Arjun Mangalorkar trained Castle Key recorded an impressive repeat win while claiming the 1200 metres Karnataka Sub-Area Cup, a race for horses rated 60 and above, the feature event of Saturday`s Bangalore races. Castle Key looks ready to graduate to terms race company and quite surprisingly hasn`t been tried thus far despite the fact that older horses in this category at this centre are well past their best.

Castle Key`s runaway win last time out was indicative of the fact that the four-year-old was hitting peak form. Though he was assigned to carry the top weight of 62 kgs, it was difficult to look elsewhere to spot a winner. The price offered on him by race time was lucrative. The other horses in the fray did not inspire confidence as they seemed to have reached their mark.

John managed the tricky outside draw to keep Castle Key in a handy third position even as Ravello and Sir Majestic went at a pace in front which was detrimental to their chances. The pace of the race was frenetic. John brought Castle Key into contention as soon as the horses straightened for the run in for home with Ravello going wide under pressure. Sir Majestic fought on for some time before tiring out. Albertino made smooth progress from behind along the rails with a ground saving effort. Castle Key surged ahead inside the final furlong but found unexpected resistance from Albertino who put up a stiff fight before the favourite asserted his supremacy. Albertino is no doubt a talented horse but the fact that he has been a chronic bleeder was the reason why he had not got his share of wins. Albertino was carrying a postage stamp weight of 46.5 kgs which perhaps was the reason why he could pose such a serious challenge to the prospects of Castle Key. Top Spot, another horse known to burst his blood vessels, ran on to finish thid as he carried more class than the others behind him. The winner clocked a smart time of one minute 12.74 seconds.

The 1200 metres Ministerlla Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds, saw Irfan Ghatala trained Grecian Light who had the benefit of a good mock race being the favourite. Admiral One and Scion who was showing out in workouts were the other two to merit consideration. Scion who is a migrant from Mumbai was tardy at the start and was never in contention and eventually finished poorly down the field. Rustler set a fast clip but was overhauled by the favourite inside the final 300 metres. Grecian Light could not sustain the lead for long as Admiral One, under a strong riding by Suraj Narredu, covered the leeway briskly and went away for an easy win. Jersey Beauty ran on to finish third.

Padmanabhan trained King of the Court had been troubled by ligament problems which had resulted in this son of Holding Court being raced sparingly. King of the Court had consistently figured on board and was presented with a good opportunity to break the winless sequence of nearly three years. Jockey Sandesh brought King of the Court with a well-timed run in the final furlong to measure the front running Shideh and stretch clear of the rest to win the 1400 metres Buck Passer Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 30 to 50. Secret Dimension came up with a late charge but the front runner had enough legs to reach the safety of the winning post. The winner appeared to have pulled up lame after the post. Conquistador who raced up with the field, held off the challenge of Amazing Redd for the third place.

Royal Defence hadn`t been exploited to the fullest in the last few runs . On the last occasion when the horse was saddled by Britto and ridden by T S Jodha, the Stipes had found the jockey not doing a satisfactory job and had fined him Rs 20,000. The trainer had also incurred a fine of Rs 20,000 for unsatisfactory explanation. Royal Defence came in for one-sided support and the favourite readily justified such an expectation with a decisive win in the lower division of the Buck Passer Plate. After tracking Aguante well into the straight, Royal Defence left his rival stranded in the final furlong to record a facile win. Open Page ran on from behind with a late rally to grab the runner-up berth.

Trainer Prithviraj brought off a good touch on Flotus who toyed with the opposition in the 1100 metres Alekona Trophy, a race for horses rated 15 to 35 and kept her rivals stranded way behind. Apprentice jockey Dhebe took the progeny of Arazan on a start to finish mission and Flotus had a big break over the rest at the top of the straight which she maintained till crossing the winning post. Santorini Secret who was well patronised in the ring chased the front runner without hope. Favourite Cadillac Sky was a timid third.

Arjun Mangalorkar trained Powerscourt recorded a comprehensive win in the 1400 metres Astronomic Plate, a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Powerscourt came in for significant support in the ring and in the race itself, John had no problem in driving out the fancied runner to win by a widening margin of five lengths over Exemplar. Shivalik Dance and Surnaturel had expended their energy by chasing each other in front. While the former stayed on to finish third, Surnaturel disappeared without a trace in the straight.

Jockey Y S Srinath drove out lesser fancied Shining Bay from the yards of trainer Imtiaz Khan to an easy win in the 1200 metres Pune Plate (Div I), a race for horses in the lowest category. Shining Bay led from the start and faced no threat from the rest. Just Fabulous chased the front runner without hope but managed to stay put in second position ahead of White Snowdrops who literally brought herself into limelight grabbing the third place with a strong run from behind. Puttanna trained Nagarjuna won the lower division of the race quite capably from the charging brigade of Mystic Lavenders, Interactive and Dontworttymonday. Apprentice jockey Nazerul Alam had Nagarjuna track front running Courageous into the straight before pushing the fancied runner to take charge inside the final 350 metres. The progeny of Lucifer Sam surged clear and held on to win more easily than the verdict suggested.