Hot favourite Archipenko justified the support of the racing public while cantering away with The Usha Stud Bangalore Summer Million (Grade III), the stellar event in Friday's race card at Bangalore. This well built colt from the stables of Darius Byramji was greatly benefited by the terms of this race. Having run second to Fleeting Arrow on two occasions, and thereafter to Set Alight in the Derby, Archipenko was rated 92 by the official handicapper. But for all practical purposes, he was a winner of only one race in his career, and was therefore alloted the lowest weight to be carried by colts and geldings in this event. He was set to recieve weight from Fantastic Quest,who had two wins under his belt and was expected to be a live threat to him. The rest of the field was there to make up the numbers. The bookmakers were hoping for an upset and the odds against this horse expanded to even-money as the runners reached the starting gates. There were two reasons for their optimism. The first was that the favourites in the first three races in the day's card had finished off the board, and the second was the steady drizzle which greeted the runners as they were being paraded in the paddock. The underfoot conditions being on the softer side,were expected to worsen with this downpour.

Archipenko was a bit slow at the gates, and was the last to take off as the field was despatched from the mile marker.Srinath took Southern Summit to the front and set a fast pace ahead of Enduring Star,Undue, Fantastic Quest and Chimerique, while Archipenko recovered quickly and joined the frontrunners within the first couple of furlongs of this race. Christopher Alford had to keep him on a tight leash thereafter, and settled him nicely in second spot, as Southern Summit brought the field into the home stretch. Prakash moved Fantastic Quest into a challenging position and it became apparent that the top two market fancies had stolen a march over the others. With less than 400 metres still to travel, Archipenko was sent to the front and  given a couple of taps to stretch away from a hard ridden Fantastic Quest.The victory was achieved comfortably,as the colt was travelling nice and easy in the final stages of the race.Chimerique was a faraway third while Enduring Star Finished fourth. In his present form, Archipenko is all set to dominate the forthcoming Mysore Classics.

Padmanabhan's Western Command put up a splendid show while annexing The K N Chennabassappa Memorial Cup, a mile race for horses in the highest class at this centre. He was a winner of his last two starts, and had been accordingly penalized for those efforts by the handicapper. Although he had the form to improve on his earlier performances, he was facing a bunch of bunch of top class milers in this race. In an open betting affair, Mothers Pride and Swift Fire were fancied marginally ahead of the others. Christopher took last outing winner Swift Fire on a start-to-finish mission, and was leading the field as they took the final bend. Western Command was a handy second while Jet Fire, Royal Ambassador, Talk Of The Devil and Mothers Pride were improving on the wide outside.Wayne Smith pushed Western Command into the lead and kept him going to win in an exciting finish from Royal Ambassador, Jet Fire, Mothers Pride and Swift Fire. The first five horses finished within two lengths of each other. With this performance, Western Command completed a quick hat-trick ,and will have the honour of sharing the title of "Horse Of The Season" with Kiara. Both of them have won thrice and finished second on the other occasion that they have raced this season.

After five consecutive runner-up finishes, Faraz Arshad trained Glorious Princess showed a clean pair of heels to her seven rivals ,and ran away with the opening event in the day's card. Desert Rule, Affirmed Crown and Super Sha were fancied ahead of the ultimate winner, but all three of them found the pace too hot, and stopped in their tracks as Pelikano came from the rear to take the second spot.The run of favourite Desert Rule was far below par, as he finished  more than twenty lengths behind the winner.

Trainer Irfan Ghatala, who has been having a quiet Summer Season, led-in a pair of winners on Friday. Maiden three year old Leopardino was entered in a class IV event and was set to take on a bunch of seasoned horses over seven furlongs. There was huge support for Mind Me ,while Leopardino was easily backable at 5/1. Mind Me did the early running before packing up like a pricked balloon. Appu on Royal Chief and Prakash on Reigning Monarch went into the lead near the 200 metres marker ,and seemed to be going away from the rest. Mallesh Narredu on Leopardino was looking for space on the inside, and the moment he got an opening, the duo came charging to join the issue with the leaders. It ceased to be a race thereafter, as Leopardino grew stronger at the finish and sailed away from Royal Chief. The runner-up will be more comfortable over a sprint and should be followed on such an occasion. Royal Bank came with a late bid to run third.

Irfan completed a double with Freemason in the concluding race of the day. This horse had been knocking on the door and the presence of champion jockey Suraj Narredu in the saddle enhanced his chances. Last outing winner Win Prettybaby was a firm favourite, and she raised hopes of a victory, when she passed the front running Star Blue and set sail for home. She was challenged by Freemason near the distance post and the two of them were involved in a close finish. Suraj's strong riding tilted the balance in favour of Freemason, who finally won by one length. Jersey Power came with a late bid to take the third spot.

The only other professional to score a double in a small card of seven events was Mallesh Narredu.  He was declared to partner Attaolahi trained Agassiz in a mile and a quarter event for horses in class III. The opposition consisted of four horses who had won their previous starts. Regal Ransom, Fly Free, Star Speed and Hidalgo had all won over seven fulongs. They were tackling this staying trip for the first time in their careers. Apart from a hype from their respective camps, there was no evidence that these horses were capable of tackling an extended trip. Agassiz was a confirmed stayer, and Mallesh took her to the front. He set a strong pace ahead of Hidalgo and Regal Ransom, while the hot-favourite Star Speed was being urged to stay in touch with the leaders. It ultimately turned out to be a procession, as Agassiz won in a common canter from a heavily whipped Hidalgo. Star Of Excellence, despite losing ground at the start, came with a long stretch run to take the third place. Regal Ransom was stopping in his tracks while finishing fourth. The rest were totally outclassed.