Pesi Shroff trained Temerity vindicated the belief that she was peaking at the right time and that she will build on the Indian Derby third by comprehensively winning the Gr 1 Indian Turf Invitation Cup, the biggest race of the Indian Racing Calendar in front of a capacity crowd at Bangalore on Sunday. Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Serjeant At Arms won the other highlight of the day, the Gr 1 Major P K Mehra Memorial Super Mile in resplendent style.

Indian Derby winner Hall of Famer who was bidding to make a big splash yet again after her success in the Indian Derby, had surely ``gone over the top` if one could see the racing parlance to describe a horse which was showing the signs of an exhausting season which required her to travel the length and breadth of the country (about 9500 kilometres) in search of classic wins. Hall of Famer bolted to the front with the jockey having little control on the filly and had run out of gas by the time she took the final bend. The scorching pace that she did undid whatever chances she had. She also bled during the race. Since the race was run at a blistering pace a new record ensured who had to chase the favourite to ensure that she did not run away from them. Temerity won the race in a record time of two minutes 28.85 seconds eclipsing the old record of Classic Style which stood at two minutes 30.2 seconds set in 1992.

The winner ran in the colours of Shyam Ruia and the got-abroad filly is owned by Ruia in partnership with his son Amay Ruia and Berjis Minoo Desai. Shyam Ruia had won this event way back in 1969 through Venus De Milo at the same venue and the success, coming after 48 years, was indeed a heady feeling for the Ruias. For Berjis Desai too this was the first win in this premier event. Trainer Pesi Shroff and jockey Neeraj Rawal who rode the winner with supreme confidence also were recording their maiden win. Pesi had the additional distinction of winning this race as a trainer and jockey. The winner was bred at the Nanoli Stud Farm which also bred the winner of the Gr 1 Maj P K Mehra Super Mile namely Serjeant At Arms.

Fillies have won the Invitation Cup less number of times than the colts. This is so because fillies struggle to maintain their top form as the race is held at the fag end of the season and the gruelling campaign would have begun to take their toll. Mental and physical fatigue have a critical bearing on the performance of a filly. Even the great In The Spotlight who had smashed the opposition in the Indian Derby, won by a diminishing margin in the Invitation Cup at Bangalore. Jockey Martin Dwyer had said on that occasion that the filly was going over the top and that if the race had been held a week later, the filly would have lost. On the other hand, Temerity had a less taxing career and showed good improvement to win the race in Bangalore which has seen more fillies win this race but not those attempting to win the Invitation Cup after the success in the Indian Derby at Mumbai. In The Spotlight was an exception.

Coming back to the race, Hall of Famer who was had an outside draw, moved swiftly on the wide outside to take charge. David Allan had little control on the horse as the filly went too fast in front. The jockey perhaps that it was unwise to break the stride of the horse by trying to restrain which in the end also went against the filly whose foray in front ended the moment the runners took the final turn.

Jockey Suraj Narredu also perhaps made the cardinal mistake of going with the pace and the strongly built gelding also faltered after getting past Hall of Famer in the straight. Temerity who raced in about the sixth position was the best travelling horse. When Neeraj Rawal brought her on the outside and asked her to stretch out, the daughter of Intense Focus quickened brilliantly and had gone clear of the rest in a trice to win by a comfortable margin of over two lengths. Supreme General came from a long way back to occupy the second position ahead of Azzurro who nosed out Tororosso for the third place. Alaindair came up with the worse performance of his illustrious career and finished down the field confirming the belief that he was a spent force as evidenced by his last two defeats at Mumbai in the recent past.

The Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Serjeant At Arms had been switched back to a mile after finishing second best to Hall of Famer but ahead of Temerity. The race was at his mercy as there is hardly any horse in India who can match the progeny of Ikthyar over this trip. Serjeant At Arms was the shortest priced horse in the entire card and the champion colt readily justified the expectations, swamping the field with regal disdain. Kolkata challenger Shivalik Showers ran freely in front and brought the field into the homestretch, with Common Wealth in close proximity. The latter surged ahead inside the final 250 metres but the filly could keep the lead for long as Sandesh brought Serjeant At Arms with a well-timed run. Serjeant At Arms bounced clear without much ado and won the race by a margin of over five lengths in a smart time of one minute 35.40 seconds. Shivalik Showers stayed on to finish third.

Ganapathy trained Bold Command who had two wins to his credit this season and a defeat to Mickey Mouse over a mile, took the day`s other attraction, the Gr 2 Suresh Mahindra Multi-Million Trophy, a terms race for four-year-olds and over. Srinath had Bold Command assume command inside the final furlong and the progeny of Arazan had no problem in keeping the challenge of Smile Stone at a safe distance. Smile Stone had finished a game second in the Sprinters Cup on Saturday and once again found one better in the extended trip as well. Your Royal Majesty necked out Aster Rose to get the third place. Aster Rose lost considerable ground at the start which also affected her chances significantly. Pesi Shroff trained Accolade, once hailed as the best horse in the country, seems to have lost his bearings and performed dismally.

Trainer Prithviraj had a good double. Silver Ikon who had recorded an impressive win in his last outing, beat his rivals with disdain to win the 1200 metres Hindu Multi-Million, a terms race for three-year-olds. Malawi was widely expected to strike it rich but the progeny of Western Aristocrat found the pace too hot and failed to give a credible performance. Silver Ikon led from the start and distanced himself from the rest to win by a comfortable margin. Hyderabad challenger Kangra rallied well in the straight to get the better of Lord Buckingham to end up as the second-best horse in the fray.

Pearl City who had been fancied against the likes of Ice Glacier and Hall of Famer, found the opposition in the 1400 metres Kimmane Million much to her liking as shot off like an arrow along the inner path with a furlong left in the race and gave no chance whatsoever for the rest of the runners to come anywhere near her. Lighting Attack held off Areca Cruise to get the second place.

Karthik Ganapthy trained Bold March who had been a favourite to win the Bangalore 2000 Guineas picked up the 2000 metres Shapoorji Pallonji Million, a race for horses rated 60 and above. Bold March was well placed in scales and was taking on a modest opposition after taking on formidable opponents in the bigger events. The experience held the progeny of Arazan in good stead as Bold March easily won from late-finishing Fabulous to land the spoils at good odds. Watchmyscript was third.

P S Chouhan who was successful on Bold March also drove out Flirting Eyes to a decisive win in the 1800 metres Indirace.com Million, a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Flirting Eyes shot ahead with a furlong left in the race giving no chance for anyone to catch up with her. Satinette ran on to finish second ahead of Granada.

Neil Darashah trained Queen Latifa won the day`s opener, the Karnataka Racehorse Owners` Association Million Cup, a race for maiden three-year-olds, fractionally improving the course record of one minute 6.24 seconds. Queen Latifa chased Miniver Rose into the straight before asserting her supremacy. First-timer Cantabria finished on strongly but failed to get the better of Miniver Rose for the runner-up position.