Pune racing produced another day when favourites looked more like suggestions than selections, while outsiders repeatedly helped themselves to the spoils. From 20-to-1 winners to fancied runners finding creative ways to disappoint, punters were left wondering whether the form book had quietly resigned. Upsets are the salt in racing`s diet, but when they become the main course, the sport risks losing the confidence of the very people who keep the betting ring alive.

The problem is not that outsiders win. That is part of racing`s charm. The problem arises when the same pattern keeps repeating itself: stables enter two or more horses, good jockeys are put up on all of them, and punters are left trying to work out which one is actually expected to win. Inevitably, the horse carrying the biggest price, and consequently attracting the least attention, seems to find the winning post with remarkable regularity.

At some point, one has to ask whether this is good for the sport.

Bracketing horses from the same stable is the obvious solution. There will, of course, be objections that it could affect betting. But protecting the integrity of racing must rank above protecting the betting turnover. In any case, a substantial portion of betting is outside the formal system. What racing desperately needs is not merely more betting but greater confidence among those who bet.

A punter does not expect to win every race. He does, however, expect to believe that he has a reasonable chance of reading a race correctly. If he repeatedly finds that form, class, jockey bookings and stable reputation count for little, he will eventually take his money elsewhere. And there are plenty of other gambling outlets waiting with open arms.

That would be a far bigger loss to racing than any theoretical reduction in betting caused by bracketing.

The 1800 metres Rajaram Chhatrapati Trophy provided the perfect opening act. It was widely regarded as a straight fight between last year`s Pune Derby winner Zacharias and Youremanorborne, who had won twice impressively at Bangalore. The pair attracted almost equal support.

Naturally, neither obliged.

The surprise package was trainer Pradeep Chouhan`s other runner Break Point, sent off at a generous 20 to 1. With Vivek G in the saddle, Break Point simply went to the front and turned the race into a personal time trial, winning by four lengths.

Youremanorborne struggled to pick up speed, while Zacharias looked nothing like the horse who had won last year`s Pune Derby. Golden Dancer was third.

For the punters, it was a reminder that the favourite board is sometimes less a guide than a piece of decorative information.

The 1400 metres Yohan Z Poonawalla Turf Club Trophy looked considerably safer. Encino, winner of her last two starts in impressive fashion, was expected to continue her winning run. The slight reservation was that she was now taking on more seasoned opposition.

Once again, Pradeep Chouhan had a surprise tucked away.

His Ultimo, quoted at 20 to 1, fought with great determination and held off Encino by a whisker. Kavya was third.

Jockey Sandesh lodged an objection, arguing that Dashrath Singh had failed to control the winner`s outward drift and that this had affected Encino. The Stewards dismissed the objection.

The Chief Stipe stated that Dashrath Singh had made an attempt to correct the drift but nevertheless described the riding as careless. That was a curious piece of reasoning. If the jockey was making efforts to correct the drift and prevent interference, calling the riding careless requires a little more explanation.

Otherwise, we may soon have to introduce another racing term: carefully careless riding.

The 1200 metres Western India Race Horse Owners Association Trophy for horses rated 80 and above saw Credence, trained by Shazaan Shah, backed with confidence. The favourite led until close home, when Shambala, from the Nazak B Chenoy stable, produced a strong finishing burst to steal the race.

Market King narrowly failed to overhaul Credence and finished third.

The 1200 metres Western India Trainers` Association Trophy produced another surprise. Faisal Abbas-trained Undercover was the on-money favourite, but Santana Row refused to read the script. Undercover headed briefly in the final stages, only for Santana Row to fight back and win by a neck. Believe was third.

In the lower division, the horse carrying the name Spotlight attracted plenty of attention. But it was Narendra Lagad-trained Esteban who enjoyed the real spotlight. He led from start to finish and held off Spotlight, with Majestic Warrior third.

Malesh Narredu-trained Enrich was expected to do precisely what his name suggested in the 1600 metres Jockeys Association of India Trophy. Instead, he failed to enrich anybody.

Vortex, who had shown forward form at Bangalore, had the fitness to take charge by the final furlong and held off Alexios to land the spoils. Shaandaar was a distant third.

The 1600 metres India Association of Equine Practitioners Trophy for maiden three-year-olds saw substantial support for Imtiaz Sait-trained Age of Reason and Red Rose. Age of Reason`s odds collapsed close to race time, and fortunately for his supporters, Neeraj Rawal got him up in the closing stages to catch long shot Monterey.

Tempo was third, while Red Rose disappointed.

The Strategic Move Plate, over 1000 metres for horses in the lowest category, provided an appropriately named finale to a day when the punters themselves needed a strategic move.

Ashwa Ankara attracted strategic support. But Kasbekar-trained Adonis had the better strategy, holding off She`s A Teaser to win at nourishing odds. Ashwa Ankara finished strongly but could manage only third.

That, in essence, was Pune.

The favourites were being introduced as the stars of the show, only for the outsiders to walk away with the prize money. The form book was being consulted, analysed and presumably prayed over, while the 20-to-1 shots were quietly getting on with the business of winning.

Upsets make racing exciting. A procession of inexplicable results makes punters suspicious.

There is a crucial difference.

Racing cannot afford to become a game in which the only reliable method of selection is to identify the horse nobody else likes. The punter may enjoy being proved wrong occasionally. He will not enjoy being made to feel that studying the form is a waste of time.

If racing wants to retain its ordinary followers, it has to give them something more valuable than an occasional jackpot: confidence that the game is worth playing.

Otherwise, the biggest winner at Pune may eventually be the punter who stayed at home.