismal last. A public announcement confirmed that he was another horse who had burst a blood vessel today.

Neil and Suraj were successful again in the very next race of the day. The Patrons Cup, to be run over 2,000 metres, was expected to be a thriller. The presence of numerous three year olds made winner picking hazardous, as many of them had never tackled this trip before. Based on his previous start, Neil's Rezoom was an obvious favourite. Suraj raced him prominently till the final bend before seizing the initiative. He led into the straight, but was soon joined by Golden Quest.

With both Suraj and Imran Khan pulling out all stops, the front runners began their drift towards the outer rails. This permitted the late finishing Deep Blue Sky to get closer towards the inner portion of the track. In a real close finish, Rezoom lasted out to win by a whisker from Deep Blue Sky. Golden Quest ended a close third.

A king size gamble was landed by the Puttanna stable, when Sarang came with a rattle in the straight and accounted for the fancied pair of Sound Bet and True Impression. The sparingly raced five year-old had been prepared judiciously and he ran according to his trainer's expectations. The presence of N Harsha in the saddle was a dampener for those who weren't privy to the inside information.

It was actually a case of the horse carrying the jockey past the winning post. Sarang was hopelessly positioned near the bend before he made his move. Harsha gave him a couple of taps and the horse began to fly. Within the next few seconds, he came alongside Sound Bet and True Impression. The two fancied leaders looked flat footed thereafter, as Sarang tore away to register one of the easiest victories of the afternoon.

Ganapathy's Star Assembly showed remarkable improvement to win a nine-furlong event for horses in class II. This horse had led and stopped in a shorter race exactly a week ago. With the same rider aboard, Star Assembly sported a pair of wings on Saturday while accounting for a hapless Lush Lashes. Lush Lashes had led from the start, and had managed to beat back the challenge of Leonardo and Oban before straightening for home.

The Imran Khan-ridden Star Assembly made his move through the middle and went away to score an easy victory. Favourite Native Talent appeared late on the wide outside to take the third spot. Oban and Leonardo stopped in their tracks to finish in the ruck.