Satish Narredu's Sprint Star (Ontario-Royal Retreat) confirmed favouritism by running away from his dozen opponents in The HH Sri Krishnaraja Wadiyar Memorial Gold Cup at Mysore on Friday. While claiming this prize, the five-year-old crossed the magical figure of Rs 1 Crore in career earnings. Being a terms event over seven furlongs, the day's feature attracted a good set of horses. Barring a couple of them, the others enjoyed a rating of more than a hundred. Sprint Star, String Along, Hatsuhana, One Life To Love and Atlantus were running over their favourite distance. All five of them had won a top-class race during the Bangalore Summer Season. Their recent track trials showed that they were on target for this well-endowed event. The terms of this race favoured Sprint Star. He was conceding much lesser weight to the others than he would have done in a handicap event. With Suraj Narredu making a rare visit to ride for his father, Sprint Star started as a 6/4 favourite ahead of One Life To Love and the others.

The race was run at a very good pace. Absolute Reality bolted to the front and showed the way to String Along, Carla, Sprint Star and Hatsuhana. While the others followed at regular intervals, it was strange to see One Life To Love gracing the rear. The filly was finding it difficult to move towards the leaders. The field bunched up near the bend. Carla headed String Along and held a slender lead over Sprint Star and Hatsuhana, as the runners straightened for home. All the jockeys got busy at this stage and the whips began to move. The one that responded best to these urgings was Sprint Star. He emerged from the pack and strode away the others. Suraj alerted him with a few taps, and after getting into the desired momentum, rode him hands and heels till the finishing line. The fight thereafter was only for the minor placings. While Carla hung-on to her second spot, it was One Life To Love that caught the eye. She made up lots of ground to beat String Along and Hatsuhana near the winning post, thereby saving place money for her supporters. In his present form, it is difficult to visualize Sprint Star getting beaten in a similar event later in the season.

Suraj scored another point astride a popular favourite named One For The Money (Juniper-Eastern Sky). Having won his last two starts in summer, this Lokanath-trainee was bidding to complete a quick hat-trick. Suraj had partnered him in his last outing and was doing so once again today. The start of this race was marred by some terrible jostling. While Miss Ruby, Skyliner and Sweet Surrender were squeezed out by this incident, Suraj was lucky to escape. One For The Money forced a passage through the traffic jam, and settled nicely behind a runaway Another Destiny. The on-money choice made a serious bid in the straight and managed to go past a tired Another Destiny. Sweet Surrender proved to be too good for the others as he was seen putting-in some terrific work at the end of this race. The Nityanand-trainee will be too good to miss the day he runs amongst horses in his own age group.

Lokanath utilized the services of PS Chouhan on the bottom-weighted Equanimity (Tirol-Vaga Follia) in a sprint race for horses in class III. The fact that this horse was getting chunks of weight from other three-year-olds like Capote, Win Again and Daring Dynamite looked like a big plus in his favour. The scene unfurled on similar lines. Chouhan allowed Daring Dynamite and Capote to lead Equanimity into the straight. The moment he released his grip, the race was over. Equanimity lengthened his strides and ran away for an impressive victory over a late-finishing Win Again and Daring Dynamite. Capote slowed down in his tracks to finish a poor fourth.

A similar performance from Dhariwal's Airplay (Fantastic Light-Payola) resulted in the colt trouncing a packed group of a dozen acceptors. The mile-trip was tailormade for this runner, and he too justified the confidence of the punters. In the hands of Stephane, he quickened nicely in the straight to overtake Never Say Goodbye and Glitterato. A couple of taps were all that were required to post an impressive victory. Elite Land and Chronicle came with sustained runs from the back to take the minor placings. The winner looks capable of repeating on promotion.

Another horse trained by Dhariwal was the biggest flop of the afternoon. Four-year-old filly Portatone had shown signs of running back into old form by ending a suggestive third at the end of the Bangalore Summer Season. She was subjected to further preparation and entrusted to apprentice Rajesh today. The confidence of the stable was reflected on the betting boards. The filly had been backed down from evens, and was starting as the half-money favourite to win this race. Portatone was rushed to the front and was seen leading into the straight. This early speed took its toll by the time she came into the final furlong. Potatone slowed down perceptibly, and this allowed the Md Khan-trained Dramatic Dancer (Eljohar-Ice Castle) to come closer. The five-year-old made her move, came with a flourish and sailed away from her younger opponent. One In All rallied from the back to take the third spot ahead of Perfect Bond.

A small field of six faced the starter in a rare handicap race restricted to three-year-olds. Mysore based Jeevika's Queen (Emerald Cat-Anushka) was being opposed by the Bangalore-based pair of Rising Sun and Rosie's Dream. The form of the other three runners was so poor that they were not even considered by the racegoers. Rising Sun and Jeevika's Queen received equal support in the betting rings. In the hands of Appu, Rising Sun showed early sparkle and led from Jeevika's Queen. Rosie's Dream raced a couple of lengths behind the pair of leaders, while the rest were outpaced from the very beginning. Rising Sun and Jeevika's Queen strode side by side for the entire length of the straight. It was only in the last 20 metres that Jeevika's Queen put her neck in front and managed to beat the leader near the winning post. B Sreekanth rode a powerful finish astride this winner.

The day began with the only big surprise of the day. 100/1 outsider Regal Hostess (Midtown-Royal Engagement) led from the beginning and lasted out to land the spoils. This Neil Darashah had shown no signs of her winning potential either on the training track or in an actual race. Lokanath-trained Alpine Shine was the rage in this race. Her form was much better than any of these horses belonging to the lowest class. Sreekanth tried everything that he could possibly do with Alpine Shine, but it wasn't good enough. Apprentice Prabhakaran's handling suited Regal Hostess perfectly, and she made sure that she was never headed. Arsenio ran prominently to end a fair third.

The day ended with a superb victory for Natraj's Own Way (Warrshan-Shirley Valentine). This three-year-old was running in a handicap reserved for Mysore-based horses. Last outing winner Seriously Perfect and Own Way were considered to be much better than the other ten runners in this race. This pair of three-year-olds had clashed earlier in their career, wherein, Own Way had beaten Seriously Perfect by a shade under four lengths. If you considered the weight difference between the two of them today, there was no way that you could look beyond Own Way in this race. However, there was a "big news" on Seriously Perfect. It was rumoured that the filly had improved beyond recognition and that was the reason why jockey Neeraj Rawal had made the trip from Pune to ride her. The betting in the rings confirmed this news. Seriously Perfect was backed at all prices to start as an even-money favourite in this race. What happened on the track was an anti-climax. Neeraj Rawal's antics in the saddle were unable to get a response from the filly. He tried sitting in the saddle repeatedly, but even that did not work. Seriously Perfect could do no better than finish a very poor fourth. On the other hand, Own Way performed on known lines and registered a facile victory. The six-length verdict and the smart timing that he clocked today, completed the rest of the story.