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Darashah was able to complete a double for the day with the popular victory of Missiszippy. Apprentice Sreekanth chose to make all the running in this race. She bounded out of a wide draw and was soon at the helm of affairs. Sandokan and Lyra were close on the heels of Missiszippy till well into the straight. At this stage, Sreekanth decided to use the whalebone and ask her for a renewed effort. Missiszippy bounded forward and sealed the issue. She won with a measure of comfort over Lyra and Sandokan.
Trainer Rakesh and jockey Gnaneshwar were declared as the "Champions of the Season" in their respective categories. Rakesh saddled 21 winners, while Gnaneshwar was astride 15 winners this season. Rakesh rounded off the season with a splendid treble on the concluding day. He utilized the services of Imran Chisty on Star Of Paradise. Having won an earlier race with this horse a few weeks ago, Rakesh decided to exploit his current form and condition. Star Of Paradise was taken to the front, and had to be ridden hard to contain the challenge from Secret Fury. The runner-up had been carefully brought down in his ratings by running off the board in his last 11 starts. The smart money riding on him in this race went down the drain.
Nectar Jewel was another Rakesh-trained horse which had won earlier. He was saddled with a back-breaking impost today. The astute trainer decided to claim an allowance on this horse. Gautam Raj's three-Kilo-allowance was a boon for this eight year-old. He raced in mid-division before sailing past the speedy Ansonia, and wasn't unduly extended while passing the winning post. Lush Foliage could do no better than finish third. Theworldismine came from the rear end of the field to take the fourth spot. The stable completed a treble with a win in the last race of the season. Our Lancer was strongly fancied in his previous start exactly seven day's ago, but had finished in the ruck on that day. Rakesh decided to entrust this horse to a more mature jockey. Merchant came to Mysore for this single ride. The trip became worthwhile, as Our Lancer posted an easy victory. Racing in the front group for most of the way, Our Lancer responded to his jockey's urgings and wasn't hard pressed to contain the late challenge of Jericho.
The day's racing saw 12 different riders winning the races framed for the afternoon. None of them could score more than once. The first three races were slotted for horses in the lowest class. Ravi rode Roto Rooa to a narrow victory for Pratap Kamath in the day's opener. The mare made every post a winning one and managed to scramble home ahead of Analika and Kaliska. A similar effort by Himanshu saw the Vishal Yadav trainee Zindabad scoring a runaway victory in the lower division of a seven-furlong race for horses in this category. The upper division went in favour of Ranjeet's Wellington. This ten year-old had been running some nice races in recent times, and it seemed only fair that he should have won his last career start. The zero-rated horse came charging from the back and sailed past Smile Again and the front-running Stinger.
Ranjeet was another professional to score a double. After Wellington, it was the turn of Sun Device to score for the stable. It was a treat to watch the riding of Christopher on this horse. Riding a perfectly balanced race, Christopher allowed Sun Device to race on the flanks of Victory Queen for most of the way. Sun Device was pulled out near the distance post and put under pressure. He responded instantly and flew away from his rivals. Victory Queen held onto the second place ahead of Sterling Speed and Heroism. Favourite King Adler was given an easy start, and the youngest horse in this field ambled along to run a close fifth. King Adler has the potential to win his next start.
The only other interesting race during the afternoon was a sprint for horses rated 60 and above. It was an open betting affair with Red Dawn being marginally fancied ahead of the others. There was some smart money on Monappa's Perfect Bond. After an easy victory in the lower class, this horse had flopped as a favourite. The trainer decided to run him at a lower weight in the higher class. This decision turned out to be perfect. Perfect Bond relished the light impost on his back and bounded out of the starting gates. He made every post a winning one, and carried Gaurav Sapra to an impressive victory. Looking To Lead and Special Force filled the rest of the frame.
