For the third day in succession, the colours of Dr MAM Ramaswamy raced prominently on the Mysore track. Jockey Imran Khan completed a hat-trick of "doubles" this week when he steered the Ganapathy-trained pair of The Darling Boy and Ready To Mingle to comfortable victories. Because of the Ayodhya crisis in the country and the over-active monsoons this year, the Mysore programme has been topsy-turvy in recent times.

It goes to the credit of the authorities at The Mysore Race Club, that they have been able to conduct five race meetings within the span of ten days. To hold 41 races in such a short period with over 400 participating horses is definitely a huge achievement. One will have to wait and see if this has any effect on racing in the coming weeks. The seven-event card on Thursday was conducted in ideal conditions. However, with the eclipse of strongly fancied favourites like Angelfire, Anna, Savvy Concept, Heat Haze and Saptashwa, the punters were at the receiving end all afternoon. The Civil Services Cup, a sprint handicap for horses rated 60 and above, attracted a full complement of a dozen acceptors. Despite a heavy burden of 65 kilos, the Dhariwal-trained Angelfire received unexpected support. She was backed all morning and was sent to the gates as a 5/4 favourite to lift this trophy.

She had won a couple of races during the summer season, and had remained unbeaten during that period. Furthermore, the trainer had decided to lighten Angelfire's burden by using the services of apprentice Vaibhav. But what most of her supporters forgot was that she was running after a gap of over three months, as also, that the small-made filly had never carried such a heavy impost to victory.

She was being opposed by last outing winner Ready To Mingle and Superb Style. The two of them had run first and fourth in the same race, and considering the winning penalty received by the former, the pair of them were closely matched today. Perfect Bond, Beau Monde and The Spartan set a furious pace, and the three of them raced abreast as the runners made their way towards the home turn. Superb Style and Ready To Mingle raced behind the leading group, while Angelfire lacked early speed and was running listlessly.

Apprentice Adarsh managed to push Superb Style through a yawning gap, and was soon at the helm of affairs. With the front runners rolling out under pressure, jockey Imran Khan decided to follow the safest path. He chased Superb Style like a shadow. It was quite evident that the race was restricted to the two of them. Ready To Mingle (Royal Gladiator – Stealing Beauty) was shown daylight thereafter and the six year-old mare was up to the task.

She came alongside Superb Style and wore him down. With Imran making free use of his whip, she lengthened her strides and won comfortably. Red Dawn and Super Sha came from the rear of the pack to take the minor placings. The handicapper seems to have gotten the measure of Angelfire, and this filly may need to come down in handicap before winning another race.

Ganapathy had earlier saddled The Darling Boy (Diffident – Avignon) to win The WT Craig-Jones Memorial Gold Cup. This horse had emerged from the maiden ranks after beating the highly regarded Clear Mandate during early September. The good timing that he had clocked over seven furlongs on that day indicated his superiority in today's set. Lokanath's Sparkling Cat was considered to be a danger, but the speedy filly was known to relish a shorter trip. The Darling Boy was held back in third behind Missiszippy and Milagro and was travelling nicely indeed. He was pulled out at the bend and asked to quicken. The Darling Boy darted clear of the pack and won easier than the official verdict.

Sparkling Cat galloped late on the wide outside to take the second spot ahead of Blue Origin and War Head. Both Ganapathy and Imran Khan have begun to climb the professional charts, and it may not surprise many if they manage to clinch their respective championships. The Delhi Race Club Cup, a terms event for maiden three year-olds saw a clash between Anna, Foswell and Elite Land. The three juveniles had been consistently figuring on the boards, but had somehow failed to emerge from the maiden ranks.

Anna had been distinctly unlucky when she had lost the second start of her career by a short head. Her recent track trials had been quite good and she was expected to win today. Those who had decided to back her at even-money were happy to see her travelling in the initial stages of the race. Imran Chisty had settled the filly nicely behind a runaway Elite Land.

On the other hand, Srinath had chosen to change his tactics astride Foswell (Hurricane State – Follow The Star). He restrained his mount in the backstretch and rode him for eventual speed today. Anna hit the front and was a couple of lengths clear of Foswell as the two runners entered the final furlong. The lead began to diminish with each stride, and for the backers of Anna, the last few seconds seemed really long. With Foswell responding to Srinath's whip, the two of them were locked together at the wire. In a bobbing of heads, Foswell got up on the last stride to beat Anna. Elite Land ended a tired third.

Trainer Sirajuddin's Jaanvi made mincemeat of her opponents in the day's opener. The odds on this three year-old filly expanded, as money began to flow in the direction of Sharat Kumar's Angel Queen. Jaanvi (Puerto Madero – Stealing Beauty) had run fifth on a couple of occasions in maiden company, and her recent track trials showed that she was ready to strike. On the other hand, Angel Queen had poor credentials. Even the track reporters hadn't seen her on the morning track.

Jaanvi took a good jump and sailed away from a bunch of helpless runners. Ryan Marshall was a mute spectator as his mount got stronger at the finish. Stinger, Silver Sceptre and Zooming filled the rest of the frame. Jaanvi raced on expected lines and her winning margin was close to a "distance". Angel Queen ran in patches to finish in the ruck. The day ended with a match-race between Heat Haze and Mark Of Genius.

The former had won her only career start and was bidding to make it two-in-a-row. She was handicapped at the top of class IV, and the well-bred Byramji-trained filly was known to possess a lot of class. Mark Of Genius (Diffident – Awareness) had run four times in recent months, and on each occasion, had figured on the board. Almost ten kilos separated them today. To the surprise of most racegoers, there was huge support for Mark Of Genius.

The Warren Singh camp backed him down from 3/1 and pushed him straight to the top of the betting boards. Apprentice Shiva Kumar allowed him to go to the front, and the horse responded to his call. Heat Haze was always second, while the others were battling to stay in touch with the leaders. Mark Of Genius kept responding to the boy's urgings, and retained his hold till the very end. He lasted out to beat Heat Haze into second place. The latter was impressive in defeat, as she had given so much weight to the winner. Heat Haze will definitely win her next start.