A lacklustre card of eight events greeted racegoers at Bangalore on Friday. There was a dearth of good three-year-olds throughout the afternoon, and one sure reason for their absence could perhaps have something to do with the ongoing Classics across the country. Even the richly endowed feature event of the day failed to attract more than four runners. The Royal Calcutta Turf Club Cup was a terms event for three-year-olds, with penalties for earlier victories. Since the powerful stable of trainer Dhariwal had decided to give this race an unusual miss, some modestly performed horses were seen parading in the paddock.

Darius Byramji's Unleashed was the only one amongst them to have won more than once, as a result of which, he was set to carry three kilos more than the others. On sheer performance and ratings, he stood tall in this set. After a dismal showing as a hot favourite in his only start this season, the trainer had decided to use blinkers on him. He had apparently shown improvement with this new equipment in his morning trials. Being the only filly in the race, Irfan Ghatala's Sun Absolute (Ikhtyar-Absolutely) enjoyed a sex allowance. This nice looking specimen had run only once in her career. Just three weeks ago, Sun Absolute had carried a back-breaking weight in Class V to an effortless victory.

Even though she had beaten nothing of note on that day, there were many who had been impressed by her performance. Her movements on the training track had been really fluent, and the reporters were unanimous in their first choice as they felt that "whoever beats this filly shall win the race". With leading professional Suraj Narredu guiding her fortunes, Sun Absolute started as a joint favourite alongside the Srinath-ridden Unleashed. The pair of Delacroix and Stormyred from the Attaolahi stable was ignored from a betting perspective. Stormyred and Delacroix made the early running ahead of Sun Absolute, while Unleashed was held back to race about a couple of lengths behind the three of them. Not more than four lengths covered the entire field as they took the rising ground and made their way towards the home turn.

The only runner which showed some urgency at the top of the bend was Sun Absolute. She began creeping towards the leader and was soon at the helm of affairs. Suraj gave her a push and she darted forward. The pair of them established what looked like a winning lead in the final furlong. Under a strong ride from her jockey, Sun Absolute lengthened her strides and ran away for an easy success. Unleashed made heavy weather of making his way from the back and had to be fully stretched to get the better of Delacroix in the final stages of the day's feature. By posting such an authoritative victory, Sun Absolute showed remarkable improvement over her previous outing. She has the ability to move higher in the rating charts. Unleashed's form seems to have tapered off, and it may be sensible to leave him alone from a betting perspective in the near future.

Irfan completed his double by winning the very next race in the day's card. The upper division of The Saptharishi Cup was annexed in a thrilling finish by the consistent Tanzanite (Burden Of Proof-Current Bay). This filly had given enough evidence of her well being by running a couple of good races this season. She had got nailed on the post by Lads Gladiator, before playing bridesmaid to the runaway Lady Duff in the highest class. Her trainer decided to revert back to the lower category, and his decision to ease her burden by utilizing the services of apprentice Vaideeshwaran was fruitful. With four kilos off her back, Tanzanite flew from mid-division, overtook the front-running Chintz and bravely staved-off the late challenge from Spark Of Reverence and Captain's Lover. Because of the narrow margin of victory, she is likely to get away with a smallish penalty.

Tanzanite is in good form and she has the credentials to win on promotion. Trainer Dhariwal continued his wonderful run this season by posting a double for the day with Airplay and Marie Curie. The former had given all-round satisfaction by winning a maiden's event in November. The connections were really impressed with his style of running, and had little hesitation in pitching him into The Bangalore Derby as a supplementary entry. The 40/100 favourite won the mile race with comfort. Chris Hayes allowed him to relax till the bend before popping the question. Airplay (Fantastic Light-Payola) accelerated smoothly and won without being fully extended from Emerald and Sun Dawn.

Even though the quality of his opposition was moderate, the timing was fairly quick. Dhariwal concluded the day's proceedings by winning a sprint for horses in Class III. Marie Curie (Valid Concept-Little Miss) was a marginal favourite ahead of Leon Cavallo, Game Dancer and What A Friend. None of the runners had recent form, and the race looked like a lottery. However, the punters and the bookmakers proved to be perfectly correct when Marie Curie came with raking strides into the final furlong and put it across What A Friend and a tired Greens. The last-named had made all the running before stopping in the straight. Her initial momentum was good enough to give her the third spot. Leon Cavallo, Game Dancer and Noble Breeze could never get into any sort of rhythm in this race.

Rashid Byramji's Never Say Goodbye (Royal Gladiator-Zauberwelt) sported a pair of wings while lowering the colours of a hugely fancied Sunstone. This Irfan-trainee was supported all morning and was backed down from 5/2 to 90/100. Sunstone led from the very beginning and seemed to be travelling smoothly till the bend. He started sending distress signals the moment he was challenged by the eventual winner. In the hands of apprentice Rajesh Kumar, Never Say Goodbye stormed into the lead and won by a widening margin of five lengths. The winner looks capable of repeating on promotion. David Allan-ridden Time Out made up a lot of ground from the rear to finish a close third. She looks like a "staying" type, and is bound to show out over a longer trip. A very interesting finish was witnessed in the lower division of The Saptharishi Cup.

In an open betting event where all the runners were available at 4's and over, the PS Chouhan ridden Baton Rouge (Alnasr Alwasheek-Astor Place) tried runaway tactics. This heavily bandaged runner from Prithviraj's yard came charging out of the gates. He maintained a useful lead till the bend before wilting under pressure. Alpha Baby and Rugged Beauty made their moves at almost the same juncture and charged towards the leader. Realizing the danger, Chouhan pulled out his stick. Through sheer grit and determination, he managed to retain his lead till the very end. Baton Rouge, Alpha Baby and Rugged Beauty finished in close proximity of each other.

The only other race in the day's card went to Padmanabhan's Cherelle (Burden Of Proof-Chiquelina). What was billed as a really close contest between Cherelle, Wild Nexus and Gazaki, turned out to be a one-horse affair. Wild Nexus chased Elusive Speed till the top of the straight, and made his move only after entering the straight. PS Chouhan urged the grey to lengthen his strides, but the response was quite ordinary. Wild Nexus assumed command but his lead was short-lived. Chris Hayes brought Cherelle with a flourish from the rear and her acceleration was noticeable. She picked up a bunch of tired runners and sailed away for an easy victory. Gazaki rallied under the strong urgings of Desouza to displace Wild Nexus from the second berth. Gazaki ran a very good race and was unlucky to cross swords with the winner. The filly looks poised to win her next start.