A well-tuned Sun Kingdom (Royal Kingdom-Porsche Too) reproduced his well-known acceleration and stormed home to a sensational victory in The HDIL Bangalore 2000 Guineas (Grade II) on Saturday. What looked like a hopeless cause at the furlong pole was made possible by a remarkable turn of foot shown by this brilliant horse. Having got caught in a terrible traffic jam in the straight, Suraj Narredu had little time to change course. The champion jockey had to use all his talent while momentarily checking his mount, pulling him on the outside, getting him on an even keel, showing him daylight and rousing him to do his best. All this had to be achieved in less than 15 seconds. Sun Kingdom did the rest and to the delight of a multitude of his fans, sauntered past a pair of helpless opponents. The odds-on favourite proved that he is the best three-year-old in training at this centre.

Sun Kingdom had made a big reputation for himself during the Summer Season. By winning the Summer Million and The Colts Trial Stakes, he had started as a firm favourite in The Kingfisher Derby. His loss to Moonlight Romance in that race was considered to be an aberration. After a longish rest and an easy mock race, he travelled to have a tilt at the Mysore 2000 Guineas. The half-money favourite succumbed under pressure to finish a tame second to Immense. There were those who felt that this was a result of his camp’s overconfidence, while others said that he had been undone by the state of the going. Whatever may have been the reason for his failure, the fact remained that he had tarnished his reputation. His riderless start in the "null and void" Mysore Derby had been the cause for another disappointment. Irfan left no stone unturned while preparing him for today's race. Sun Kingdom was seen regularly on the track and was reported to be working extremely well. A forward mock race helped him achieve the required fitness.

Even though the Guineas field had eleven acceptors, there weren't many punters who wished to oppose him. A measly 75/100 was offered on this horse by the bookmakers. The gingerly prepared Magisterial was considered to be his closest rival. This 5/1 chance from the Ganapathy stable was known to be a bit unsound. The lone filly in this race was Dhariwal's Aprillia. She had won a seven-furlong race at the beginning of this season in top-class company. Even though there were questions raised about her ability to tackle the extra furlong, there were some who chose to back her ahead of the other eight. The Darling Boy tore off in front and was almost a distance clear of Magisterial, Braavo and Aprillia as the field took the rising ground near the three-furlong marker. While Deep Blue Sky made a forward move on the wide outside, Sun Kingdom and Suraj were content to stay in mid-division. Magisterial overwhelmed his stablemate at the bend, and this bandaged runner led into the straight. Aprillia and Braavo made their moves on his outside, while Suraj decided to take the available opening on the rails. By the time Sun Kingdom got into his rhythm, the gap closed. Magisterial leaned inwards and hampered the progress of the favourite. Aprillia and Braavo came alongside the leader, and the three of them formed a wall in front of a helpless Sun Kingdom.

Braavo got the better of the others and led at this stage. Jockey Sylvester Desouza made free use of the whalebone and the pair of them looked set to cause a major upset. However, there was another scene unfurling at the back. Suraj had managed to extricate himself from this problem, and had got Sun Kingdom into perfect rhythm. It was a treat to watch the giant strides of the ultimate winner. He managed to hit the front in the final stages of the race and won by a widening length at the wire.

It was evident that but for this hampered passage, the winning margin would have been much bigger. Braavo and Aprillia took the minor placing in this second Classic of the season. The performance that caught the eye and raised a few eyebrows came from Braavo. After winning a prestigious race at Mysore, he had started as a firm favourite in an ordinary handicap event held about three weeks ago. He had run listlessly while failing to figure on the board that day. What was more surprising was the fact that he had finished more than half a dozen lengths behind stablemate Kingdomofdreams, who incidentally, had won that race. On the basis of the said performance, Braavo was allowed to start as a rank outsider. He nearly pulled it off today by running the best race of his career. Aprillia ran according to form, as she had led into the final furlong before caving-in under pressure.

The Winter Derby appears to be in the safe keeping of Sun Kingdom. In the years gone by, we often heard a racing commentator saying that a horse was giving its jockey "an armchair ride to victory". With the quality of breeding in our country improving by leaps and bounds, and racing becoming more intense and competitive, this phrase has somehow lost its relevance. However, a couple of performances today were reminiscent of those days. The one that really caught the eye was that of Irafn Ghatala's fashionably-bred Sunstorm (Placerville-Stately Home). The three-year-old made his racing debut in a handicap event for horses in Class IV. The manner in which he spread-eagled the opposition showed that he belongs to a much higher class.

This winner completed a fine double for Irfan, Suraj and the Wadhawan family on Saturday. The handicapper is bound to burden him with a steep penalty, but this nice-looking specimen must be supported till beaten. The other one to perform on similar lines was Darius Byramji's two-year-old Aidan (Diffident-Perpetuate). He was a hot order in the day's opener. Backed to the exclusion of his rivals, the compactly built colt settled nicely in second spot behind Rhythmic Dancer. C Alford released his grip near the bend and the race was over. Aidan darted forward and cantered away from Magnitude.

He clocked an extremely smart time for a horse that was running for the first time in his career. It will be interesting to see how Darius campaigns him hereafter. Leading trainer Dhariwal continued his good work with yet another double this afternoon. The Racing Patron's Trophy, a Class I handicap over seven furlongs, was the added attraction in the day's card. Desouza-ridden Cruising (Glory Of Dancer-Fast Trick) was a rage in this race. After winning a similar race at Mysore, the filly was attempting to repeat her performance. She had been shining on the morning track, and her camp was quite optimistic about her chances. Cruising made her move from mid-division at the top of the straight, and cruised past the leaders. A late-finishing Firezone got up at the end to push his better-fancied stablemate Soberano into third place.

The rest of the field was not even sighted. Cruising was always rated highly by her connections, but a spate of niggling problems had deterred her progress in the early stages of her career. Now that she has come into her own, it may pay to follow her profitably. Jockey Vinod Shinde rode a winner after a fairly long time to give Dhariwal his double for the day. Man Down Under (Serious Spender-All My Love) had been figuring regularly on the board, but was yet to win a race. In an open betting event, where there was late support for Puttanna's Walter, Man Down Under came with a late bid on the wide outside to nail Good Gift near the winning post.

A hard-ridden Allegro made up late ground to end a close third. In the hands of an inexperienced apprentice, Walter ran all over the place. He went miles wide at the bend and lost all his chances by doing so. For the records, Walter ended at the tail end of this field. The third and final double for the day was achieved by Suleiman Attaolahi and Chris Hayes. Senor Speedy and Cavalry Charge scored thrilling victories in their respective events. Chris rode them with aplomb and roused them to give their best when it mattered. Top-weighted Senor Speedy (Rosmini-Speedy Beauty) was held back for a final assault. Chris panicked momentarily when he saw the Appu-ridden Fame And Glory establishing what looked like a winning lead in the final furlong.

Not one to give up so easily, he continued to urge his mount. Senor Speedy gained momentum to finally collar the leader on the winning post. He used different tactics astride Cavalry Charge (Burden Of Proof-Catch Fire) in a nine-furlong handicap for horses in Class II. He led from the start and retained his advantage till the very end. A hard-ridden Lush Lashes tried her best, but it wasn't good enough. Cavalry Charge's job became a bit easier by the fact that the saddle on the public choice Spark Of Atan had slipped during the race. Jockey Chouhan was a mute spectator for most of the way, as he had to use all his experience to stay aboard the favourite.

The afternoon ended with the Dominic-trained Enduring Speed (Greensmith-Divine Elegance) justifying his position at the top of the betting boards. Quite a few runners were backed in this race, but at the end of it, there was only one deserving winner. Amiable Lady, Trillion Win and Sound Bet led into the final furlong. Enduring Speed emerged from the chasing pack and made his move towards the centre of the track. With the ones in front shortening their strides under pressure, it was clear that Enduring Speed would win this race. His fluent strides under the strong handling of PS Chouhan enabled him to sail way from the Amit Caddy-trained pair of Sound Bet and Trillion Win.