Though Ashwa Magadheera is based in Bangalore, all his three wins had come on the same track. Last Wish who had run fourth in the Bangalore Derby was the favourite with O Hansini, Still I rise and Ashwa Magadheera being the other preferred horses in the order mentioned.

Jockey Imran Khan took Last wish on a start-to-finish mission followed by Star Admiral, Still I Rise, Ashwa Magadheera and O Hansini. Jockey Akshay Kumar on O Hansini made his move approaching the final bend. The desired response was forthcoming enabling the lesser fancied runner to cruise into the lead by the final furlong. Since O Hansini had come from the last position and overhauled everyone if those who had backed O Hansini were counting their money, they were not entirely wrong as at this stage, Ashwa Magadheera was being hampered by the outward drift of Star Admiral and the former had some lengths to cover.

A combination of O Hansini tiring out and the inability of Akshay to add punch to the finishing efforts enabled the strongly-ridden Ashwa Magadheera to beat the front runner in the dying yards of the race. Still I Rise ran on to finish third. One is not sure whether Akshay is nursing any injury but in the recent past, he was been found wanting in tight finishes.

The Satish Narredu trainee Ashwa Magadheera has proved to be a gusty performer and this was the second time he was winning in tight finishes. The progeny of Kingda Ka has proved to be a veritable money-spinner, recording his fourth straight win from five outings.

The day began on an ominous note for punters when the heavily backed Bhrigu reared up at the start even as the jockey appeared to have taken off the blinds and possibly was not tally focused. The horse lost all possible chances of winning in the 1400 metres Talakadu Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category. Air Velocity held off News Maker and Highland Park to land the spoils at fancy odds. There was a Stewards enquiry into the race after which there was no change in the results. The Stewards should explore whether in the circumstances when the start was given if such horses could be declared as non-starters in the interest of the betting public who are the lifeline of the sport. Often, these incidents are accidental but there are occasions when there are reasons to suspect that something could be amiss.

To quote a recent incident at Royal Ascot, the argument made in favour of declaring such horses as non-starters is that everyone willing to risk money on a horse race gets a run for their money. The Stewards believe that they only have the power to declare a horse a non-starter if it has been prevented from starting due to faulty action of the stalls, or the horse is riderless at the time the start was given.

Whether this rule indicates that the Stewards cannot be flexible is a matter of debate. The authorities would do well to consider incorporating a clause that if the circumstances leading to the horse being a non-starter due to the start of the race coincides with the jockey being unprepared and unable to communicate the same to the starter, such runners could be declared as non­-starters which would seem fair and reasonable.

Incidentally, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Chief Steward Kim Kelly had said on that occasion: ``We`ve largely got harmonization about the rules pertaining to objections but we haven`t achieved everything that we wanted with the non-runner rule.`

The public in this instance shouted hoarsely and looked like causing a problem but things settled down soon for the rest of the races to go through without a hitch.

Joseph Awale trained Vijay Falcon came in for one-sided betting in the 1100 metres Full Speed Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Vijaya Falcon travelled powerfully into the straight and the moment jockey Sai Kiran asked for an effort, the favourite obliged leaving the field stranded to win impressively. Smart Cadillac chased the winner without hope. Flying Falcon was faraway third. Lesser fancied Royal Crown from the stables of Tejaswi won the lower division of the race. Royal Crown chased favourite Supreme Angel into the straight before overhauling the front runner at the top of the straight and then bouncing clear to win from the late rallying Oriental Lily. Supreme Angel weakened to finish third. Make a note of Oriental Lily who was full of running at the finish.

Jockey Dharshan Anthony showed good anticipation and reflexes to pull out Tremendous from running into traffic problems and drove out the lesser fancied runner on the wide outside to win the 1400 metres Ranga Family Trophy, a race for horses rated 40 to 65. Apprentice jockey Angad on Gintoki failed to control the inward drift of his mount and crowded the field on the inside in the final furlong which affected the chances of the fancied Notoriety who had to be checked. Though Gintoki finished second, he was relegated to the third position following an objection by Sai Kiran who rode Notoriety for interference. Angad needs to be pulled up for his riding which bordered on the dangerous.

Monnappa trained D Fire brought some cheer to the punters when winning the concluding race of the day as a strongly backed favourite. D Fire, in the hands of apprentice jockey Shreyas Singh, got through the middle of the track and bounced clear in the final furlong to win the 1200 metres Regency Gold Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Me One And Only held off Spiritual Force for the runner-up berth.