Most racing pundits and a majority of old hats in the game were of the view that the Cubic Mysore Derby is strictly a two-horse affair, the winner of the 2000 Guineas John Wick and the runner-up Bourbonaire set to dominate the finish of the blue riband of the season. The local mainhope Aabushan after his below par effort in the colts classic was struck out from the chance list and the Hyderabad challenger Amigo was dumped and ignored even before he made his journey from the city of nawabs to the city of palaces. The Leader had no takers after he had finished fourth behind the runner-up Bourbonaire and the third-placed Mandarino in the second classic of the season. The fact that the top saddle artiste Suraj Narredu, who had partnered The Leader in the Colts championship had now decided to guide the fortunes of Bourbonaire was a clear indicator that the Satish Narredu ward would beat The Leader again in the mega event. Mandarino was one other contestant in the half-dozen hopefuls for the pot of gold, but he too was not considered a serious threat to John Wick and Bourbonaire simply because the two frontliners had convincingly beaten the Irfan trainee in their last head-to-head classic clash and the pundits stuck their neck out and announced that Mandarino was not really suited for the 2000 metres classic trip. 

Well Mandarino, Irfan and the young Alex Rozario proved all the pundits wrong, galloping home strongly to wear the Derby sash. Bourbonaire performed to the best of his ability, again gaining the runner-up berth ahead of The Leader, while the favourite John Wick, it was clear lacked the stamina and speed to make a mark over a trip which he failed to successfully negotiate. All credit to Irfan who sent out Mandarino fighting fit for the big event and his trust in Alex Rozario to do the big job after the in-form pro Antony Raj had piloted him in the 2000 Guineas and was available to partner him again in the blue riband of the season. 

After the six colts jumped out, John Wick briefly headed the field before The Leader from Azhar Ali's yard piloted by Trevor Patel hit the front and set a decent pace all through the backstretch. The Leader and Trevor called the shots at the top of the straight before Suraj packed punch on Bourbonaire  and the Satish ward responding gamely to his master's call quickly gained control before Rozario setalight Mandarino and the 12 to one long shot bravely pulled the rug under the feet of Bourbonaire to emerge a deserving winner of the biggest plum of the season. The Leader hung on to take the third spot ahead of John Wick who at no stage looked good enough to trouble the top three in the classic fight. 

The principal added attraction, the Mysore Race Club Anniversary Cup  sponsored by sporting owner Swaroop Kumar, who played a stellar role while making all Mysore proud, sponsoring the first Indian Turf Invitation Cup at this centre was claimed by the public rage Shamrock confidently piloted by Suraj Narredu. "The best horse won the prestigious event and I'm happy sharing the big moment with the winning owners," said Swaroop adding that apart from racing he is a enthusiastic golfer ever willing to promote big sporting events. 

On a day form played true, the Arjun Manglorkar schooled Czar justified favouritism, coming up tops in the Bangalore Turf Club Trophy run over a sprint. The winner piloted by Antony Raj who bagged the champion jockey title produced a sparkling gallop in the final furlong to edge out the eight to one shot, The Perfect Choice and the lesser fancied last start winner Brave Trooper from the stables of leading pro Rakesh,.who emerged the champion trainer. This is Rakesh's 17th champion trainer success and first in the main season. "I'm immensely pleased to wear the crown in the main season. The big season is very competitive, top trainers and horses coming in from Bangalore and other centres and I'm happy that I topped the elite list," said Rakesh. 

The Grey Geranium from trainer Lokanath Gowda's yard, Southern Force from the stables of Faraz Arshad, Padmanabhan-trained Mystikos and the Bobby schooled Silver Days Again who brought off a successful coup in the concluding event, the lower division of the RCTC Trophy were the four other favourites who helped the punters have the better of exchanges on the D-day. It was a wonderful comeback win for Padmanabhan, back in business with a bang and ready to prove a point in the winter season starting on Rajyotsava day. Vivek, who partnered Mystikos, earlier booted home the ten to one shot Free To Play from Kishan Thomas's yard, who upset the applecart of the heavily backed favourite Dynamic Force in the Hyderabad Race Club Trophy run over a distance of seven furlongs.