Picking the winner in a Class I sprint race at Bangalore has generally been a tricky affair, and it was no different on Saturday. The setting was the H B Gundappa Gowda Memorial Cup, the feature event in the day's race card. Ten top class sprinters accepted to face the starter with most of them having a realistic chance of winning this race. The bookmakers were equally confused and this became apparent when they offered 4/1 against the favourite Crocodile Hunter in early morning trade. The picture altered a bit as we approached race time. Crocodile Hunter was noticed to be looking very well in the paddock, his connections were pretty confident about his chances and the punters had just finished collecting on a horse from the same yard. The Padmanabhan trainee was backed down to 2/1. The opposition seemed a bit jaded. Aurelian was carrying too much weight. Pastiche was looking dull in the parade ring, while Mercurial was seen to be sporting bandages. The sporting owner of Diamond Hunter was heard urging his friends to have a bet on his horse, but there were hardly any takers since the horse had performed miserably when fancied in the early part of the season.

The speedy Aurelian made light of his top weight of 64 kgs and bravely led the field in the early stages of the race. Appu occupied the box seat on Diamond Hunter and tucked his mount into second position on the rails, while Wayne Smith took a good jump on Crocodile Hunter and was seen cruising in close third position. Pastiche, Beckham, Dinesa and Mercurial were chasing the frontrunners at a respectable distance. Aurelian shot his bolt near the home turn and gave way to Diamond Hunter. Appu pulled out the stick and asked his horse to accelerate. Wayne Smith brought Crocodile Hunter on the outside and the two "Hunters" pulled away from the rest. It ceased to be a contest thereafter, as Diamond Hunter went away from the favourite and romped home for an easy victory. Dinesa came with a late run to dislodge Pastiche from the third place. Aurelian plodded on to be fifth.

The race prior to the feature event witnessed an exciting finish, when the first three horses were locked together while flashing past the winning post. Racegoers were delighted when the result was announced. The Padmanabhan trained favourite Star Speed, ridden by Wayne Smith, had won on the last stride. This even money horse was seen racing in mid division as Spark Of Class led from Super Sha and Fly For Sure. The order remained more or less the same as they reached the distance post. The favourite seemed to be in trouble as the front runners were kicking away from him. The situation altered alarmingly in the last hundred metres of the race. Spark of Class shortened his strides. Gnaneshwar on Super Sha seemed to have made a mistake while changing the whip from left to right. Super Sha drifted out suddenly and the jockey had to momentarily stop riding his horse before straightening him out and getting him on a even keel. Wayne Smith was gaining ground all the time on the two leaders. The three horses raced abreast thereafter. The digital camera image showed that Star Speed had won ahead of Super Sha and Spark of Class. Fly For Sure was a faraway fourth.

Christopher Alford was a popular man on the course, as he guided fancied runners Appertain and Dash to Cash to their respective victories. The win on the Arjun Mangalorkar trained Appertain seemed to be very easy as the sparingly raced horse skirted the field and lengthened his strides to go away from the rest. Appertain seemed to lack early speed and got stronger as the race progressed. He may be better suited over a slightly longer trip. Worth a Million and Splendid Glory saved place money. The well supported Nice Guy led into the straight, before he burst a blood vessel and dropped back.

Alford's win on second favourite Dash To Cash was at the expense of the market fancy Perfect Analysis. The Prithviraj trained Perfect Analysis had run a forward race while finishing second in her previous start. She had been subjected to steady preparation and was backed accordingly. C Alford made use of the innermost draw and settled the first timer Dash To Cash behind the front running Chinab. The supporters of Perfect Analysis were surprised that their speedy horse was unable to take a forward position and was struggling in fifth place. In the last 200 metres of the race, Dash to Cash overpowered Chinab and kicked for home while Perfect Analysis was seen making up ground on the wider outside. The jockey on the latter seemed to have no control on his horse and was totally unbalanced. The two horses were locked together as they went past the winning post. Perfect Analysis was an unlucky loser , as her saddle had slipped during the running of this race. Chinab kicked on to finish third.

The supporters of the Prithviraj stable tried to recover their losses immediately, when they went to town on Arabian Memories in the last race of the day. She was expected to show a clean pair of heels to her rivals, but she was found wanting as the race took a serious turn. Shafiq had taken the third spot behind Gara Fluid and Kemrock, but as soon as he asked Arabian Memories to quicken, he realized that he was riding a beaten horse. The on-money favourite was found to be totally flatfooted while finishing a poor fourth. Ecuador won this race from Royal Hero and Gara Fluid.

The Kumararajah M A M Muthiah Cup presented by Dr M A M Ramaswamy was the supporting event in the eight event card. Spiritofexcellence was expected to have it easy in this race, but to the surprise of many present at the course, Blushing Beam accelerated brilliantly under the guidance of Prakash and posted a superb victory. This filly has improved by leaps and bounds and has turned out to be a terrific sprinter. Spiritofexcellence ran on to take the second spot, marginally ahead of the front running Luminous Gold. Axiology was prominent till the last furlong and finished a good fourth. Axiology should be supported when he is campaigned against horses of his own age group. Spark Of Elegance and Buck passer Junior won the other two races of the day.