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A seven-furlong race for horses in the highest class saw the appearance of another highly regarded horse from the Darashah stable. Four year-old Ashkan had progressed to this group with a victory over a similar trip in the lower class. He had made light of a backbreaking 62 kilos on that day. With five kilos off his back and a top jockey to guide his fortunes, Ashkan was value for money at 90/100. John held him on a tight leash till the bend, and showed him daylight thereafter. Allowing Fire Brigade and Copenhagen to burn each other out before the final turn, Ashkan cruised to the front and had little difficulty in keep going. Dare Don was almost a distance behind in second place, while Tantrik came from the rear to save place money for his connections. The paucity of races for horses in Class I at Mysore shall see Ashkan moving his base to Bangalore. He is a compact horse who is blessed with speed and stamina, and is capable of making a mark at the highest level. The two victories enabled Darashah and John to claim the professional honours for the afternoon.
Another easy victory in the day's card came from Rakesh-trained Youremysensation. Rookie Afsar won his second race on this horse and showed that he has improved beyond recognition. It was not very long ago that Youremysensation won a race in the lowest class. He was put up for sale but not many showed interest in buying him. The connections decided to campaign him regularly and the results are there for all to see. The horse has won three of his last few starts and shall now get rated in Class II. Monappa's World Is Toomuch was an on-money choice in this race. He seemed to have lost his galloping shoes, as he was under severe pressure to finish more than ten lengths behind the winner. His third placed effort behind Bullish Luck was definitely not indicative of his true potential.
The day started with a long overdue victory for Vivid Colours. The grey was a winner in a much higher set, but was winless in the last couple of years. She had come down to a negative rating and most racegoers wondered why the connections were continuing to keep her in training. Their decision was vindicated, when Vivid Colours began to move up today, and got up on the last stride to nail Mutual Fund near the winning post. Early leader Stinger showed the way till the bend and retired gracefully. Ultra consistent Smile again ran her usual race while finishing a close third.
The last two races were won by outsiders Al Qamar and All Round. Kishore's Al Qamar showed a lot of resilience while overpowering the leading group of Pat On The Back, Event Horizon, Rich Rogue and Regal Image. Harish kept him out of trouble and allowed him to gallop unhindered on the wide outside. The nine year old loved these tactics and maintained his momentum. The effort was good enough to see him getting the better of Rich Rogue and a late finishing I Wanna Fly in the closing stages of this seven furlong race.
All Round closed the day’s proceedings with an end-to-end effort and scored fluently from Worth A Gold, Way To Wealth and Swiss Chocolate. The grey had been knocking on the door with some forward runs, but had been unfortunate to get beaten close home. Today's set was tailor-made to his liking and there was none that could match strides with him. The winning margin of three lengths was like a compliment to the beaten brigade. The other three horses finished in a heap and there wasn't much between them at the wire. The one who impressed was Swiss Chocolate, who made up a lot of ground in the straight and ended a very close fourth. It is quite likely that he may win before the end of this season.
