Satish Narredu's three year old Shivalik Star put up another impressive performance while trouncing his rivals in The Udhagamandalam Cup, the feature in a card of eight events held at Mysore on Thursday. The bay gelding re-confirmed the high opinion that he had created with a couple of smashing victories during the Summer Season at Bangalore. The handicapper had rated him at 69 points prior to this race. There is no doubt that after today's performance, he will find himself in the highest category. Because of a physical "condition" as a youngster at the farm, his breeder was unable to find a buyer. Despite his international breeding, there were many who doubted his ability to participate in an actual race. The breeder finally chose to race him in his own colours. The manner in which he bulldozed the opponents into submission in his very first start was quite commendable. There were suddenly quite a few people who were interested in owning him. Racing in his new colours, he succeeded as a money-back favourite in his next start. It was no different today. The bookmakers refused to take any chances on this runner and offered a measly 30/100 on him. He was the only three year old in a dozen horse field, and his victory amongst a set of Class II handicappers looked like a forgone conclusion.

For a change, Suraj chose to ride him differently today. Instead of rushing Shivalik Star to the front, he took a smart jump and settled him perfectly behind Cute Style. Running like a seasoned campaigner, Shivalik Star cruised in second place and waited for his master's instructions. A mere nudge at the top of the straight was all that was required. He gained further momentum and strode away for a fluent victory. He stopped the clock in a top class timing. In a scramble for the minor berths, Cute Style retained her early advantage and finished marginally ahead of Affirmative. It is learnt that Shivalik Star may miss the Mysore Classics. Wanting to increase the distance steadily, the trainer is planning to run him next over 1400 metres in The Daisy Appoo Memorial Trophy. Shivalik Star is definitely a strong horse that is likely to go places in his career.

Suraj had won an earlier race with another firm favourite named Attractive Bay from his father's stable. This well bred filly was an expensive purchase as a youngster. She had flopped miserably in maiden company and failed to touch the board in all four starts at Bangalore. Satish had chosen to run her at her own mark today. Since her best effort had been over seven furlongs, it was decided to find a similar race for her. Attractive Bay had done some smart work on the training track. With the weights in her favour, and a top class jockey on board, she started as the first choice of the punters. Suraj decided to take her to the front and dictate terms from the word "go”. The filly strode freely and made every post a winning one. Her jockey looked back in the straight before easing her near the winning post. Jeyems Pride made a late bid to take the second place ahead of Endurance. Despite bursting a blood vessel, Endurance finished powerfully in the final furlong and showed that he is back at a winning mark.

The upper division of this race was annexed by Rakesh's River Gem. The six year old had caused a major upset during the opening weekend of this season, when he had made every post a winning one. Because of his rider's allowance, he had carried a feather-weight on that day. He was now conceding chunks of weight to his rivals and the presence of rookie Mubarak in the saddle failed to enthuse punters today. He started as one of the longest priced runners in this race. A mere look at the betting boards indicated that this was expected to be a match race between Argentum and Mellonsdelight. The pair replaced each other a number of times at the top of the charts. With Argentum losing all his chances by taking a fly-jump at the gates, the Mellonsdelight camp became hopeful. They saw their choice holding second spot behind River Gem till the two furlong marker. The race took a serious turn at this stage. Both of them came under pressure and rolled off the rails. River Gem moved further outwards and crossed the path of Mellonsdelight, but his powerful strides enabled him to win by a widening margin of four and a half lengths. Despite Vivek's frantic whipping, Mellonsdelight refused to improve further. However, Vivek chose to raise an objection against the winner. The same was thrown out by the Stewards in the quickest possible time.

A classy display of riding by champion jockey PS Chouhan enabled B Puttanna's Vega to lift The Original Vel B Ashok Kumar Memorial Gold Cup. He literally grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat near the finishing line. Favourite Brownie led in the early stages before he was passed by Rusty. This Amit Caddy trainee went further ahead and established  what looked like a winning lead in the straight. The fancied pair of Brownie and Hillton had flopped under pressure and retired from the fray. Vega emerged from the pack and went in chase of the leader. With Chouhan goading him continuously, Vega started to chip away at the leaders advantage. He surmounted the difficult task by getting up on the very last stride and bagging the first prize. Hot Stuff appeared late on the scene to finish a very close fourth. Apprentice Saddam Hussain earned the wrath of the Stewards for his feeble efforts astride this runner. The youngster has been suspended for a month.

An extremely close finish was witnessed in The Mrs Ammani Ramachandran Memorial Cup. This sprint was reserved for Mysore based horses categorized in Class III. Monappa's Lotus Pond was backed by her connections, and she just about managed to justify their confidence. Rank outsider Sterling Cruise darted to the front and dictated terms to the fancied trio of Lotus Pond, Masteroftheseas and Emerald. The order remained exactly the same as they took the rising ground and turned for home. With Sterling Cruise refusing to slow down, the jockeys on those behind him got nervous. Gnaneshwar pulled out his stick on Lotus Pond and rode her furiously. Rajesh Kumar astride Masteroftheseas and Shiva Kumar on Emerald were equally active. For a brief while it seemed as though we were in for another "shocker". The leader continued his domination a bit further. In a sudden turn of events, Lotus Pond got up in time to beat Sterling Cruise into second place. Masteroftheseas and Emerald ended within touching distance of the first two finishers. Only a length separated the four of them.

Racegoers who follow Mysore racing are generally careful while wagering on horses in the lowest category. It has been noticed that more often than not, rank outsiders are able to spring frequent surprises. This fact was emphatically confirmed on Thursday. The first three events were reserved for horses rated 0-25. Britto trained Star Crest, who had failed to touch the board in this calendar year, was the lowest rated runner in a field of eleven. One more unplaced effort would have forced the handicapper to give her a minus rating. Thunder and Perfect Speed were the two fancied runners in this race. With Thunder taking a lethargic start, Perfect Speed was pushed to the front. The four year old responded nicely to Christopher's urgings and opened-up a nice looking lead into the straight. 30/1 outsider Star Crest was his nearest challenger. The filly crept along the rails and utilized her nine kilo advantage over the leader. With apprentice Noornabi making free use of the whalebone, she got up in time to beat Perfect Speed near the winning post. Thunder started to gallop after the race was over, and the favourite could do no better than finish a close third. He can be placed to win in similar company over a slightly longer trip.

Just as punters were getting over the initial shock, they were landed a couple of blows by a pair of runners from Bobby's stable. The trainer combined effectively with apprentice Santosh Kumar to win the next two races in the day's card. The sparingly raced Land Of Gold was running for the first time this season. Even though the seven furlong trip was suited to his style of running, not many gave a chance to this contender. Land Of Gold chased Coastal Express till the bend before assuming command of the situation. He enjoyed a four length lead near the furlong marker, and this enabled him to win this race. Public choice Corbett Queen made up much ground thereafter, but it was all in vain. She finally settled for the runner-up berth ahead of a late finishing Attaturk.

In his last outing a fortnight ago, Voodoo Moon had scored an unexpected victory. The seven year old had been penalized for that effort. However, with Bobby claiming three kilos off his back, Voodoo Moon was almost close to his winning mark. In the absence of a clear favourite, there was money riding on a number of horses. Think Big showed early speed and dictated terms till the bend. Voodoo Moon, who was always second, went ahead thereafter. A short burst of speed enabled him to skip clear of Jeyem and Divine Strike. His trainer needs to be complimented for winning two races with this old horse within a short span of two weeks.