Arjun Mangalorkar trained Impavid finally broke the jinx of ending up second best and held off the late flourish of stablemate Royal Crystal to win the Gr 3 Deccan Colts Championship Stakes, a terms race for three-year-olds, the second classic of the season at Malakpet on Monday. Impavid had come tantalizingly close to winning the Derby at Bangalore but was beaten in the last stride. The trainer who had his wards running frustratingly close in four classics finally could sport a smile!

Impavid towered over the rest and was quoted at very cramped odds. Jockey Trevor Patel who got the opportunity to ride this time did not go on the patented start to finish fashion but held him back in about the fourth or fifth position as Yours Forever made the pace. Victory Parade was a handy second. Rounding the final turn, it was clear for anyone panning the field that Impavid was full of running and it was only a matter of time that he would swamp those in front. Impavid got the upper hand in the final furlong and was well clear when stablemate Royal Crystal found foot and finished with a big effort to be a noteworthy second. Exclusive Blue was third. The winner clocked a slow timing of one minute 40.46 seconds. It had rained a fair during the running of the previous races.

Laxman Singh trained Great Gatsby recorded an easy win in the 1400 metres Conamore Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Great Gatsby was taken on a start to finish mission by Suraj Narredu and the favourite enjoyed a good lead right from the start and had no problem in containing the challenge of Paso Robles who made a good rally in the stretch. Paso Robles could not get into a favourable position form the wide outside draw but ran on well in the end despite a longish absence from the track. This should help Paso Robles to go one better next time out. Private Empire was a long way third.

Robin Reddy trained Mr Shanghai brought off a big upset in the 1600 metres Mirza Zunnur Ahmed Memorial Trophy (Div I), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Sublime who was a strong favourite made no show and the increasing trend these days is that when top jockeys are on favourites, they rarely run to expectations, but the same horses are seen in a different light when the apprentices are astride. After Run Runner led the field into the straight, Mr Shanghai shot ahead inside the final 350 metres and stretched away for a facile win. Egyptian Prince held off Dandy Man to get the runner-up berth. Apprentice jockey R S Jodha guided long shot Shiloh to a start to finish victory in the lower division of the 1600 metres Mirza Zunnur Ahmed Memorial Trophy. Shiloh who had run about 14 lengths behind in her last start was not in the betting. The price on Satin Symphony also drifted out in the ring alarmingly. Shiloh had a good lead in the straight but looked vulnerable when Satin Symphony made a strong bid but just about held on to win by a narrow margin. Brave Warrior ran on to finish third. There was a lot of money on Vega Cassandra and Vashishta but both were out of it well before the race came to the boil, the former gracing the tail end till the bend and making some progress in the straight to finish fourth.

Waseem Ahmed trained Honest Hunter had served notice of an early success when the filly had finished a suggestive third to Victory Parade who had won the race over seven furlongs in record time. Rapid Fire was strongly backed to win if only because of the presence of jockey Suraj Narredu. The rest of the runners including last start winner Evon Von Brando were all quoted at liberal odds for the 1200 metres A Krishnaswami Memorial Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 40 to 65. Star Gazer led in his customary fashion with Honest Hunter steadily improving places and coming into strong contention midway through the straight. Jockey B R Kumar was able to drive out Honest Hunter who established a winning lead by the final furlong and it mattered little when Dancing Doll who had received inspired support close to race time came up with a late charge. Favourite Rapid Fire was a lost cause well before the runners approached the final furlong. Max who lost considerable ground at the start rallied in the straight to snatch the third place from long-time leader Star Gazer.

Apprentice jockey Afroz Khan who is enjoying a good run rode out Dunkirk effectively to get the better of front-running La Mer close home to land the spoils in the lower division of the A Krishnaswamy Memorial Plate. Apprentice jockey Vikrant had La Mer lead by several lengths from the word `go` and appeared to have a good cushion when Dunkirk came up with a late bid in the final furlong. Dunkirk managed to snatch the lead in the shadow of the post and won by half a length. Favourite Miss Lily was a beaten cause and ran on to finish a disappointing third. Trevor Patel continues to find winners hard to come by and the continued dry run could affect his confidence unless he is choosier about the horses that he rides.

Vittal Deshmukh trained Francis Bacon lasted out to win from fast-finishing Star of Tiara in the 1800 metres Rani Rudramma Devi Memorial Cup, a race for maiden three-year-olds. From a handy third position, Francis Bacon took over the running at the top of the straight and opened a good cushion. The lead helped Francis Bacon to pull through from fast-finishing Star of Tiara who came from a long way to finish a close second. Stablemate Miss Marvellous was poorly handled by jockey Ajit Singh who stayed in the rear and made his move too late and this cost the lesser fancied runner a chance of finishing very close to the winner and a certain third place. Born Greek saved place money by default.

Ananth Vatsalya`s good run the lowest category races continued with Limousine who was yet to find the winning mark in 23 outings finally making it in the 1100 metres Starsky Plate, a race for horses rated up to 30. Limousine shot ahead with a furlong left in the race and was comfortably clear of the rest. The fight if any was confined to the second place with Ultimate Risk edging out New Hope to get that position. Favourite Royal Dancer was a tame fourth.

*******************

---

Dunkirk (Afroz Khan up) winner of the A.Krishnaswami Memorial Plate(Div-II)

---

The Great Gatsby (Suraj Narredu up) winner of the Conamore Plate

---

Shiloh (Jodha R S up) winner of the Mirza Zunnur Ahmed Memorial Trophy(Div-II)

---

Honest Hunter (B R Kumar up) winner of the A.Krishnaswami Memorial Plate(Div-I)

---

Mr Shanghai (Kuldeep Singh up) winner of the Mirza Zunnur Ahmed Memorial Trophy(Div-I)

---

Impavid (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Deccan Colts Championship Stakes (Gr.3)

---

Francis Bacon (Neeraj Rawal up) winner of the Rani Rudramma Devi Memorial Cup

---

Limousine (Afroz Khan up) winner of the Starsky Plate

---