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Brigade's Pride set a modest pace ahead of Star Assembly, Raptor Force and Table Mountain, while Tuthmosis and Oban followed in mid-division as the runners raced towards the home turn. The favourite Spearhead was held on a tight leash by Appu, and the horse kept fighting for his head for most of the way. The race took a serious turn near the final bend. Almost four or five runners raced abreast before Tuthmosis arrived on the scene. Suraj came the shortest way and pushed him into the lead. He pulled out his stick and the horse was able to sail past the frontrunners. Even though Raptor Force and Oban gained ground on him, Tuthmosis held on to win by another short margin. Spearhead seemed to have lost his energies in the back-stretch, as he was seen plodding at the end to ultimately finish off the frame. Star Assembly was alerted far too late to make any impression on the winner.
The Kudremukh Trophy was the other important event to be held during the afternoon. Warren Singh held the aces in this race. Game Dancer and Lads Gladiator were the two frontline contenders, and both hailed from his yard. The bookmakers thought that Game Dancer was the better of the two, and accordingly installed him as a clear favourite ahead of Lads Gladiator and Rumour Proof. The connections had a different opinion. They slammed Lads Gladiator enthusiastically, and installed him as a firm favourite to land the spoils. Ultimately, like most of the times, the bookmakers were right. Game Dancer led from the start, and in the hands of apprentice Gautam Raj, managed to retain his slender advantage till the very end. Spark Of Bronte came with a late bid to separate the stablemates. Lads Gladiator was displaced from his runner-up berth near the winning post.
The day started with a smart win for Lokanath's three year-old Sparkling Cat. Under the guidance of Imran Chisty, the filly jumped fluently and made every post a winning one. Prithviraj's Velvet Queen received strong support in the ring and started as an odds-on choice in this race. Velvet Queen ran a pathetic race and ended last amongst the nine runners. She needs some more time to mature. Back Among Friends showed some sparkle while galloping into second place. The upper division of this event was won by the almost money-back favourite Flying Tricolour. The Babu Rao-trainee had run a couple of forward races in this season and had got beaten near the winning post. In the absence of any serious opposition, the big made colt was considered to be "past the post". Christopher had to give him a couple of cracks while getting the measure of front-running Sirono. The other runners were totally eclipsed. Sparkplug broke down in the final furlong and had to be taken away in a horse ambulance.
Imran Chisty completed his double in the last race of the day. He helped trainer Manohar to saddle his first winner for the season. Win Pretty Baby had run seven times in recent months and had been unable to touch the board. She was set to oppose the on-money favourite Youre Stunning, who was being ridden by Suraj Narredu. Well supported Unique Star went to the front and looked like a winner till he was collared by Win Pretty Baby. Youre Stunning made a feeble bid at the bend to get up to the leader, but it was impossible. The gray faded from the scene to end a poor fourth. It was Win Pretty Baby who made up acres of ground on the wide outside and flew at the end. She managed to win near the post. Take My Word rallied from the back to place third.
The other professional to score more than once was apprentice Khurshad. His first win came astride Samar Singh's Silver Paris. This race saw some huge money going down the drain on a filly called Excellency. On sheer breeding and some sparkling track work, Excellency was touted as a "moral certainty". She was backed at every price . I Fancy You showed the way to Excellency and Bocconcino till the horses straightened for their final charge. Excellency was popped the question at this stage. She came menacingly close to the leader before running out of steam. To the dismay of her supporters, she packed up like a pricked balloon and finished in the rut. Silver Paris made up much ground from the rear to come and sail past I Fancy You. Last outing winner Cute Angel finished a fair third.
Khurshad's other winner was Dark Horse. This runner had been luckless thus far in the season. He had figured on the board in most of his starts, but had been unable to win a race. He finally got his turn today. The two kilo allowance claimed by Khurshad proved to be a boon. Dark Horse improved from his wide draw and came within striking distance of the favourite Shot Of Gold. A couple of taps with the whip were enough for this horse to accelerate further. He won by a widening margin from Shot Of Gold, Season's Greetings and Thumping Victory. The last named lost a lot of ground at the start, but for which, we may have seen a closer finish in this race.
The most impressive performance of the day came from Prithviraj's three year-old Foreign Exchange. This beautifully bred horse (Alnasr Alwasheek-Risada) looked a trifle gross in the paddock. With money flowing in the direction of Born To Fly and Swift Star, Foreign Exchange was available at 20's and over in the betting rings. The backers of the fancied horses came to grief when they saw the winner in action. PS Chouhan was content to allow his mount to race in mid group behind Montedoro, Born To Fly and Swift Star. With Montedoro slowing down, and the other two fancied horses unable to make any further progress, racegoers were shocked to see Foreign Exchange's acceleration. He came with gigantic strides to score an authoritative victory. He is a well built horse and is bound to improve on this performance. Foreign Exchange is sure to make his presence felt during the ensuing Bangalore Summer Season.
