Jockey Trevor Patel made his second day in action after being sidelined by an injury a memorable one as he guided Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Anjeze to a facile win over Gift of Grace in the Gr 2 Bangalore 1000 Guineas, the first classic of the season on Saturday. Favourite Well Connected failed to show the spark of old and was beaten to the third place.

Well Connected was expected to put behind her poor run in the Deccan Derby and have a bold show. The temperamental filly was the favourite ahead of Gift of Grace while Anjeze who was the failed favourite in Well Connected`s Fillies Championship Stakes win in the summer season had no takers. Anjeze hadn`t done anything of note after failing as a favourite and had finished more than 17 lengths behind Well Connected in the Derby. Further, there was just one piece of reported work which perhaps dissuaded more people from taking a chance on the Win Legend filly as the lead up to this race was far from impressive.

Crack of Dawn did the job of pacesetting with Gift of Grace easing into the second position ahead of Well Connected and Anjeze. The rest were spaced out behind. Rounding the final turn, David Eagan pushed Gift of Grace to take charge and the progeny of Speaking of Which bounced clear. David Allan on Well Connected too got busy but much to the chagrin of the supporters of the favourite, the filly did not show the sparkling acceleration that she was known for. In the meanwhile, Trevor Patel brought into contention on the inside of Well Connected and the long shot picked up speed and essayed a strong challenge to Gift of Grace who was overhauled in the shadow of the post. Anjeze who is bred as a full sister to the Derby-winning Angel Dust scored the first classic of her career by a neck. Well Connected weakened to finish third 2 ¾ lengths behind in the third place.

Punters who were at the receiving end in the day`s first three races had some relief coming their way when the strong favourite Bernardini from the stables of trainer Irfan Ghatala held on to thwart the late bid of lesser fancied Grey Channel to win the 1400 metres Bold Majesty Plate, a race for horses rated 30 to 50. Bernardini was backed to the exclusion of the rest. Bernardini took over the running from the front running Galvarino inside the final furlong and opened a useful lead. However, he was faltering towards the closing stages of the race and Grey Channel covered up the leeway and came tantalisingly close to toppling the favourite. Bernardini escaped to victory by a fast diminishing margin of half a length. Galvarino stayed on to take the third position.

Trevor Patel had success coming his way on the second day of his return when he drove out long shot Australis to a thrilling win over Mystic Flame and Cosmos in the 1600 metres Hoysala Trophy, a race for horses rated 60 and above. Australis who was bidding for a hat-trick had on the last occasion recorded a sensational win after a lethargic beginning but this time out had a brisk start from the gates and took over the running within the first furlong and led all the way and held off the spirited challenge of Mystic Flame by a whisker. Cosmos who had completed a hat-trick of wins during the summer season was expected to maintain the winning form. Cosmos moved up from the wide outside draw to be a handy second behind Australis. Inside the final furlong, Australis looked vulnerable, but Cosmos had to be checked slightly to prevent clipping the front-runner who had shifted out slightly and the momentum was slightly lost as a result. In the meanwhile, Mystic Flame joined issue and came threateningly close to upsetting Australis who bravely managed to clinch the issue. Cosmos was a close third ahead of Snowdon.

Lesser fancied Je Ne Sais Quoi from the stables of trainer Darius Byramji held on grimly to land the spoils from the heavily backed Silver Eclipse in the 1600 metres Hebbe Falls Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category. Je Ne Sais Quoi led from the start with Tequila Tornado for the company but the latter dropped out of contention in the stretch. Turf Prospector briefly threatened by giving a stiff challenge and putting his head in front in the final furlong but Je Ne Sais Quoi fought back and held on to the lead to stave off the late bid of Silver Eclipse who managed to nose out Turf Prospector to get the runner-up berth.

Jockey Sandesh had an arm-chair ride to victory on the Padmanabhan trained Indian Democrat in the 1400 metres Mount Joy Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 15 to 35. The three-year-old progeny of Corporate Jungle showed speed from the gates to take a handy second position from the wide outside draw behind the pacesetting Sandarina. Indian Democrat smoothly cruised into the lead on turning for home and sped clear to win the race with a great deal of ease from Mariachi and Genuine Star. The drift in odds on ante-post favourite Invicta indicated that the horse was far from ready to win. Pradeep Annaiah trained Zhu Zhu Zest won the lower division of the race at nourishing odds. Ryan Marshall had Zhu Zhu Zest take over the running from the widest draw and the lesser fancied runner held on gamely to win the race from the heavily supported Queen of Sands. The latter who was not quoted in the morning odds attracted inspired betting to end up as the favourite. Arshad Alam was flat out on Queen of Sands who failed to measure the front-runner by a short neck. Debutant Aferpi finished a faraway third.

Padmanabhan trained Royal Resolution who was running after a long break of 323 days beat the heavily backed Whizzo who was running with a bigger interval of 518 days in the Hornadu Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Jockey Rajesh who rarely gets to ride a winner, had Royal Resolution in front and the progeny of Western Aristocrat stayed put there to see off the challenge of Whizzo who warmed up to the task rather late to make an impact on the result. Power of Shambala who had run more than 26 lengths behind in his last effort finished third which itself indicated the poor quality of the field that was in the fray. Neil Darashah trained Lucky Isabella trounced the opposition in the lower division of the race. Lucky Isabella came into prominence at the top of the straight and by the next furlong had taken a stranglehold on the race to eventually win by a widening margin of seven lengths over Winning Force who despite a lethargic start recovered ground to finish second. Girl With Pearl ran on to take the third position. Dallas was withdrawn from the fray at the gates on veterinary grounds. There was one-sided support for first-timer Unifier who after being prominent till the final bend went out of the reckoning.

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Zhu Zhu Zest (R Marshall up) winner of the Mount Joy Plate (Div-II)

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Lucky Isabella (A Imran Khan up) winner of the Hornadu Plate (Div-II)

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Je Ne Sais Quoi (Irvan Singh up) winner of the Hebbe Falls Plate

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Bernardini (S John up) winner of the Bold Majesty Plate

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Australis (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Hoysala Trophy

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Anjeze (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Bangalore 1000 Guineas (Gr.2)

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Indian Democrat (A Sandesh up) winner of the Mount Joy Plate (Div-I)

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Royal Resolution (Rajesh N up) winner of the Hornadu Plate (Div-I)

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