Satish Narredu trained Imperial Power benefitted by the two kg pull he had over his conqueror Dexa and managed to reverse the verdict of last time by gutsily holding on to the lead in the Gr 3 Shapoorji Pallonji Breeders’ Colts Championship Stakes, one of the highlights of races held on Sunday at the Mahalakshmi. The Adhiraj Jodha trained Dangerous pulled off a big upset in a thriller over favourite King’s Ransom to win the Gr 3 Forbes Breeders’ Fillies Championship, the other highlight of the day.

Dexa had won the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million as a long shot beating Imperial Power who was a strongly fancied runner. Now meeting over an extended trip with the advantage of pull in weights which Dexa incurred for Group 1 success, Imperial Power was more strongly fancied than Dexa. Things fell in place for Imperial Power who was ideally placed in the race and snatched the lead soon after turning for home which proved decisive as Dexa’s strong rally failed to yield the desired result narrowly.

The designated pace-maker Hooves of Thunder set the desired pace which allowed Suraj Narredu to settle Imperial Power who raced keen. Dexa was kept in about the fourth position a few lengths adrift by jokey Anthony Raj. Suraj quickly pushed Imperial Power to take charge approaching the final furlong. The progeny of Multidimensional broke into a useful lead. Under a strong drive by Anthony Raj, Dexa covered the leeway but ran out of ground in the end, as the favourite held on by half a length. Wordsmith ran on to take the third position. Incidentally, Imperial Power is a full brother to this year’s Bangalore 1000 Guineas winner Eternal Blaze.

In contrast, the Forbes Breeders’ Fillies Championship, proved to be a thriller with the short-priced favourite King’s Ransom suffering an unexpected defeat in the hands of Chennai challenger Dangerous. King’s Ransom ran green, veered out at the start but made headway along the rails in the final furlong but failed to overhaul the front-running Dangerous and went down by a whisker despite going head-to-head in the final furlong with the eventual winner. Dangerous who was under the pump at the final bend, made swift progress in the stretch in the hands of jockey C S Jodha. Though King’s Ransom made rapid progress in the final furlong, she failed to pass the front-runner. King’s Ransom had recorded a runaway win last time out but she looked raw. The Adhiraj Jodha trained Dangerous had recorded an impressive win in her debut run at Chennai and showed greater maturity in her success. Fashion Icon was third seven lengths adrift.

Imtiaz Sait trained Endeavour maintained the amazing progress made during the season by accounting for a seasoned lot of horses in the 1200 metres Bangalore Turf Club Trophy, a race for horses rated 80 and above. Jockey Pradeep Chouhan took Endeavour on a start to finish. The favourite enjoyed a healthy lead all through and was in no danger of being caught up by any of the contestants. Gazino held off Golden Quest to get the runner-up berth. Sunrise Ruby who was expected to spice things up was outpaced from the start and was a beaten horse all the way in the race.

Jockey Trevor Patel had to drive out favourite Botero with all the resources at his command to get the better of Rasputin in the waning yards of the race in the 2000 metres Hachiko Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 66. Anthony Raj had Rasputin in front from the word 'go’ and managed to keep the lead with a strong effort but Botero who put up a stiff challenge, got better in the closing strides of the race to land the spoils. Kamaria who was bidding for a hat-trick, took time to warm up and her late rally could only make her finish a close third.

Trevor Patel reached the landmark of 1500 winners through Nazak Chenoy trained Inishmore who trounced the opposition by a widening margin of eight lengths in the 1200 metres J Rustomji Soparivala Trophy, a race for maiden three-year-olds. The progeny of Planetaire proved superior as he left the field stranded. Flashing Famous rallied late to get the runner-up berth from Freedom.

S S Shah trained Rhythm of Nature proved too good for the fancied Stars For You as she recorded an easy win by storming ahead in the final furlong to win the 1000 metres Lahinch Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated in the lowest category. By the time Stars For You warmed up, the cause had been lost. Hyperdimensional was third. Narendra Lagad trained Hilma Klint was vastly superior to the opposition in the lower division of the race, winning as she pleased in the hands of apprentice jockey Aniket Karande. Sim Sim rallied late to take the second position ahead of Red Riot.

Pesi Shroff trained Sun Gold had no problem in obliging expectations in the 1600 metres Ghulamhussein Essaji Trophy, a race for horses rated 20 to 46. From a handy third position at the final bend, Sun Gold quickly took charge in the hands of jockey Pradeep Chouhan and went away for an easy win. Treasure Gold warmed up late and took the second spot ahead of Rue St Honore.