Trainer Sulaiman Attaollahi didn’t just have a good afternoon; he basically walked into Bangalore Turf Club with a broom and swept four of the eight races like a man tidying up post-festival. His horses were the early birds, winning race after race, and to add theatre, one of them even required the Stewards Room to rubber-stamp the sweep. Jockey Sandesh played co-conspirator in three of those demolition jobs.

The 1400 metres Gomos Plate for horses rated 60 to 85, the main event of the day, was projected as a duel between the younger Efficacy and Inspire, who had back-to-back wins last summer. Efficacy ended the suspense early. Shreyas Singh had him cruising in a handy spot behind Invincible who tore off in front. Inspire, in contrast, was dawdling in fifth, warming up late. When Shreyas pressed the button at the top of the straight, Efficacy bounded ahead and had the race sewn up well before Inspire even switched gears. The favourite’s belated rush only made the margin less but did not add to the competitive element. Victoria Doresaani was third while Booster Shot flew late from a different postcode to finish fourth.

The 1400 metres Bengaluru City Police Cup, for maiden three-year-olds, was billed as Agrador versus Auctav. Except Auctav didn’t engage at all. Perhaps he took work-from-home too literally. Sandesh made Valiant Dream a “catch me if you can” performance and Agrador very soon realised that it was not going to be his day. Jade Mountain nosed Stella Maris for third.

The 1400 metres Jog Falls Plate (Div I) delivered peak entertainment. Eagle Eye “won” on the track, but only after interfering, rolling in, body-checking Xanthe, and jockey Alex Rozario flicking a whip at the horse as stated by jockey Sandesh who objected. Vikrant objected too. The Stewards finally handed the race to Xanthe in the Room, adding to the Sulaiman + Sandesh scoreboard. The lower division, mercifully, was straightforward: Rosaline from Arjun Mangalorkar won like a horse who remembered her job description. Adelanto arrived late and bullied Divo in the shadow of the post.

The 1400 metres Udupi Plate saw Lux Aeterna simply announce superiority. Having run Inspire close in her last start, she was backed like tomorrow didn’t exist and won by six widening lengths. It was the easiest assignment of the day for jockey Sandesh. Aquastic and Disciple were the extras.

The 1200 metres TB Hanumantharaj Memorial Trophy was a blow to those who backed Prasanna Kumar’s hot public choice. Ziva, the outsider, decided to shine and swept past See The Light. Pole Star flew home late to edge past See The Light to get the second spot.

Money decides destiny in racing and everyone knows that. The avalanche of betting on Mister Brown near post time made everyone aware who was winning the 1200 metres Malaprabha Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Mister Brown bolted home by five lengths in the hands of jockey Aravind Kumar for trainer Pradeep Annaiah, Dictator plodded for second, Glorious Spectre was third.

Apprentice Viswa showed composure on True Gold in the 1200 metres World Cancer Awareness Day Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category. He led, he drifted, he nearly sabotaged himself but still held off Estefania to help the M R Singh trainee win the race at nourishing odds. NRI Gold was third. Legendary Impact chose to be a tourist and finished nowhere.