Padmanabhan trained Pearl Reward fought resolutely all the way in the straight to stave off the spirited bid of Pentagram to win the 1400 metres Gundappa Gowda Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 60 and above, the feature event of Saturday`s Bangalore races. Trainer Narayan Gowda had a rewarding day, saddling a treble.

Pearl Reward had won last time out despite looking far from ready. As there were more than three runners with a realistic chance of winning, the odds also reflected this belief. Mickey Mouse came in for spirited support to be a firm favourite ahead of Pearl Reward and Merion. Mickey Mouse led from the start with Pearl Reward in close proximity ahead of Pentagram while the rest were a few lengths adrift which given the fact that the track this season has favoured the front runners, faced an uphill task. Rounding the final turn, Pearl Reward shook off Mickey Mouse and surged ahead. The task for the five year old was far from over as Pentagram essayed a strong challenge and looked like he was going to overhaul the front runner. However, the persevering effort on the part of jockey Zervan and the fact that the horse responded digging deep into his reserves helped the fancied runner to prevail by a neck over Pentagram. Go Lucky Go ran on from behind to take the third spot ahead of a tiring Mickey Mouse. Merion struggled to take a forward position and it was evident from the beginning that he would not be a force to reckon with in the race. After two poor runs, Pentagram showed quantum improvement possibly because of the fact that the going was quite firm.

Arjun Mangalorkar trained Big Ticket produced a winning gallop in the final furlong to stave off the challenge of Mystic Music to win the 1600 metres N M Lingaraju Memorial Trophy, a race for horses rated 40 to 65. Mystic Music came through the shortest way home and produced a strong effort which however went in vain as Big Ticket proved far better. Sharp Witted who was bidding for a hat-trick could only finish third. The Artist who came in for significant betting was the first one to pack up at the top of the straight after being in a forward position.

Hyderabad based Faisal Hassan who did his apprenticeship in Bangalore under Rashid Byramji, saddled his second winner of the season when Faster Than Light who was backed to the exclusion of the rest, had no problem in beating the opposition in the 1100 metres Basque Plate (Div I), a race for maiden three year olds. The two forward runs helped the progeny of Oath to be very sharp as he came through in the middle of the track with a flourishing run and had the race well sewn up in the final furlong. Neymar who was well positioned found the eventual winner too speedy for comfort while Dignified who weighed heavier than his previous run, packed up after leading the field into the straight. Jockey Vishwanath rode a poor race on Rain Kissed who took the turn miles wide which put paid to the hopes of finishing closer. One could not understand the logic behind making Freestyle who was making her debut in the lower division of the race, was installed as on money favourite and punters who put money basing merely on track work paid the price as the favourite gave a tame performance, finishing a poor third. Top Smiles who led into the final furlong, was strongly challenged by Lozen and the duo waged a grim battle for supremacy before the former emerged the winner by a long neck.

Both the divisions of Royal Tern Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45, were claimed by horses trained by Narayan Gowda. Forest Queen came in for strong support and ended up as the favourite ahead of Ontime though on the Tote, the latter enjoyed that position. Jockey Ashok Kumar brought Forest Queen to challenge the front runners inside the final 200 metres and the progeny of C P West looked the likely winner from that stage. Ontime rallied late but found Forest Queen reach the safety of the post. Ice Kingdom who was at the wrong end of the field was a suggestive third and the six year old mare can strike if she carries the right money on her back. Secret Prayer was another who had been waited with for the right occasion and the opportunity presented itself in the lower division of the race. The C P West`s progeny Secret Prayer was backed down to even money favouritism from a higher quote. The betting was in keeping with the knowledge of the connections that the four year old was much superior to the field he was competing with. Secret Prayer simply swept past the opposition in the straight to win by a widening margin of seven lengths over Little Brown Jug and I Smile. Secret Prayer may get a stiff penalty for this win but it highly unlikely that this horse will attract major betting in a hurry.

Gregory Sandhu trained Absolutelyfabulous looked outstanding in the 1400 metres Kumararajah M A M Muthiah Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. The three year old was quoted at miserly odds. The filly reared up at the gates and was withdrawn from the fray. In such a scenario, it is always difficult to predict the winner as the others would not be ready for enjoying such a success. In the event, Able Master who hit the front inside the final two furlongs held off a determined bid by New Mallet. Croziet was faraway third.

The concluding race of the day, for a change, attracted lot of attention if only because several horses were fancied with the odds expanding and shortening on others among the fancied lot. The scenario was really confusing as none looked outstanding. In the end, it was the hitherto unexploited Attractive Bay who flew home on the wide outside to edge past Joey to win the 1400 metres Tudor Jet Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category. The final furlong saw several runners with a good chance of pulling it off as Rakshitha first held the advantage before it was snatched by Joey. Attractive Bay however had the last laugh to provide trainer Narayan Gowda with his third winner of the day. There was lot of betting on Dontworrymondy who raced prominently before fading out.