The 2010 edition of The Fillies Trial Stakes (Grade I) held on Sunday at Bangalore, saw the Dhariwal-trained Siachen (Burden Of Proof-Indian Mission) asserting her superiority and proudly donning the coveted "Crown". The Kunigal-bred property of Dr Vijay Mallya performed according to her paddock looks, and under the brilliant guidance of Srinath, got the better of Moonlight Romance and Eloise.

With the withdrawal of Sunset Boulevard and Sun Bird at the declaration stage, the field for this first Classic of the season was reduced to eleven. Mumbai-based trio of Moonlight Romance, Eloise and Xisca joined Hyderabad's Vijay Damini in mounting a strong challenge against the local brigade led by Siachen and Eagle Claws. Moonlight Romance came into this race with sound credentials. She had trounced a good bunch of three year-olds in her last run at Mahalakshmi.

Xisca had finished almost a distance behind the winner in that race. Trainer CD Katrak was delighted with the way Moonlight Romance had tackled a mile in only the third start of her career, as she had shown signs of possessing both speed and stamina. He had taken an immediate decision to campaign this good looking filly in the Bangalore Summer Classics.

Moonlight Romance was given a feel of the local track by running her in a mock race a couple of weeks ago, and the filly had displayed her well being by emerging victorious. She was accordingly installed as a firm favourite in today's race. Siachen and Eagle Claws had figured in an extremely close finish over seven furlongs in a lead-up event held on the opening weekend of this season. On the basis of the fact that Siachen had conceded weight to Eagle Claws on that day, the former was expected to perform better than her conqueror.

One look at the runners in the paddock was enough to confirm a couple of things. The favourite looked a bit light, while Siachen and Eloise displayed their impeccable condition. A late surge of support for Siachen saw the price against the filly shortening from 5/1 to 7/2. Rank outsider La Clique bolted to the front and led from Make My Day, Vijay Damini, Couleur Rouge and Eloise. Moonlight Romance and Eagle Claws were drawn on the extreme outside and their riders chose to adopt different strategies.

While Suraj Narredu decided to make his move with Eagle Claws on the wide outside, Imran Chisty allowed Moonlight Romance to duck in towards the rails. Jockey Srinath was the most relaxed of the lot. He made full use of his advantageous draw on the inside, and eased Siachen to race behind the tails of the leading pack. The order remained more or less the same as the 11 runners swung for home. Couleur Rouge seized the advantage and led narrowly from a fast moving pair of Eagle Claws and Eloise.

Srinath was still biding his time and was keeping Siachen out of trouble. The filly had an unhampered passage and was seen galloping smoothly at the bend. Srinath allowed her to find her rhythm, got her on the right leg and showed her daylight. The response was almost electric. Siachen bounded forward and began to go away from Eloise and the others. At almost the same time, there was another tale unfurling at the back.

Imran had decided to maintain his path on the inside and had chosen to gamble by hoping for an opening on the rails. Moonlight Romance saw a bunch of horses in front of her and took some time to get into her rhythm. By the time the tired Couleur Rouge drifted off the rails, and allowed a clear passage to Moonlight Romance, the race was almost over.

The brave-hearted favourite made a gallant attempt and narrowed the gap down to one length at the wire. Eloise ran on to finish a creditable third. The fillies will meet again in the middle of July, when they appear in the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby. At the end of it all, it seemed as though the whole thing was pre-ordained. Siachen was destined to win The Fillies Trial Stakes 2010 and she accomplished it with everything going her way. The top-performed fillies of last year developed niggling problems and had to be eased from racing at a critical juncture of their careers.

Irfan's pair of Tsavorite and Sun Dancing, Ganapathy's Awarding and Pesi Shroff's Sunset Boulevard developed physical impediments. They were scratched in the weeks leading up to this race. The best part of the story was the perfect ride given to her by Srinath. He deserves a major portion of the credit for Siachen's victory today. He took a good jump, saved ground till the bend, brought her through an unhampered passage and allowed her to settle before riding his powerhouse finish.

Trainer Dhariwal did well to keep her in such fine condition, and she paid him a rich compliment by looking a picture of good health in the paddock. Racegoers were treated to a couple of superb performances by two other fillies this afternoon. Irfan Ghatala's Bhagirathi and Pesi Shroff's Hillary showed powerful acceleration which decimating their opposition.

Bhagirathi made a belated start to her career by making a debut in February this year. This was her fifth start in as many months. After three wins and a second place in her earlier starts, Bhagirathi was attempting to defy the handicapper. She was meeting Cruising on worse terms, and was accordingly a second favourite behind Christopher Alford's filly.

She put up an awesome display of speed by tearing away from the rest of the runners. Allowing Romance In The Air to lead on sufferance, Bhagirathi was held back for her final assault. Paswan eased her into the lead and asked her to accelerate. Bhagirathi responded gamely and darted away from The Spartan and a hard-ridden Cruising. What was expected to be a keenly fought contest, ended in a procession.

Four lengths and four lengths separated the first three runners. With this victory, Bhagirathi moves into the highest Class at Bangalore. Incidentally, this win allowed trainer Irfan Ghatala to complete a double for the afternoon. He had already won the day's opener with first-timer Sun Control. The small-made filly showed a lot of sparkle by coming from the back and sailing past Secret Vision and Spark Of Sapphire.

Imran Chisty rode her with a lot of confidence. Pesi Shroffs three year-old Hillary (China Visit-Husun) made a rousing start to her career. Running over a sprint for maidens, Hillary ran like a seasoned campaigner. The even-money favourite looked the part in the paddock. She sported a wonderful coat and looked totally relaxed. Prakash allowed her to settle down behind Star Experience and Senor Speedy, and stayed there till the runners entered the straight.

He brought her into contention by pulling her towards the centre of the track. A couple of taps saw her bounding forward. She galloped fluently to score by a widening margin of more than seven lengths. The manner in which she accelerated in this softish going, augurs well for her future. Hillary is reported to be headed for the Kolkata Classics.

Senor Speedy was the best of the beaten brigade. He managed to finish marginally ahead of Smart Ways and Star Experience. Immediately after the win astride Siachen, jockey Srinath was seen steering Puttanna's Citrali to her maiden victory. Sampson-ridden Supremacy was the rage in this race. After winning her only start in winter, this Attaolahi-trained filly was prepared judiciously for this event.

The track reporters were hugely optimistic about her chances. However, the final result was totally different. In the hands of Srinath, Citrali travelled well in the backstretch before overhauling the leaders. She sailed past the pair of Supremacy and Elite Land, and posted an impressive victory. Citrali is poised for another win on promotion. Supremacy was found to be totally flat-footed and this filly may need some more time to improve from her present mark.

Hyderabad challengers Kohinoor Wish and The Leader dominated the finish of The Justice P Medappa Memorial Cup, the added attraction in the day's card. Local hopeful Sky Train was a firm favourite in this race. He had been sharpened in a mock race a couple of weeks ago. Dominic-trained Love Conquers All was attempting to complete a hat-trick by winning this trophy. From a betting perspective, it looked difficult, as most of the horses ran with a realistic chance of winning this race.

In the end, it turned out to be a "one horse affair". Laxman Singh-trained Kohinoor Wish sailed past The Leader and kept increasing his lead till he reached the winning post. Sky Train and Love Conquers All were separated by the camera while filling the rest of the frame. Kohinoor Wish is a nice looking horse, and is bound to make his presence felt on his return to Hyderabad. Apprentice Zervan managed to rouse Inspired Move to keep her neck in front of a fast-finishing pair of Yes I Can and Mister Trooper in a seven-furlong race for horses in Class V.

The filly swished her tail and was apparently in season. She chased a runaway Atomic Queen, before collaring her in the straight. The moment Zervan tapped her with the whip, she swished her tail and began losing interest in the proceedings. The young man did well to put away his stick, and rode her with hands and heels. She re-gained her momentum and scampered home for a narrow victory. The filly enabled Md Khan to open his account for the season. The day ended with some inspired support flowing in the direction of another filly ridden by Zervan.

This time it was Attaolahi's last outing winner Sweet Caroline. She had impressed by scoring from end to end on the opening day of the season. The connections did well to lighten the load on this small-made filly, by claiming an allowance on her. It was felt that she would be too fast for her opponents today. Zervan made full use of his innermost draw and led till well into the straight. She was chased for most of the way by the speedy Dim Sum.

Both the front-runners shot their bolt at the bend and packed up like pricked balloons. Suraj Narredu brought Prithviraj's Abnoba with a flourish on the wide outside and sailed past a helpless Missoni. Sweet Performer came from the back to take the third spot. Abnoba is sure to pick up another race before the end of this season.