Four objections, two in the plum event and a stewards enquiry, following  B Darshan astride One Diamond, who was unseated in the Udhagamandalam Trophy kept the stewards and stipes busy on Thursday. And to the credit of the stipes and stewards of the Mysore Race Club (MRC), it must be mentioned that they satisfactorily  provided the judgements on all the protests to the delight and satisfaction of the racing buffs. 

Out of the four protests, two objections were frivolous. Arvind Kumar guiding the fortunes of the overwhelming favourite Irish Coffee, who was involved in a rare dead-heat with Prashanth Dhebe partnering Achook protested that Dhebe while packing punch on Achook had hit his hand and as a result he lost his whip in the final 50 metres which cost him a certain race. It was clear from the many replays from different angles that Dhebe at no stage of the race had struck Arvind's hand with his whip and that the pilot of the public choice was taking a chance hoping to hoodwink the stipes and stewards and gain a favourable result in his favour. It didn't work and the dead-heat verdict stayed, the knowledgeable in the board room exposing Arvind's big lie. 

Next was Suraj  Narredu's protest against Akshay Kumar astride  the winner River Of Gold in the concluding event. It surprised most considering the fact that Suraj a top `Knight' back after his successful stint in Australia had chosen to lodge a protest when he was beaten fair and square on Burmese. It was clear that  Suraj who was frustrated after he lodged a valid protest  which failed to impress the wise men and to rub salt to the wound he was relegated to third spot, the stewards upholding Akshay Kumar's protest against Suraj partnering Shamrock. Akshay lodged an objection that Suraj shifted out and interfered with the progress of the favourite Evaldo at a crucial juncture and as a result he couldn't ride out his mount in the final furlong. Suraj's contention was that Antony Raj piloting the winner Agnostic had shifted out and taken his ground and he while taking evasive action had to shift out causing a chain reaction. It was clear that Antony Raj had taken Suraj's ground shifting out in the final furlong. Antony Raj did admit he  shifted out while pointing out that he immediately corrected the drift and that Agnostic had made no contact with Shamrock. The stewards provided  Antony the benefit of doubt and it appeared  it was a right decision. While this was right, the decision to uphold  Akshay's protest against Suraj was debatable and this perhaps may have frustrated Suraj who chose to pitch what really was a no case to lodge a protest in the upper division of the Somanathpur Plate run over a distance of seven furlongs. 

Punters started the day on a winning note, the Girinath schooled War Song successfully landing a big gamble in the opening event. The winner was backed down from (9/2) to (5/4) in the betting ring and much to the delight of all his supporters the Girinath ward powerfully piloted by Kiran Rai edged out D Golden Cup at the shadow of the winning post in the lower division of the Virija Plate run over 1100 metres dash. Second in demand at the betting ring, Top Rank managed to save money in place, while City Of Hustle completed the frame. 

The upper division also produced a tight finish, the two top fancies, the favourite Red Hills and Meraki from Rakesh's yard partnered by apprentice Koshi Kumar fighting a ding-dong battle all the way in the straight before the seasoned John astride Red Hills gained the day in the final few yards. Mystical Merlin finished third ahead of City Of Gravitas who was  fancied strongly in place but lost out, failing to overhaul Mystical Merlin in the straight. Meraki in defeat was not disgraced and it will pay to again follow this Rakesh trainee, when saddled next. 

Before Parvati Byramji's River Of Gold proved too good in the upper division of the Somanathpur Plate run over a distance of seven furlongs, Embosom from Lokanath's yard edged out Mighty Swallow partnered by Arvind Kumar in a pulsating contest. in the lower division of the event. Shreyas Singh in determined fashion packed punch on the public choice Embosom and spared a `neck' to Mighty Swallow who drifted out in the closing stages and this cost the Pradeep ward dear at end. Sensational Title caught the eye while finishing third and is one for the notebook.  

Advantageously placed in at the scales, Victoriano from G Srinivas' yard made every post a winning one in the Udhagamandalam Trophy. The winner drawn on the outside box (12)  in the dozen-horse field  jumped out smartly and shot into the lead and never let the initiative slip, sprinting nice and  easy in the hands of Dhebe to register an impressive  victory, pegging back the challenge of the overwhelming public choice Anushtubha from leading trainer Rakesh's yard  partnered by Antony Raj. The other fancied runner in this field, Janeiro from Michael Eshwer's yard found the first two too hot to handle and had to rest content with the third spot. 

The Pradeep-trained Amreli garnered the maximum support in the Pune Plate run over a distance of seven furlongs, but the favourite piloted by top gun Trevor Patel  after calling the shots for most part of the race failed to keep going and eventually failed to finish in the board. Rankoutsider Peyo from Satish Narredu's yard shocked the followers of form, coming up trumps in the hands of  Salman Khan, edging out Win My Luv and Clever Hans in a cluster finish, while the second in demand at the betting ring, Shabelle finished a tame fourth ahead of Amreli.