Padmanabhan trained Ice Glacier swamped the opposition in the Gr 2 Bangalore Oaks, the third classic of the season, which featured the races held in Bangalore on Saturday. The Poonawalla Stud Farm bred progeny of Arazan, towered over the opposition by virtue of the fact she is the only horse to have beaten the mighty Serjeant at Arms in the Mysore Derby. The only area of concern was the fact that she was running after a long layoff and had also suffered a minor setback which had kept her out of action for long. Ice Glacier displayed by her performance that she has indeed bounced back to her best and will be a horse to reckon with in the Indian Derby which will be her next stop.

Ice Glacier is blessed with both speed and stamina which makes her stand out. The solidly built four-year-old filly went to the post at cramped odds. With there being no pace in the race, David Allan had no hesitation in taking Ice Glacier on a start to finish mission. Ice Glacier quickened on turning for home at the final bend and the act of staying in touch with her itself was the undoing of the opposition which was under pressure to keep up with the pace well before the final furlong. Ice Glacier stormed clear to win the race from Talladega by a margin of over four lengths with Adulation finishing third another four lengths away. Mumbai challenger Geranium who chased Ice Glacier into the straight bowed out of contention at the final turn. Watchmyscript had been withdrawn from the fray on veterinary grounds as she reportedly was suffering from fever.

Ganapathy trained Bold Command had to be pushed to the limit to get the better of Mickey Mouse to win the Gr 3 New Year Cup, a terms race for four-year-olds and over, the other highlight of the day. Bold Command in the process bettered the existing record by fractions. Bold Command clocked one minute 23.78 seconds better that of Rhapasidion Snow which stood at one minute 23.87 seconds. Mickey Mouse who has been a game performer was taken on a start to finish mission by jockey Arshad Alam and the progeny of Ace was not inclined to give up easily as he put up a dogged resistance in front. Bold Command who tracked the pacesetter into the straight, had to be fully driven out by jockey Srinath to get the nod in the closing strides of the race. Auriga ran on to finish third while Ace Bucephalus ran below expectations.

It is rare to see trainer Warren Singh strike early with his wards as he prefers to wait with his horses eternally before getting them at the right mark for a touch. However, this time out he had a three-year-old in Lord Buckingham who had given such a stellar performance in his debut run, he looked with an outstanding chance to win the 1200 metres Madras Auction Sale Trophy, a race for three-year-olds. Botswana Bolt who had been showing out in the workouts, was the preferred horse to make a winning debut. Jockey Cedric Segeon took Lord Buckingham on a start to finish mission and the progeny of Lucifer Sam stayed clear of the rest to record an emphatic win. Miniver Rose who chased the eventual winner held on to finish second ahead of Botswana Bolt who struggled to gain speed at a crucial stage of the race. Lawrence of Arabia who is bred as a half-brother to Desert God was an eye-catching fourth.

Rashid Byramji trained Dubai One held on to grimly to win the 1400 metres Malpe Plate, a race for horses rated 60 and above from fast-finishing Rafa. Apprentice jockey Surya took the speedy Dubai One on a start to finish mission and the progeny of Declaration of War stayed clear of trouble and had enough legs to last out the trip from Rafa who finished on powerfully. Rafa had finished dismally as a favourite at Mysore reportedly bursting his blood vessels on that occasion. Siobhan had all the chances but failed to find an extra gear and settled for the third slot.

Diamond Green was backed to the exclusion of the rest in the 1200 metres Native Chieftan Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 15 to 35 as the Sirajuddin trainee seemed to have an ideal preparation to make a bold show. Srinath had no problem in steering Diamond Green to an easy victory over Indian Brahmos who rallied from way off the pace to finish second. Feet On Fire edged out Beauty Is Truth to save place money. Real Generous hurt his prospects when he bolted while being taken to the starting halls and hurting himself in the process. However, the blunt bruises were not deterrent for him to take part in the race. Just Fabulous brought off an upset with Real Generous missing the glory by the shortest of margins in the lower division of the race. Jockey Jagadeesh who was hurt during Real Generous` tantrums did not ride during the latter part of the day. Perfect Queen was third.

Irfan Ghatala trained Ark Royal looked a cut above the rest in the 1400 metres Ranganathittu Plate, a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Suraj Narredu had an armchair ride to victory as he had the favourite lead all the way en route to a comfortable win over the only challenger who was chasing her shadow namely Jack of Hearts. Elegant Star was third a distance behind.

Prasanna Kumar who had saddled Just Fabulous to victory at long odds rounded off the day with yet another win on Possimpossible who was a well-backed horse to claim the 1400 metres Kanchanaganga Plate, a race for horses rated 30 to 50. Suraj drove out Possimpossible to stave off the strong bid of I`ve Got Clout to enable the well-fancied runner to sail past the post by a long neck. Desert Gilt was faraway third.