Arjun Mangalorkar's three year-old colt Immense (Gaswar-Alto Miss) produced a sparkling turn of foot in the straight, and romped home to an impressive victory in The Fernhill's Palace Mysore 2000 Guineas 2010 (Grade III). In the process, he emphatically reversed the form and verdict with on-money favourite Sun Kingdom. The pair of them had clashed twice earlier in the Bangalore Summer Classics, and on both occasions, Sun Kingdom had finished way ahead of Immense.

Arjun had been truly impressed with Immense's second to Sun Kingdom in the Colts Trial Stakes, and had somehow convinced the owners to pay a hefty sum of Rs 1 Million to enable him to come in as a final entry in The Kingfisher Derby. The sporting owners were disappointed with their colt's run in the big race. He had shown signs of discomfort by sweating profusely that afternoon and had worked himself up in the parade ring, before leaving for the starting stalls. For the records, he had run listlessly and finished off the board on that day. As compared to his run in the Colts Classic, the verdict between him and Sun Kingdom in the Derby had more than doubled.

I remember speaking to his trainer later that evening, and he was obviously disappointed. Arjun had summed it up by stating that “Immense is capable of much better!!” The second Classic of the Mysore Season had attracted a small field of seven runners. Ordained One was the only one amongst the others who merited attention, as he too had been running prominently in recent months. The bookmakers refrained from offering more than half-money on Sun Kingdom, as they felt that this race was a mere formality. The free-striding horse had been performing consistently and there was no reason to believe that he would do anything different. The only factor that stood out was the lack of a run this season. In the interim, Arjun had taken Immense to Hyderabad a month ago and won the Colts Classic at that centre.

He was, therefore, expected to run at the top of his form. Immense was easily backable at fours and over today. On the other hand, Irfan Ghatala had shifted Sun Kingdom to Mysore for a couple of days. He had given the horse a feel of the local track by running him in a mock race. Irfan felt that this was good enough to win against the present opposition. The pair of Adonis and Sunny's Secret charged out of the gates and made the early running in this race. Immense had settled nicely in third, while Sun Kingdom took the fourth spot ahead of Ordained One and Astounding Gallop. Both John on Immense and Prakash astride Sun Kingdom looked content to allow their mounts to gallop well within themselves, as the runners made their journey towards the home turn. With the first two running out of steam at the bend, we soon had a new leader.

John had eased Immense into the lead and was about a length clear of Sun Kingdom as they straightened for home. Prakash had been alert to the proceedings and was taking no chances with the favourite. Sun Kingdom was known to possess powerful acceleration and Prakash was obviously banking on his reserves. With the tension building up in the stands, both the jockeys pulled out their sticks at the same juncture and urged their respective mounts to surge forward. There was a hushed silence thereafter, as the responses they got were quite unexpected.

While Immense responded gamely to John's call and strode majestically towards the winning post, Sun Kingdom faltered under pressure and struggled to keep Ordained One and Astounding Gallop at bay. The winning margin of a widening three and a half lengths, and a timing of a shade over 1 minute and 37 seconds, describes the complete picture of this brilliant performance. Quite a few facts emerged at the end of this race. Immense was greeted with a thunderous applause as he made his way back to the unsaddling enclosure. The racing public at this centre is always ready to recognize a champion.

He has stormed onto the Derby scene, and in all probability, shall be installed as the first favourite on the last weekend of this season. Immense is getting into the Mysore Derby as a final entry. John has been getting better and better in the past few months, and it is time to acknowledge him as one of the top riders in the country. It will be wrong to fault Prakash for his riding on the favourite. He gave Sun Kingdom every possible chance of winning this race, but the horse wasn't good enough.

Today's performance was definitely below par, and it shall be interesting to see what Irfan plans to do with Sun Kingdom in the near future. Sun Kingdom will have to improve dramatically to get the better of Immense within the next two weeks. The winning owners Syed Ainuddin Arif and Shiven Surendranath were absolutely delighted with today's result. Both of them have been lucky with their purchases in the past. It was an extra special moment for the former, as he had won the same Classic last year with Sprint Star. The last few years have seen Arjun Mangalorkar being acknowledged as a formidable force in the "Classic Arena". The year 2008-09 saw his Abs Fabs winning the Derbys at Mysore and Kolkata. In the month of March, he travelled with Tomsk to New Delhi and picked up the local Derby.

Aboline's exciting victory in The Kingfisher Derby in July of that year is still fresh in our minds. Conceptual ended his classic campaign of 2009 with successes in the St Legers at Bangalore and Hyderabad. Immense is the new "Star" in his stable. This chestnut colt has left a wonderful impression in the minds of those who saw him galloping on Tuesday. Immense is blessed with speed and stamina, and the astute trainer is bound to exploit his true potential. Byramji-trained The Last Samurai (Glory Of Dancer – Chasing Shadow) was the public choice in The Alekona Trophy, a mile handicap for horses in Class II.

Having placed in his last two starts, this blinkered runner was receiving weight from most of his opponents. Dhariwal-trained Oban had beaten him at the beginning of this season, but the penalty Oban had received for that effort appeared to be quite steep. The trainer tried to ease the burden by claiming an allowance on the filly. Imran Chisty took a good jump with The Last Samurai and decided to tuck him behind the leading pair of Solitary Champ and Super Spear.

The other runners were seen racing in a single file, with Oban gracing the rear. The leaders shifted out near the bend and left a yawning gap on the inner rails. Imran Chisty decided to take this gap and asked his horse to do so. By the time The Last Samurai reacted, the gap was closed. Imran Chisty was caught in a traffic jam and the poor horse had nowhere to go. In a sudden turn of events, the gap appeared once again. The Last Samurai charged through the space and reached the winning post, only a neck separating him from a fast finishing Oban. Those who had backed this favourite must consider themselves lucky for having "collected' on him today.

Spark Of Desire (Emerald Cat – Rainbow Sunset) had come from way off the pace in her last start and won a mile race for horses in Class IV. She was asked to do the same in the higher class on Tuesday. The confidence of her connections was reflected in the fact that they had declared John to ride this filly in The Justice P Medapa Memorial Trophy. There was no way that this boy was going to make the weight, and was bound to carry more than the assigned handicap. Spark Of Desire tracked the front group and swung widest into the straight.

The long lead established by second favourite Golden Quest at that stage, soon disappeared. Spark Of Desire devoured ground on the wide outside and won comfortably. She looks like a good stayer, and it shall be interesting to watch her progress in the winter season. The manner, in which she puts her head down and gallops, is quite encouraging. Jockey Imran Khan had another profitable afternoon on Tuesday. After scoring a double yesterday, he repeated the feat today. The retained rider of Dr MAM Ramaswamy enabled a couple of runners belonging to his owner win today. He rode identical races on both the winners. Ruby Legend (Inner City – Ruby Lights) was held back in second place till the runners entered the final furlong of The Margrove Estate Gold Cup. She was given her head in the final stages to get the better of Sher Dil, Spicy Star and Social Climber.

It was the same story astride Liberty Ship. Imran allowed Fleeting Spirit to lead till the distance post, before pouncing on her. Liberty Ship (Ontario – Isle Of Mull) came alongside and was soon at the helm of affairs. She had to be ridden really hard before reaching the winning post. The fact that Fleeting Spirit had burst a blood vessel during the race appears to have helped the winner's cause. A real close and exciting finish was witnessed in the concluding race of the day. Spark Of Napoleon, Tirolino and Super Gold had the best credentials to win this scurry.

Despite the presence of apprentice Rajesh Kumar astride Spark Of Napoleon, the connections decided to back him with confidence. He started as an even-money favourite ahead of the other two. The speedy Jugnu sprinted ahead and showed the way to Spark Of Napoleon, Super Gold and Tirolino. The four of them were spread right across the track as they moved towards the wire. At one stage, they were in such close proximity of each other, that it was difficult to separate them.

However, Super Gold (Ajaad – Venus) shot through the pack and edged out Tirolino near the winning post. Gaurav Sapra raised an objection against Pradeep on the grounds of interference, but the same was over-ruled by the Stewards.