Racing in Bangalore has become the despair of punters. Some of the professionals are not sure whether their horses have reached the required handicap for them to put them in serious business. By the time, they actually realise that the time has come, they would have been defeated by the horse coming and winning at fancy odds, when least fancied. The lower class races are all populated by such horses and with Bangalore Turf Club giving a special preference to these races, quality of racing has taking a beating. Upsets have become par. Upsets are the norm in racing but not the kind being witnessed at Bangalore. Even horses which seem to have a good chance, are played around by the professionals because the Stipes are not strong and are busy fighting their own battle of survivals with the present political environment of the committee not being conducive for officials willing to do their duty without favour or fear. With many committee members shamelessly being active punters and seeking tips from professionals, the wrong-doers come in the category of protected species!

What can one make of the form of Hidayat Khan trained High Hawk who produced the biggest shocker of the day in the day`s opener, the 1200 metres Holding Court Plate (Div II), a race for horses rated 15 to 35. The five-year-old gelding has had just three career stars and his last run was 65 days ago where he had finished 24 lengths behind the winner. Astral Spirit who had failed as the favourite began as the preferred one but the dramatic drift in odds was sufficient indication that those who tried to pick a winner in this set were doing so at their own peril. Dancing Princess who had some merit too drifted out in the betting ring making way for a rank outsider to have a say. Merchant drove out High Hawk to successfully stave off the threat of Roaring Thunder and King Smile. Most of the horses in the fray were reluctant runners in the race, not keen on hitting the board. The winner paid a dividend of over 200 to 1 on the tote. The lower division of the race was won by Anupam Sharma trained Telangana Queen whose last effort at Hyderabad had seen her finish 24.5 lengths behind the winner! The well backed Dignified could have been the winner but apprentice Jayakumar perhaps thought he was in a quarter mile race by the manner in which he bolted to the front and had a break of nearly 10 lengths over the rest. That runaway effort resulted in Dignified slowing down in the final furlong, allowing Telangana queen to find her bearings. Native Ruler placed third with a half-hearted effort. Telangana Queen was available at 30 to 1 on the tote. Hitherto we had only one lowest category race in 0 to 25. Now the re-categorisation, we have two such category of races namely 0 to 20 and 15 to 35 which has become a glorified Class VB race.

The second race of the day saw Lokanath trained Interactive finding the winning mark in the 1600 metres Malakpet Plate, a race for horses rated 0 to 25. After 22 runs, Interactive perhaps found herself against a mediocre company as the five-year-old mare won in the hands of Adarsh at odds of 50 to 1 over Sea Dove and Rocket Man albeit without the knowledge of those who were dreaming of a gamble. Nobody could even speculate that interactive could be the horse which could win the race. Hero Worship who was the favourite, was withdrawn at the gates as he was troublesome.

The feature event of the day, the 1400 Speaker`s Cup, a race for horses rated 60 and above, always had a quality three-year-old in the fray. This time, the race was contested by older horses who could not be identified as a winner with conviction. Irfan Ghatala trained Zucchero won the race at nearly 20 to 1 when the five-year-old who is perhaps bred to get longer distances, produced a strong effort in the final furlong to go storming clear and stave off the late flourish of Torch Bearer and Baracchus. The Lieutenant had strong supporters but the four-year-old gelding who was running after a long layoff was not up to the task of delivering the goods. Torch Bearer showed semblance of returning to form with his effort and could strike before long.

Two favourites managed to win in all the mayhem unleashed by the long shots. Hyderabad challenger England was touted as a top horse and accordingly went to the past for the 1200 metres Brig R C R Hill Memorial Trophy (Div I), a race for horses rated 30 to 50 at cramped odds. England survived a scare from Good Fortune. The favourite has to be driven out by Pradeep Chouhan to measure the front runner in the dying moments of the race. The lower division of the race saw money coming spiritedly on New Prince and Secret Prayer, with the odds on last start winner Diva at a generous4 to 1. New Prince was withdrawn at the gates as the equipment used on the horse reportedly broke at the time of loading the horses to the gates. Diva had no issues winning the race start to finish from late finishing Perfect King. Secret Prayer made no show, failing to justify the volume of money attracted by him, with a timid effort.

Darius Byramji trained Anantara was backed to the exclusion of the rest in the 1200 metres Glorious Colours Plate, a race for maiden three year olds. The favourite was made to sweat by Antananarivo who refused to budge from his position in front. Anantara managed to get the better of the front runner with an all-out effort. Good Wishes was third.

Sriram Komandur trained Natanza was backed to the exclusion of the rest in the 1100 metres Prince Khartoum Trophy, a race for maiden three year olds. Backing horses which belong to stables who have no habit of winning at short prices is always fraught with danger. Natanza failed to produce enough speed from the gates to hit the front as Back In A Flash bolted to the front and had no problem in storming clear to win with ease from the favourite. Daisy Duke ran on to finish third.