The Bangalore Winter Season finally took off after the first day’s racing the previous week had been cancelled due to heavy underfoot conditions but the punters were sent running for cover this time by the parade of outsiders who ruled the roost. Barring two public choices, the eight event programme was dominated by horses which did not catch the fancy of the racing public. Michael Eshwer trained Opera Queen had all the credentials to win the 1200 metres Krishnaraja Trophy, a race for horses rated 40 and above. The speedy daughter of Tecorno, Opera Queen had been a noteworthy performer all along but the absence of the regular routine of work owing to a setback saw many look elsewhere for a winner. Darius Byramji trained Supreme Power who had run poorly at Mysore, was backed to the exclusion of his rivals so much so that his price shortened abruptly to the point of being not good enough for a bet. In the event, Supreme Power struggled to pick up speed and was a beaten cause well before the final furlong. Though Supreme Power in the past had done well over a sprint, the fact is that the son of Razeen will always find the six furlong trip sharp for his liking in this class. The now deceased Tecorno has sired an amazing number of horses with speed as their forte. Opera Queen is blessed with blinding speed and the three-year old filly hit the front from the word 'go' before kicking clear when she came under pressure in the straight to win comfortably from another Tecorno progeny, Tribal Fantasy. Traditionally, the Tecorno progeny have always been known to get race fit with minimum amount of work and it was no surprise that Opera Queen, despite not being subjected to regular regime of workouts, was nevertheless fit enough to win in the highest class. Laguna Blue and Splendid Smith were noteworthy runners. Linette who had fair Mysore form, perhaps did not relish the underfoot conditions and ran disappointingly. The race for first season runners was claimed by Samar Singh trained Black Splendour. Secret Wish was the betting rage, with Didjeridu next in demand but both of them ran below par. It was Black Splendour who showed out from the start and then held on to win from Hollywood Girl was put in an eye-catching run. The well bred Montesoro who was out for an airing, finished on strongly and he is ready to strike. Dhariwal saddled a brace of winners as apart from Caprese, Solar Crystal swamped the opposition to win by a widening margin of eight lengths over First Trick. Dominic trained First Trick came in for spirited betting but she was flat-footed by Solar Crystal who left the field for dead at the top of the straight. Alannah was fancied to win the mile long affair but the five-year old mare was sluggish at the start and jockey Srinath sat behind at the rear so much so that the late-finishing effort only added to the frustration of those who put faith in her abilities. Ranveer who had not been allowed to run to potential thus far, showed his powers when bolting in well clear of the field. Another well backed horse to bite the dust was Storm Flag Flying who ended up a tame third. Worth A Gold, who had let down a few times as a fancied runner, relished the conditions to win with a great deal of comfort at fancy odds. Jockey Harish on Dangerous Diva had his legs dangling and he made a belated effort to get his feet back in the stirrup. Dangerous Diva, who was loitering at the wrong end of the field, came charging home to be a prominent fourth. The Stewards, who ordered an enquiry into the riding of Harish, suspended the jockey for 12 race days for his indifferent ride. However, Harish showed no such tantrums in the concluding race of the day when steering favourite Limeklins to a narrow win over a late-finishing Choreographer.