The Hazara Stud Farm bred Tintinnabulation added another classic to his imposing tally when he recorded a bloodless win against two others in the 2800 metres Gr 2 Golconda St Leger, the last classic of the monsoon season on Monday. Jockey Pradeep Chouhan finally had things his way when booting home a treble.

The race did not attract a good field as in the absence of final entry facility, only those who have been entered long back and survived the vigorous racing schedule are left to fight for honors. An Acquired Taste who had slammed the field in the Indian St Leger was not an entry and Tintinnabulation was left to merely complete the formality of going through the trip at his own comfort as the two other contenders had no business to be running in a race of this nature. While the system of not allowing entries may have worked in the past, the authorities should change with the times and permit final entries albeit at hefty final entry fee. This would enhance the competitive value of the classics which are more often not is won by undeserving horses because of this limitation.

Vijays Champ did the job of a pace setter followed by stablemate Tintinnabulation and Angel Crown. Into the straight, Tintinnabulation smoothly went with the front runner meekly surrendering without any resistance. Angels Crown was in distress and finished third but picked up valuable stake money merely because he was an entry in this race.

	Tintinnabulation (P S Chouhan up) winner of the Golconda St.Leger (Gr.2), being led in by trainer L V R Deshmukh & Mr.Vijay Kumar Gupta

Chouhan drove out Apprise to cover the leeway on the front runners inside the final furlong and win the 1600 metres Scintillating Plate, a Category II race. Ponte Verdi led the field even as Apprise was eased in the rear group with Qinhuangdao not having the speed to keep up with the front runners and graced the rear. Ponte Verdi held on to the lead into the final furlong but was strongly challenged by Ace Star and Apprise who gathered momentum under the vigorous riding of Chouhan and covered the leeway with a big run. Ace Star got past Ponte Verdi but could not reach the safety of the post as Apprise`s finishing burst easily took the favourite past the former. Qinhuangdao rallied along the rails to finish third while Ponte Verdi tired out in the closing stages of the race.

Apprentice jockey Mukesh Kumar`s poor handling of Odalis robbed the fancied runner the possible winning chance of winning the 1100 metres Bangalore Turf Club Trophy, a Category I race. Odalis was raced on the wide outside and took the final turn wide and being of no help to the other. Had a similar ride been given by a regular jockey, he would have surely landed in trouble. Hidden Destiny led the field into the final furlong but could not keep his lead for long as Silver Crown, Ashwa Shakti and Bloody Mary closed with a rush. Ashwa Shakti necked out Bloody Mary to land the spoils while Silver Crown weakened to finish third. Despite an awful ride and racing very wide, Odalis was fourth not faraway finishing less than two lengths from the winner.

Another horse to lose due to inept ride was Regal Groom who was poorly handled by jockey Shivakumar in the 1400 metres Smt C Mohan Kumari Satyanarayana Memorial Cup, a Category III race. He was not able to keep the favourite on an even keel as Regal Groom ran out but finished on with a flourish when the cause had been lost. Green Bay who showed up in front with a furlong left in the race managed to win by a quarter length over Regal Groom who was a good thing beaten. Citi Supreme who was in with a chance till the final strides of the race was a close third.
Faisal Hassan trained Exclusive Lady proved overwhelmingly superior to the opposition in the 1600 metres Tick Tock Plate, a Category III race. Apprentice jockey Akshay Kumar who has created a favourable impression thus far, had Exclusive Lady lead all the way and had no problem in steering the favourite to a facile win. Jaden Gil galloped in snatches in the straight but nevertheless managed to edge past Symbol of Honour in the closing stages of the race to claim the second spot.

Jockey Nilesh Rawal packed punch in his efforts when guiding the well backed Mukhtar to victory over favourite Star Engagement in the 1100 metres Loyal Prince Plate, a Category III race. Star Engagement and Mukhtar went at a scorching speed leaving the rest sturggling behind. The duo fought out a stiff battle but inside the final 100 metres, the latter got stronger and won with a measure of comfort. In a cluster finish, Chayanandan finished third ahead of Devils Advocate and Merry Maid.