It was for the second time in two days that racegoers were treated to a nail-biting finish in the day’s feature event at Bangalore. After Angelique's victory on Saturday, it was the turn of Woman On Top on Sunday to thrill one and all while annexing The Chief Minister's Cup (Grade III). This race attracted the best sprinters stationed at Bangalore, with the Padmanabhan-trained Lady One cornering the maximum support in the betting ring. Lady One had run a forward race in the Sprinter's Cup at Hyderabad and finished second behind the much celebrated Oasis Star, while Brahmaputra, Pastiche and Woman on Top were part of the beaten brigade on that day. Racegoers perhaps forgot that Woman On Top had developed a fever on the night before that race, and was almost pulled out a couple of hours prior to the start of that event. Trainer Lokanath has to be commended for the efforts made by him in keeping this talented filly in training. Woman On Top has had many setbacks in her short racing career and it is believed that the connections have on more than one occasion considered retiring her for breeding. Her sporting owners, led by Shiven Surendranath, stood by their trainer and supported him in his decision to campaign her for another year. For the second time in the last four months, Woman On Top has come out and won a top-class sprint race at this centre.
 
Christopher Alford took Aurelian to the front and set a solid pace ahead of a tightly packed field. The speedy Lady One took time to get into a favourable early position, since she was drawn on the wide outside. Woman On Top found the early pace too hot to handle, and Suraj Narredu was content to hold her back in the early stages of the race.  Vijayraaj missed the kick and was seen gracing the rear end of the field. Brahmaputra and Pastiche were in the front bunch as the field straightened for home. Aurelian was too strong for Lady One, and kicked away from her as they entered the final 200 metres of the race. Suraj tapped Woman On Top, and asked her to quicken on the wide outside. The response from her was immediate, as she flew in the final stages of the race and nosed out Aurelian to lift this coveted trophy. Vijayraaj made good ground from the rear and was seen to be moving the fastest while finishing a close third. He is more suited over a slightly longer trip, and in his present form should be supported hereafter.  Lady One faded from the scene and finished fifth.
 
Shiven Surendranath's cup of joy was full to the brim, as he was delighted with the performance of his other runner in the day called Tomsk. This well-bred colt is trained for him by Arjun Mangalorkar.  A winner in his career start, Tomsk was seen looking like a picture in the paddock. He was sharing the favouritism with the Prakash ridden Originality, who was looking a trifle gross in the parade ring. A bunch of no-hopers brought the field into view as Prakash made full use of a wide gap on the rails, and pushed Originality into the lead. John decided to pull Tomsk on the wide outside before essaying his challenge. Originality kicked away and opened up a fair lead before Tomsk was able to get into top gear. It was a pleasure to see the galloping action of Tomsk as he lengthened his strides and got the measure of the frontrunner. Char Chand was the best of the rest as he finished in a distance behind the above-mentioned duo.
 
Trainer Ganapathy kept his tally moving as he saddled a treble in a long card of 10 events framed for the day. His horses are running true to form and winning comfortably. With Prakash and Srinath assisting him, Ganapathy has already saddled 16 winners in the first eight days of racing. It is possible that we may see a new record in the trainers tally at the end of the season. The first winner for this combination came in the form of Regal Ransom. Srinath rode a powerhouse finish on Regal Ransom and got the better of the runaway Simple near the winning post. Both these horses were available at 10/1 in the betting ring. Darius-trained Hall Mark was an odds-on choice to win this race. Christopher Alford allowed Hall Mark to grace the wrong end of the field and made no efforts to improve her position in the early stages of the race. This was a strange way to ride a half-money favourite. Hall Mark was given a few cracks in the straight and she finished with a good effort to finish a fair third.
 
Ganapathy's second winner was another horse ridden by Srinath. Fantastic Quest was set to cross swords with the Shroff-trained duo of Arktouros and Sugar Ray. There was much hype around Arktouros and he was strongly supported in the betting ring. He reached the starting gates as an even money favourite.  Mallesh took Sugar Ray to the front and soon found Fantastic Quest ranging on his outside. Srinath did not have to move a muscle as Fantastic Quest took over the running and cantered away from the rest. Arktouros was ridden hard to get the better of Sugar Ray near the winning post. The Contender put up a good show by finishing a close fourth to these younger opponents. He was running after a gap of almost one year because of a setback in training. It should not be long before he graces the winner's enclosure. Blushing Beam Completed a quick treble for the stable as Prakash rode a neat race to hold Glorious Princess at bay. The winner was a half-money favourite in his last start and had shortened his strides on that occasion. There was no such problem today as he took over the running from the heavily backed Adamaris near the distance post. The last named is an ungenuine type and should be left alone in the future from a betting perspective.
 
Suraj Narredu completed a double with Mother's Pride and maintained his position at the head of the jockey's table. He had to ride at his best to hold back the challenge from a gutsy three-year old called Lycia Falcon. The two horses were racing abreast for a long while before Suraj got Mother's Pride to call on her experience, and get the better of her younger rival. The good-looking Lycia Falcon distinguished himself by running a mighty race and should be a force to reckon with in the winter classics at Kolkata.  Van De Star was a faraway third.
 
Prayatna and Gift A Diamond won the two divisions of a seven-furlong event for horses in class IV. Both these victories were achieved with a fair amount of ease. The day ended with a popular victory for the Md Khan-trained Southerner. His supporters got a fright when they saw their horse being knocked around in the early stages of the race, but were delighted to see Appu guiding him to an effortless victory.  The trainer needs to be complimented for producing this dickey-legged horse in such wonderful condition.