Racing action resumed on the local turf on Thursday with the commencement of the Mysore Main Season 2010. Although the sport continues almost un-interrupted at this centre from May till February of the following year, the present season assumes much greater significance. This is the period when the Bangalore-based horses participate regularly, and also stake their claims alongside the local challengers in the prestigious Mysore Classics.

It all ends with the running of the Mysore Derby during the second half of October. The opening day's programme was dominated by the visiting group. A bumper card of ten races was framed for the afternoon, with a lone event being reserved for those based at Mysore. Bangalore-based horses won all the nine races that were "open" to them, and reconfirmed the fact that they were superior to their local counterparts. Since most of them carried the confidence of the racing public, it was a fruitful afternoon for those who had chosen to "bet" today.

The HH Sri Narasimharaja Wadiyar Memorial Gold Cup happened to be the day's feature. It was a sprint handicap for horses in the highest class. A large bunch of 20 acceptors was split into two divisions. Top-weighted Atlantus headed a group comprising of last season winners like Magnanimity, Dare Don, Jersey Pride, Classic Charge, Tina's Triumph and Stone Of Destiny.

Winner picking looked extremely difficult in the upper division of this race. Classic Charge was installed as a marginal favourite ahead of the others. Apart from being the youngest horse in this group, he was being ridden by Suraj Narredu. However, this scenario did not last very long. Some strong support for Atlantus saw him climbing to the top of the betting boards. His fans felt that since their choice was winless for a longish period of time, and those opposing him today had been receiving penalties for their recent successes, the Sharat Kuma- trained Atlantus was the "best" at the weights. The final result of this race proved them to be absolutely right.

The speedy Jersey Pride and Magnanimity led a closely bunched field till the bend, and were in front as the runners entered the straight. Atlantus was content to race off the pace while Classic Charge was seen struggling on the wide outside. The race took a serious turn in the final furlong. Just as Magnanimity got the better of Jersey Pride and set sail for home, he was challenged by Atlantus. The others at the back were a tired lot and it became apparent that the race was restricted to the two front-runners.

With Imran Khan pulling out all stops on Magnanimity and John urging Atlantus to surge forward. the excitement began to build in the stands. Amidst wild cheering of the Atlantus camp, this brave horse got stronger at the finish and posted a confident victory. Jersey Pride plodded along to take the third spot ahead of a tired Classic Charge. The lower division saw raw apprentice Nausad Alam guiding Suleiman Attaolahi’s Silken Thomas to a bloodless victory. Here again, a Suraj-ridden horse was the first favourite.

Neil Darashah's Dream Park was making her debut in Class I. Her late finishing effort behind Flaming Lamborgini in her previous start was considered to be good enough to win today. She was quoted at an unbackable 45/100 in the betting rings. Dream Park was lethargic at the gates and was seen making up ground as the race progressed. She met with slight interference near the home turn and that seemed to retard her progress. In the meanwhile, Nausad Alam was having a nice time. His mount Silken Thomas was asking for his 'head", and the boy was good enough to hold him till the bend. The moment he saw the front-runners tiring and rolling off the rails, he decided to take the shortest possible way. Silken Thomas rallied along the rails and charged for home.

Riding hands-and-heels, Nausad distinguished himself by riding a balanced finish. Dream Park was heavily punished to finish marginally ahead of local challenger Red Dawn. John and Suraj were the only professionals to score more than once today. After Atlantus's victory in the day's feature, John steered Arjun Mangalorkar's Mega Joy to a comfortable win in the last race of the day. She led from the start and managed to stave off a belated challenge from the Stephane ridden Rumour Proof.

The two of them finished almost a distance clear of Defiance. After the failure of Dream Park and Classic Charge, Suraj had compensation in the form of Dance To The Tune and Colonel Duff. Lokanath's Dance To The Tune had won her maiden race on the last day of the Bangalore Summer Season. She had shown that she would be better over a slightly longer trip, and Lokanath was quick to take the hint. He campaigned her over seven furlongs in a handicap for horses in Class IV.

Suraj rode her for eventual speed, and the filly responded gamely to get the better of Royal Surprise near the winning post. His win astride Byramji's Colonel Duff was relatively easier. Despite his widest draw, Colonel Duff improved on his own and joined the leaders near the final bend. Suraj had him on a tight leash while taking over the running. Although Free Spirit made a late charge towards the favourite, Colonel Duff raced well within himself. A couple of taps saw him holding onto his advantage over Free Spirit and Wild Temper.

The easiest victory of the day was posted by Ganapathy's String Along. The filly had won back-to-back races at Bangalore before finishing a close fifth in one of the bigger events of the season. She was handicapped at the bottom of the scales in Class II. Apart from being the only three year-old in this group, she was also the best performed. Due to some strange and unknown reasons, the price on this filly began to rise steadily.

The bookmakers were generous enough to offer close to even-money at racetime. They were left to rue this generosity, as String Along pulverised her opponents and cantered home to an easy victory. The winning margin of a distance was achieved despite holding her back behind Chintz, till the runners straightened for home.

String Along should run prominently in the Mysore 1000 Guineas. A couple of fluent victories by Saddle Chief and Saratoga featured the rest of the afternoon. Saddle Chief was backed to the exclusion of his rivals and won as the shortest priced favourite of the day. The Dhariwal trainee had given indications of an impending success by running prominently at Bangalore. Ryan Marshall found the early pace a bit slow and was quick to ease his mount to the front. Saddle Chief tackled the mile trip with ease and had to be only shaken up in the last furlong to stay ahead of Royal Liason and Trafalgar Square. Saddle Chief was able to win this race because of the poor quality of his opponents, and it may take a long while for him to re-enter the winner's enclosure.

Britto's Saratoga surprised even her most ardent supporters by the manner in which she performed today. PS Chouhan allowed her to chase Different Opinion till the bend, before showing her daylight. The way she bounded forward was quite noticeable.

Saratoga charged away to win by a widening margin from Sprawling Elegance, Way To Fantasy and Spread A Smile. The filly is in great heart and is capable of converting her back-to-back victories into a hat-trick, provided she is raced among horses in her own age group.