S Ganapathy trained Light of Magic got the measure of front-running Sir Majestic in the closing strides of the race to win the 1200 metres Winner`s Circle Trophy (Div I), a race for horses rated 60 and above, the feature event of extra day`s races of the Bangalore Summer Season, held on Thursday. Light of Magic thus bounced back to winning form after 233 days, her last victory having come in the same category.

The race had an open look about it though notionally Topspot was the favourite as he had run a forward race last time out over an extended trip and over a more suitable trip, he was expected to have a strong say. Sir Majestic had his share of supporters though for anyone noticing the trend in the betting ring, it was evident that Light of Magic had many enthusiastic bettors which resulted in the odds coming down from a higher quote. Light of Magic had raced in terms races on the last occasions and now reverting back to a handicap race, she definitely had as good a chance as others in the fray.

Topspot took over the running soon after the field settled down for the six-furlong trip, with Sir Majestic in close proximity ahead of Light of Magic who was caught wide and took a while to get a position along the rails. Rounding the final turn, Sir Majestic had the measure of the front-runner and bounced clear. Light of Magic was alerted to the task albeit on the wide outside by jockey Jagadeesh and the got-abroad filly came home with a powerful effort and managed to put her neck in the nick of time to land the spoils. Ace Badraan ran on to finish third.

The lower division of the Winner`s Circle Trophy looked very competitive, with more than four horses appearing to have an equal chance of pulling it off. Lesser fancied Albertino who was an eye-catching second to Castle Key last time out, chased Hillsboro well into the straight and then went ahead. Albertino just about managed to last out in the hands of jockey Selvaraj to win from Taqdeer Ka Badshah who rallied well along the rails but missed the berth narrowly, with jockey Arshad Alam not proving equal to the task. Favourite Good Fortune too finished with a rush along with Ayrton who was little sluggish at the start but much their chagrin, found Albertino escape to victory. One doesn`t remember when Selvaraj booted home his last winner. The first three placed horses were separated by two short heads.

The Mamma`s Mink Stakes, a race over nine furlongs for horses rated 45 to 65, had an open look about it. Top-weighted Sagrada was quoted at a marginally lower price than Pallas. The presence of John on Swiss Eagle perhaps dissuaded many punters from plumping for Pallas with more conviction as both belonged to the same stable. In the event, Pallas had no problem in accounting for the opposition storming clear inside the final furlong to win with a great deal of ease from Sagrada and I`ve Got Clout. Swiss Eagle`s run was too bad to be true.

The 1200 metres Angel Dust Trophy (Div I), a race for maiden three-year-olds saw debutant Fire Glow backed to the exclusion of the rest. Reference who was running after 173 days was the ante-post favourite on the basis of excellent workouts as also the fact that he was a failed favourite when Serjeant At Arms made a winning debut in winter. However, the body weight of the horse showed an increase of 20 kgs over its previous weight. The odds drift as such did not come as a surprise. With no horse attracting money in the ring, Fire Glow went to the post at a shorter price than warranted. Romantic Helen went on a start to finish mission and had a commanding lead going into the final 100 metres. Fire Glow was struggling to find speed but began to respond in the closing stages of the race. The effort would have gone futile but for the fact that Romantic Helen, yet again, faltered close home and Fire Glow managed to prevail by the shortest of margins to save a massive majority of punters who had blindly gone bust for the horse. Carinosa, with a half-hearted, was third. Reference made no show and was placed fourth. Favourite Gypsy was not pressed by any of the runners in the lower division of the race as the Irfan Ghatala trainee won start to finish from Storm. Brunesco necked out Siyouni to take the third place.

Prithviraj trained Emidio had the best credentials to win the 1400 metres Noble Princess Stakes, a race for horses rated 30 to 50, as he had the experience of running in good company and was running over a more suitable trip, this time out. Apprentice jockey Prashanth Debe had Emidio chase Lightning Strikes well into the straight before surging ahead in the final 200 metres to record a facile win. Amazing Skill was third while Duke of Clarence who was the favourite was a well-beaten fourth. The three-year-old reportedly came back lame.

Prithviraj had earlier in the day saddled a winner through Flying Bullet in the 1200 metres Udhagamandalam Stakes (Div I), a race for horses rated 0 to 25. Entrusted to new apprentice T M Prashant, Flying Bullet came into strong contention taking the final turn wide and measuring Khaleesi with 300 metres left in the race. Flying Bullet established what turned out to be a winning lead as Power And Strength also moved up strongly in the hands of another raw apprentice Raghu but narrowly failed to get the better of lesser fancied runner. Favourite Emancipation came into the picture long after the race was beyond her reach. Dancing Princess was withdrawn at the gates on veterinary grounds. Jockey John`s only winner for the day came in the lower division of the race through Croziet who shot into the lead in the final furlong and had no problem in keeping his rivals at bay. Sudha ran on from way behind to snatch the runner-up berth from Thejaguar by a whisker.