Alaindair rules the roost

Gelding completes grand treble; Agostini second

In a race filled with four-year-olds who have proven their prowess over the years, Alaindair dominated proceedings in typical aggressive fashion to wear the crown in the Indian Turf Invitation Cup (Grade I) over 2400 metres at the Malakpet track.

The Srinath-piloted gelding was at his best as he timed his 2400-metre run to perfection to cross the finish line in a time of two minutes and 29.87 seconds. With this win, Alaindair, who had won last year’s Bangalore Summer Derby and this year’s Indian Derby, became only the sixth horse in history to complete a treble with a win here on Saturday.

A length and a quarter behind the tail of Alaindair was Agostini. The P Trevor-piloted colt was not expected to feature on the podium but his stunning run pushed some of the fancied horses back on the grid.

Defending champion Tintinnabulation finished third, but the placing -- though impressive given the field of runners -- would not have brought joy to the camp as the I Chisty-ridden gelding failed to become the first to retain the Invitation honours.


1. Palazzio Plate -- 1400M: Princess Cruise (Christopher) 1; Mount Titlis (I Chisty) 2; Graceland (NS Parmar) 3; Tamanna (Ashhad Asbar) 4; WB: 1, 1-3/4L, Shd; T: 1:27.26; TB: D Netto; Fav: Mount Titlis.

2. Good Fellas Plate -- 1400M: Winds And Waves (Dashrath S) 1; Greek Star (K Anil) 2; Decathlon (I Chisty) 3; Montauk (A Sandesh) 4; WB: 2-3/4, Nose, 1-1/2L; T: 1:26.04; TB: D Netto; Fav: Winds And Waves.

3. Avalanche Star Plate -- 1100M: Pakat Pakat Pakat (Kiran N) 1; Racing Queen (P Venkat) 2; Dazzling Princess (J Vikas) 3; Illustrator (Christopher) 4; WB: 4, Nose, 3/4L; T: 1:07.37; TB: Srinagesh; Fav: Pakat Pakat Pakat.

4. Maj PK Mehra Memorial Super Mile Cup (Grade I) -- 1600M: Amelia (S Zervan) 1; Equine Lover (David Allan) 2; Striking (Suraj Narredu) 3; Machiavellianism (I Chisty) 4; WB: 1L, Shd, Neck; T: 1:37.10; TB: P Shroff; Fav: Mariinsky.

5. Suresh Mahindra Multi Million Trophy (Grade II) -- 1400M: Speed Six (Suraj Narredu) 1; Galiat (Chritopher) 2; Kohinoor Wish (CS Jodha) 3; Plenipotent (Srinath) 4; WB: 3/4, 1-1/4, 1-1/4L; T: 1:23.98; TB: Padmanabhan; Fav: Storm Tracker.
6. Indian Turf Invitation Cup (Grade I) -- 2400M: Alaindair (Srinath) 1; Agostini (P Trevor) 2; Tintinnabulation (I Chisty) 3; Starry Eyes (A Sandesh) 4; WB: 1-1/4, 2-1/4, 1-1/2L; T: 2:29.87; TB: Altamash A Ahmed; Fav: Murioi.

7. Madras Race Club Million -- 1200M: Shamrock Lady (I Chisty) 1; King Julien (P Trevor) 2; Little Love (Ajit Singh) 3; Rumour Has It (David Allan) 4; WB: 1-1/4, 1, 1L; T: 1:12.47; TB: LVR Deshmukh; Fav: Loveofmylife.

8. Whooper Plate -- 1200M: Palm Springs (A Sandesh) 1; Racing Ahead (I Chisty) 2; Sweet Candy (Deep Shanker) 3; Hard Kingdom (Nitin Singh) 4; WB: Nose, 1-1/2, 1/2L; T: 1:12.38; TB: L D’Silva; Fav: Racing Ahead.

Bangalore dividends

I race: Rs 49w, Rs 15, Rs 15, Rs 29p; Fc: Rs 80; Q: Rs 41; SHP: Rs 38; Tri: Rs 622 and Rs 313; Exp: Rs 3,102 and Rs 812. II race: Rs 22w, Rs 13, Rs 75, Rs 13p; Fc: Rs 719; Q: Rs 486; SHP: Rs 308; Tri: Rs 637 and Rs 148; Exp: Rs 7,499 and Rs 5,050. III race: Rs 39w, Rs 18, Rs 18, Rs 55p; Fc: Rs 91; Q: Rs 59; SHP: Rs 55; Tri: Rs 1,119 and Rs 480; Exp: Rs 7,799 and Rs 7,520. IV race: Rs 37w, Rs 15, Rs 53, Rs 61p; Fc: Rs 778; Q: Rs 306; SHP: Rs 162; Tri: Rs 6,505 and Rs 1,858; Exp: Rs 46,296 and Rs 39,683. V race: Rs 49w, Rs 16, Rs 39, Rs 41p; Fc: Rs 397; Q: Rs 153; SHP: Rs 115; Tri: Rs 7,884 and Rs 2,253; Exp: Rs 29,481 and Rs 8,423. VI race: Rs 46w, Rs 19, Rs 66, Rs 33p; Fc: Rs 698; Q: Rs 427; SHP: Rs 192; Tri: Rs 4,806 and Rs 4,119; Exp: Rs 30,606 and Rs 13,117. VII race: Rs 31w, Rs 14, Rs 30, Rs 35p; Fc: Rs 268; Q: Rs 89; SHP: Rs 79; Tri: Rs 3,930 and Rs 749; Exp: Rs 13,143 and Rs 9,012.
VIII race: Rs 41w, Rs 18, Rs 13, Rs 24p; Fc: Rs 77; Q: Rs 33; SHP: Rs 49; Tri: Rs 237 and Rs 152; Exp: Rs 4,684 and Rs 2,126.
Jackpot: Rs 4,059 (33). Runner-up: Rs 288 (199). Mini-jackpot: Rs 1,957 (34). I treble: Rs 285 (40). II treble: Rs 289 (43). III treble: Rs 635 (44).