The Maharaja's Gold Cup is one of the stellar events that grace the Mysore racing calendar. A terms race for horses four years old and over, which normally has a large and well represented field, was no different this year. Some of the top rated horses racing at this centre were seen in action in the feature event of Friday's race card at Mysore. Lionheart was the highest rated horse, but he was the oldest one in the field. Last year's Mysore Derby winner Splendid Surprise was the best performed amongst the four year olds that had accepted to face the starter. It was surprising to see Secret Song being installed as the first favourite in this event. A couple of easy wins in the early part of the current season had seen the ratings of this Prakash ridden horse jump by almost 50 points. He was being pitched amongst a bunch of seasoned performers. Splendid Surprise, Lionheart and Guest Connections were also supported with conviction and the betting boards were indicative of the "open" nature of this race. The terms of the race were such that the entire field was handicapped within a few kilos of each other.

The speedy Green Bax, who is more suited over a sprint distance, was sent to the front ahead of Western Command, Guest Connections, Splendid Surprise, Secret Song and Lionheart while Rio Bravo was the last of all, as they took the rising ground and turned for home. Green Bax refused to give up and hung on to his slender lead as they entered the final stages of the race. A few things became obvious at this point in time. Western Command, Guest Connections and Lionheart were beginning to tire and were fading away from the scene. Splendid Surprise was moving up through the middle of the track and appeared to be travelling the best of the lot. Rio Bravo had been switched to the outer portion of the track and was making good progress under the relentless guidance of Suraj Narredu. Harish drove Splendid Surprise to the front thereafter and had no problem in holding a belated challenge from Rio Bravo. Green Bax was able to hold on to his third spot, while Secret Song plodded into fourth place. The track was on the fast side and the early pace was so strong, that Splendid Surprise was successful in shaving off almost two seconds from a seven year old track record. Splendid Surprise had run his best races on this track, and his victory today was no surprise for anybody. The run of Rio Bravo was quite remarkable. He was handling a mile trip for the first time in his career and he acquitted himself creditably. Rio Bravo was gallant in defeat and lives to fight another day.

The added attraction during the "Maharajas Day" racecard was the running of The Air Force Gold Cup. A small field of seven led by the two market leaders from Robert Foley's stable, were seen parading in the paddock. Reflected Glory with Prakash astride was fancied ahead of the Srinath ridden Mischiefinhiseyes. The latter had the benefit of a run earlier in the season, while the favourite was making his first appearance on the Mysore track this year. Both were looking well and it was difficult to choose between them. Srinath was able to get the box seat for most of the way, as he kept Mischiefinhiseyes in second spot behind Local Warrior till they straightened for home.Prakash held back Reflected Glory for eventual speed. Srinath was at his powerful best, when he pushed his mount to the front near the distance post, and kept him going till the very end. Mischieinhiseyes was able to hold a strong challenge from Reflected Glory and Flaming Lamborgini. The winner was another one who set a new course record during the afternoon with this brilliant effort.

The day shall be remembered by the bookmakers for the two successful gambles that were landed by the respective connections of Holiday Date and Rule The Fashion. The opening race of the day's card featured Holiday Date. The presence of P Mani in the saddle was enough for everybody to ignore his chances. Auchinlech was being supported enthusiastically before there was a surge of money on Holiday Date. The horse was backed down from 10/1 to 7/2. The final result must have been a big relief for the supporters of Holiday Date. P Mani took him to the front and led into the straight. He began to drift out and allowed Auchinlech to head him briefly. The two of them raced abreast for a while thereafter, before Holiday Date came with a second run and put his neck in front at the winning post. Turbo Babe, who finished a close third, may have won this race with some assistance from the saddle.

Rule the Fashion had been steadily brought down in handicap by some lacklustre efforts during the last few seasons. This eight year old was smashed down from 15/1 to 5/1. Jockey P Krishna was literally standing on the horse while tucking him into third place. Rule The Fashion was always on tight reins as he devoured ground and took over the running. He overtook Dom Perignon and sailed away for an easy victory. Fit For Fray was a disinterested third. Favourite Glint Revelation ran a dull race and finished a poor fourth.

A couple of runaway victories were recorded by firm favourites Beauty Dancer and Different Opinion. Prakash took no chances while guiding Beauty Dancer to finish well clear of Star Of Paradise.  Suraj Narredu was equally effective while making all the running with Different Opinion in a class B event. This three year old was lucky to find himself in the lowest class, and the connections were quick to seize this opportunity. His older opponents lacked the speed and finished a long way behind the winner. Activisto was the best of the rest.

The fifth race of the day was marred by a couple of incidents. Last outing runner-up Command was a hot order in this race and racegoers were content to back him at the cramped odds offered by the bookmakers. The presence of Srinath in the saddle, added to their confidence. Allegro was the second in demand at 8/1, while you could write your own cards on the other horses. The runners had been loaded and were set to go, when Command suddenly played up and got entangled in the starting gates. The stipes were quick to take him out, and after a routine check, decided to declare him a "non-starter". The others were flagged off, with Allegro taking the early initiative ahead of a closely packed field. There was a bit of tightening, and this resulted in Starry View and Paint Me Red dropping their riders.  The field suddenly got spread out. The worst sufferer was Excellent Speed, who was hampered by the fall of Paint Me Red. Front running Allegro was caught at the post by Amatol and Excellent Speed. The three of them were locked together as they flashed past the post. Allegro was beaten back into third place. Excellent Speed was an unlucky loser today, and should be supported in his next start.

The last race of the day saw a lot of money going down on Senna. This Appu ridden horse received one-sided support, but it was obviously misplaced. Appu kept Senna in a handy third position behind A Run To Remember and Masurathi before essaying his final challenge. He found nothing extra in the tank. Star News came with a nice run through the middle and won from the late finishing Worth A Gold. Senna was only able to finish a fair third.