Sharat Kumar trained Atlantus produced a sparkling gallop in the final furlong to lift The HH Sri Chamaraja Wadiyar Memorial Trophy at the Mysore Races on Thursday. The six year old burst through a tightly packed field, and after a brief duel with Missoni, went on to post a popular victory. By doing so, he confirmed the confidence reposed in him by his connections. Atlantus showed that he continues to maintain his fine form and immaculate condition by putting up such a performance. The day's feature had attracted a small group of eight runners. Quite a few amongst this bunch had good credentials. After reeling off three wins in a row, Lokanath's One For The Money had reached this class. The only question mark hovering over his head pertained to his ability to perform against horses in the highest category. Lads Gladiator and Missoni were known sprinters, and their recent form had been quite encouraging. But most of the money was riding on Atlantus. Despite conceding chunks of weight to his rivals, Atlantus received one-sided support in the betting rings. After encountering numerous problems in the back-stretch in a previous start, this horse had shown resilience to finish second on that day. Those who had witnessed the said performance were enthused to support him today. Even though he was shouldering a huge impost, they reposed confidence in him, and were absolutely delighted with their choice.

Bottom weighted Superb Style showed early speed to lead from Flash Flares, Lad's Gladiator and Missoni. After taking a level start, Atlantus was seen being scrubbed by John to maintain his sixth spot ahead of Mighty Heart and Rule Of People. The tightly bunched group skirted the rails and entered the straight. It was a pleasure to see them running in close vicinity of each other. They spread right across the track and at one stage it was almost impossible to pick a winner. Stephane made a quick move through the middle and eased Missoni into a slender advantage over the others. The pair of them were soon joined by Atlantus. Under some powerful riding from John, this brave galloper got the better of Missoni and sailed away for an exciting victory. Rule Of People responded to the stick to take the third spot ahead of Mighty Heart and Lads Gladiator. Sharat Kumar must be complimented for producing the winner in such good condition. It is difficult to remember a season in which Atlantus has failed to win at least one race.

The Daisy Appu Cup was the added attraction in the day's card. The race failed to attract the sort of talent it has done in the past. Only five accepted to face the starter. With Muqtadir, Own Way and Bavaria being no-hopers, it was considered to be a match race between Silken Touch and Secret Punch. The former was known to be comfortable over a galloping trip and today's 1400 metres was well within her grasp. Her fourth in The Mysore 1000 Guineas, wherein, she had finished on the haunches of Lovely Kiss was a good performance. On the other hand, Sirajuddin's Secret Punch was attempting to maintain his winning spree. He had won three times on the trot, but it had always been over a sprint. The extra furlong today was going to be a big test for him. Jockey Imran Khan conserved his energies by riding him in check on Thursday. He chose to track the favourite Silken Touch for most of the way. Stephane took Silken Touch to the front and asked her to quicken. The Attaollahi trained filly responded bravely and kicked away from Secret Punch and the others. The latter tried his best to bridge the gap, but the extra 3.5 kilos on his back made a huge difference. Silken Touch maintained a length's lead till they crossed the wire.

A smart performance from an aptly named Youre Wonderful was witnessed in The Nergis Darashah Memorial Trophy. The six year old put it across a bunch of younger horses to walk away with the honours. A much younger Equanimity tried to steal a march from the very beginning. Sreekanth pushed the public choice to the front ahead of Youre Wonderful, Honey Buzzard and Yas Marina. One look at Christopher's posture astride Youre Wonderful was enough to realize that he wasn't going to allow Equanimity to win easily today. That is exactly what happened. Youre Wonderful narrowed the gap with each stride and came alongside the leader. After a brief struggle, he beat the favourite near the winning post. Yas Marina rallied late on the wide outside to finish ahead of a tired Honey Buzzard.

Ganapathy trained Elite Land showed remarkable improvement while landing The SN Harish Memorial Trophy. He had been saddled with a small penalty for his dead-heat victory in an earlier start. He was running against a similar set of horses today. With some smart money being wagered on her, Byramji's Never Say Goodbye started as a firm favourite in this race. Apprentice Pradeep took her to the front, but was soon joined by Elite Land. The pair pulled away from their nine rivals. A small tap from Sreekanth elicited a perfect response from Elite Land. He darted forward near the two furlong marker, and strode away from Never Say Goodbye. Beautiful Life rallied late to take the third spot.

This completed a fine double for Ganapathy, who had won an earlier race with Scarlet Knight. This long priced winner stunned the followers of form. In the hands of a relatively ordinary jockey, this top weighted runner won with authority. M Ravi rode him from the front and the two of them raced alongside Aahana till the top of the straight. Racing towards the centre of the track, Scarlet Knight carried his jockey to the front and skipped clear of Beautiful Dancer, Mr Hurricane and Spark Of Knight. The last named was the medium of some spirited betting. It was reported that the connections had entrusted the horse to Guruprasad to get better odds from the bookmakers. It was difficult to remember the last time this boy had won a race. He was unable to offer much assistance from the saddle.

Three year old Signifies showed a lot of early speed to spreadeagle his rivals in a scurry event for horses in Class IV. Making use of the innermost draw, PS Chouhan took him to the front and stayed there till the very end. This horse had been backed heavily amongst a maiden set during the summer months. He was now running at a low mark in open company. Manohar trained Signifies won much easier than the official verdict. Headliner tried matching strides with the leader, but ran out of gas in the straight. It was left to last outing winner Superior Edge to take the runner-up berth.

Sirajuddin's Lightning Express won a handicap race restricted to three year olds. Strongly supported Biutiful leapt out of the gates and showed the way to Purple Glow and Lightning Express. The front runner was totally fatigued near the bend. She stopped suddenly and surrendered the lead to those behind her. A Imran Khan seized the golden opportunity by pushing Lightning Express. The light framed horse galloped resolutely to win comfortably from High Treason and Purple Glow. Rosie's Dream performed much below her known form to finish off the frame.

A similar thing happened in the last race of the day. Byramji's half-money favourite Abracadabra led from the start and maintained her advantage till the final furlong. It was at this stage that she was challenged by the Satish Narredu trained Strive And Serve. Under some forceful riding from Harish, Strive And Serve came and joined the leader. A third runner soon joined the fray. Inspirator moved menacingly from the back to come alongside. A camera was consulted to separate the three of them. A formal announcement confirmed that Strive And Serve had managed to nose out Abracadabra and Inspirator at the wire.