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Over the last few years, trainer Rakesh has been claiming the professional honours during these mini seasons at Mysore. He saddled a fine double on Wednesday, and once again stormed into the lead. Since he has some of the best horses in his yard, most racegoers felt that it was only a matter of time before he would take his appointed place at the top of the leader boards. Three year-old Bucethalis (Burden Of Proof-Ching Mai) is one of the costliest horses in his yard. Being an April foal, this horse made a belated start to his career. After testing him over a shorter trip on the first day, Bucethalis was sharpened over a galloping course. He was entered in a seven-furlong race for maidens on Wednesday. The sort of support he received in the ring was indicative of his trainer's expectations. The presence of J Paswan did not deter the punters from backing him with confidence. Bucethalis lived up to his reputation, and scored a fluent victory. He led from the beginning and was seen travelling the best in the straight. A bunch of non performers led by Aahana and Miss Explora filled the rest of the frame.
Rakesh completed his double with last outing winner Winning Desire. The three year-old filly had already won a race in open company and was making an effort to defy that winning penalty. By entrusting her to apprentice Himanshu, the astute trainer succeeded in lightening her burden. Darashah trained All For Cash had given weight and a beating to Winning Desire in a maidens race last season. On the basis of the fact that he was receiving chunks of weight from Winning Desire today, All For Cash was touted as a "moral certainty". Winning Desire got off to a flyer, and showed the way to Classic Concept and Hero's Dominance. The favourite All For Cash got knocked around in the initial stages of this race, and was soon gracing the rear end of a tightly packed field. Winning Desire shrugged off Classic Concept's challenge and won with a measure of comfort. All For Cash wove his way through a bunch of tired horses, and got up on the last stride to take the second spot. He must be given another chance as he was a victim of circumstances. Classic Concept is capable of winning in his own age group.
Darashah-trained Archer was the third three year-old to win today. Despite receiving a stiff penalty for his maiden triumph, the horse was backed to the exclusion of his opponents. The victories of Winning Desire and Bucethalis earlier in the afternoon had contributed to this scenario, as both these youngsters had finished way behind Archer on the opening day of the season. Jockey Appu allowed Archer to settle comfortably behind a runaway King Adler, as he knew that the leader was bound to stop in the straight. Archer sailed into an unbeatable lead thereafter, and was clear of the others, as they made their journey past the distance post. Royal View emerged from the chasing pack and tried his best to narrow the gap. He came with gigantic strides to finish within a length of Archer. The winner lacked experience and the back-breaking weight of Sixty One and a Half Kilos was a huge hindrance. He is capable of an encore on promotion.
A couple of Class B races were part of the seven-event card today. The scurry saw a three-way finish between Time To Sparkle, Major Impression and Much More. The first-named was prominent for most of the way, and was lucky to contain a strong challenge from Major Impression. Despite Gaurav Sapra's best efforts, Major Impression took his time before getting into his strides. The "zero-rated" horse looks well and is poised to pick up a race in the near future. The other one was a mile race. There were at least five horses, in a field of ten, that were being fancied by their respective connections. However, it finally turned out to be a one-horse affair. Dinesh Pujar's Miss Mexico made every post a winning one, and romped home to an easy victory. She showed that the extended trip was suitable to her style of running. Royal Liason and Smile Again were the others to finish on board.
It has been noticed that whenever a horse sets a fast pace in a long-distance race, and stops after leading by many lengths into the straight, a rank outsider comes from nowhere and shocks the punters. The concluding race on Wednesday witnessed such a scenario. Look Alike and Minchu tore away from the others and led by a distance into the straight. The strongly fancied trio of War Head, Briannsta and Jericho were struggling at the back. It was left to an unfancied Ahira to go in chase of the leaders. Under the relentless pressure of Ashhad Asbar, the mare gained momentum and got up near the winning post to seal an impressive victory. Interestingly, this was the first time that she was being campaigned over a mile, as all her earlier career victories were achieved over a sprint. Trainer Pratap Kamath led-in his first winner of the Summer Season.
