For the second successive day of The Bangalore Summer Meeting, the day's feature was dominated by a runner sporting the famous silks of Dr Vijay Mallya. After the runaway victory of Spearhead on Saturday, it was the turn of Celestial Way to show out in The Chief Minister's Cup (Grade III), the feature event in a long card of nine races framed for Sunday's racing at this centre.

The small made filly, who is known to be more comfortable over a slightly longer trip, came with a flourish from a difficult bend position and stunned a big group of 15 acceptors. It is rare to see such a large field in a "graded" race at Bangalore. The arrival of Astral Flash and Slickkit from Mumbai and Successor from Delhi, added to the excitement. Padmanabhan had three runners in this race.

On the basis of their performances in the Sprinter's Cup at Mahalaksmi, Palazzio's Sun and D'artagnan were fancied ahead of stablemate Celestial Way. Palazzio's Sun had won that race while D'artagnan had ended a close third. The two of them were separated on the betting boards by Pesi Shroff's Astral Flash. This brilliant middle-distance customer was being asked to sprint today. She had picked up a Class I race exactly a week ago.

The effortless manner of her victory on that day had enthused the connections to have a go at this well-endowed event. The bookmakers refused to look beyond the top three contenders and offered lucrative odds against the others. In a fairly fast run race, Lady Duff, Originality and Palazzio's Sun were the first to show out, and were at the helm of affairs till the big field started taking the home turn.

Astral Flash and Diamond Hunter were being niggled to stay in touch while the others were following at respectable intervals. A couple of things happened at the top of the bend. Lady Duff and Palazzio's Sun were the first to run out of steam. The chasing pair of Astral Flash and Diamond Hunter was equally tired. This allowed Originality to take a firm hold of the proceedings, and the filly was quick to seize the advantage. She opened up a fairly large lead at this stage.

At almost the same time, Sampson began his move with Celestial Way. Despite receiving a small check near the three-furlong marker, the filly was full of running. She made up a lot of ground on the wide outside and was seen gaining ground on the leader. A couple of taps with the stick were enough to see her coasting away from Originality. Kyles Of Bute and Rare And Precious made up a lot of ground from the rear to fill the rest of the frame.

Jockey Sampson has been quick to adapt to the local conditions, as this was his seventh winner in the first six days of the season. There is no fixed pattern to his style of riding. He looks equally comfortable while dictating pace or riding from the back. His skills were a large contributing factor in today's victory. Celestial Way is in terrific form and looks set to run prominently in her subsequent starts. The others, who ran close behind the winner, are also worth following.

Originality, Rare And Precious and Kyles Of Bute are speedy customers and one can support them with confidence when they race in lesser company. Astral Flash must not be touched over a sprint, while Palazzio's Sun shall strip fitter after this start. The lacklustre performance astride Padmanabhan's Palazzio's Sun did not deter Suraj Narredu from showing out on his other three mounts. The free-lancer was riding for three other stables, and the champion delivered with all of them.

While his win astride Dhariwal's Portatone was hard fought, the other two astride Prithviraj's Saloni and Ifan Ghatala's Criminal Lawyer were a mere walk in the park. After winning her maiden start, Portatone was re-appearing in a sprint for horses in Class IV. Prakash-ridden Stormyred was an on-money choice in this race. He had already run a fair third this season, and was expected to improve on that performance.

On the other hand, Portatone's efforts in her morning trials had been fairly ordinary. The track reporters felt that she may need this run. Suraj decided to take her to the front and this move paid rich dividends. Portatone skipped away from Stormyred and carried on till the final post. The runner-up looked flat footed today, and it may be a good idea to leave him alone for the remainder of this season. The other runners were completely disinterested in the proceedings and were here for "only an outing".

Prithviraj's Saloni was his second winner. A rumour regarding her fitness was responsible for Saloni getting displaced at the top of the betting boards. There was a sudden rush of money on Darius Byramji's Yas Marina and Shehzad Abbas's Don Valentino. The latter was supported with gay abandon. The punters were left to rue their decisions as it turned out to be a one-horse race.

Suraj was unconcerned about the happenings around him, as he sat still on this filly. She cantered along in second spot with a minimal effort from her rider. Camorra was seen setting the pace, while Don Valentino and Yas Marina were being hustled to keep in touch. Saloni was shown daylight near the bend and the race was as good as over. She cantered away to a very easy victory over a hard-ridden Juno and Yas Marina.

Don Valentino ran below par to finish a tame fifth. Criminal Lawyer completed an easy treble for the rider. The dark bay colt stood tall in a very ordinary group of runners. He was outstanding on paper, looked well in the paddock and received one-sided support in the betting ring. He confirmed the fact that he was superior to this lot, by winning in effortless fashion. He came alongside Duckworth at the bend, and won on a tight rein.

Criminal Lawyer takes his deserved place amongst horses in the highest class, and another victory over a mile or longer looks like a distinct possibility. The Brig RCR Hill Memorial Cup went to Ganapathy's String Along. This filly had made a fine impression while clearing the maiden ranks a fortnight ago. She had rushed to the front on that day, and lengthened her strides to win in a smart timing.

A similar effort was considered to be good enough to win this race. In the hands of Imran Khan, the filly tracked the speedy Panchakshari till the bend before swooping on him. She sailed clear in the straight, but had to be put under pressure thereafter to keep Unleashed and Make My Day at bay. Trainer Neil Darashah was the other professional to score a double today. He won the first and the last races of the day.

Money-back favourite Friendly Bond had chosen to run in a lower class, and considering the quality of his opposition, it was difficult to see him getting beaten today. He had encountered a few traffic problems while finishing a late third on the first day of the season. The horse ran on expected lines, as he made all the running, and in the hands of Imran Chisty, won from Montedoro and The Darling Boy.

His victory wasn't all that easy and he will have to show considerable improvement to win another race in the near future. Neil's Youre Kiss's Due was touted as a "moral certainty" in the last race of the afternoon. She had been given an easy run earlier this season and was reported to have improved by leaps and bounds. The stable decided to entrust her once again to CH. Chary, as she had been responding nicely to his handling.

The even-money favourite improved steadily from her wide draw, and was soon at the helm of affairs. She led into the straight and began to loaf thereafter. Chary had to repeatedly use his stick to keep reminding the filly of her task on hand. Youre Kiss's Due began shortening her strides but was still good enough to win by half a length from Hampton Court, Southern King and Sher Dil. The winner has scope for further improvement as she was given a hard ride after a fairly long time.

Veteran trainer Byramji opened his account for the season with One Life To Love. The filly, which is incidentally owned by the trainer himself, was the favourite ahead of Cherelle and Scorching Ace. Cherelle had been doing some good trackwork and was reported to be in fine nick. While Sampson rushed Cherelle to the front and tried to win from end to end, Christopher Alford and One Life To Love were content to wait for a while.

The two fillies fought it out in the straight, before One Life To Love asserted her superiority and drew away from Cherelle. The Winner showed that she may be better suited over a longer trip. On the other hand, Cherelle ran a bit green in the straight and is expected to strip fitter after this experience. She is bound to win her next start. Anna stayed-on to save place money for her connections.