Darashah's ward Dangerous Illusion made light of the heavy impost of 64.5 Kgs and scored an impressive victory over seven furlongs in a handicap race for horses in the highest class at Mysore. She had got beaten on the post in her last run, and had obviously been penalized for that effort. She was set to concede chunks of weight to Time Is Life and Sandokan and was accordingly neglected in the betting ring. With most of the money flowing in the direction of above duo, the odds against Dangerous Illusion drifted to 5/1 while the horses reached the starting gates. Allowing Easy Rider and Stampede to set a moderate pace, Gnaneshwar settled Dangerous Illusion in third spot and kept her on a tight leash as the field swung into the home straight. Time Is Life and Sandokan were improving their positions on the wide outside. The field was widely spread out as the race took a serious turn. Dangerous Illusion responded to the whip and lengthened her strides, as she first collared the frontrunning Stampede, and thereafter sped away to an effortless victory. Stampede held on to second place while Sandokan edged out Time Is Life for third. It was a magnificent performance by the five year-old Dangerous Illusion, who paid a rich compliment to her hardworking trainer by winning in such superb fashion.
With this victory, Gnaneswar was able to complete a double for the day, as he had opened the day’s proceedings with another easy victory astride the Rakesh-trained Wazzup Dude. This horse had been steadily brought down in handicap from class III to the lowest class, and racegoers were waiting for some money to flow in his direction. Wazzup Dude was backed enthusiastically and gave no anxious moments to his supporters, as he cantered home to an easy victory. This seven year-old won much easier than the official verdict of a shade under five lengths. Celerity came from the rear to finish second ahead of a hard ridden Full Steele.
Wednesday's racing at Mysore was generally kind to the racing public as most well-supported horses ran true to form and obliged the punters. The best example of this was the run of the three year-old Swiss Queen. This maiden three year-old had run a good second in her last start, and was installed as the half-money favourite to win today's race. Closer to race time, there was huge support for Spark Of Symphony and the odds against Swiss Queen expanded to evens. Individual Glory and Raging River raced side by side and set a hot pace ahead of a hard held Swiss Queen, while Spark Of Symphony was being coaxed to stay in touch with the leaders. Jockey Shafiq had only to release his grip on the Bipin trained favourite, and Swiss Queen bounded away from the rest. She was eased up a long way from home, and clocked in many lengths ahead of Raging River, Individual Glory and Spark Of Symphony. The last- named raced in snatches and considering the fact that this was a maiden effort, Spark Of Symphony should be a different proposition in her next outing.
The SV Subramaniam Memorial Gold Cup was the only trophy event in the day’s card. This race had been split into two divisions. The upper division witnessed Regal Image being installed at the top of the betting boards. Last outing runner-up Hero's Dominance was second in demand, while the others were available at longer odds. Apprentice Saddam Iqbal from Chennai was making his seasonal debut at Mysore, and was set to claim an allowance of 2 kgs on the top-weighted Hero's Dominance. This youngster rode a matured race as he relaxed his mount behind Regal Image and Glint Revelation, and made his move only after the horses had entered the home stretch. He was totally balanced as he pushed Hero's Dominance to an emphatic victory over a late-finishing Much More. Regal Image shortened her strides and finished a dismal third. The rest finished far behind.
The lower division was a totally wide open affair, and more so after the withdrawal of favourite Boston Ranger at the starting gates. Fit For Fray made the early running from Mutual Fund, and the two of them were clear of the rest before they packed up near the distance post. All of a sudden, there were two new leaders. Monappa-trained Time Is Precious came with giant strides and held on to win from I Wanna Fly at the wire. Fit For Fray plodded on to be third. This filly is better suited over a sprint and should be supported when she runs over a shorter trip. Monappa completed a quick double when he sent out Sensitive Prince to win the next race of the day. He has to be complimented for claiming allowance on this free running horse. Sensitive Prince was facing a moderate set of horses, and with the 4 kgs off his back, showed a clean pair of heels to his rivals. Fire Brigade was able to get up on the last stride and beat Mr Bureaucrat into third place. The market leader Forever Grande ended a poor fourth.
A long distance race for horses in class III produced a very close finish with the first three finishers being locked together in a photo. Three year-old Bold Promise brought them home and seemed to be travelling well as the field entered the final stages of this 1,800 metres event. The top weight seemed to take the toll on Bold Promise, as Final Frontier started moving through the middle and Royal Hawk made his move on the wide outside. The three of them fought it out before Ramandeep pushed Royal Hawk ahead of Final Frontier and Bold Promise .A short neck and half a length separated these three horses. Since there appeared to be some jostling in the final stages of this event, the Stewards ordered an enquiry into the running of this race. It was clear from the front view that Royal Hawk had drifted "in" under pressure and had come close to the runner-up. Jockey Ravinder Singh, the rider of Final Frontier, informed the stewards that he did not take an objection because he thought that the interference was not serious, and, he had not stopped riding his horse at any stage of the race. The stewards noted his views and decided "not to alter" the result announced by the Judge.
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