The new alliance between trainer Darashah and jockey John continued to flourish, as the pair scored a lucrative double at Mysore on Wednesday. The veteran trainer has dropped Gnaneshwar in recent times and is entrusting most of his fancied runners to John. The young and talented boy has been delivering sincerely whilst making full use of these opportunities. Their two winners came in the form of Easy Rider and Amazon. Easy Rider won The Octogonal Trophy, the feature event in the day's card.

The sprint race for horses rated 60 and above was unable to attract any of the younger horses stationed at this centre. A lone five year-old named Super Sha joined his older mates, and a full contingent of 12 runners lined up to face the starter. On the basis of some fair performances in recent weeks, Sajid's Red Dawn opened as a clear favourite. In the face of some inspired support flowing in the direction of Special Force, he wasn't able to hold that position for more than a few minutes. Special Force had been unable to save place money in his last ten starts, and this had resulted in a huge drop in his ratings. Rakesh had requisitioned the services of Harish in his quest to land this gamble. These efforts were nearly successful, before John brought Easy Rider into the fray and spoilt the party.

With Red Dawn losing some precious ground at the start and Easy Rider taking off on the right leg, the race seemed tailormade for the heavily gambled horse. Special Force powered away into a good lead and had a firm hold on this race as the horses turned homewards. Harish had pulled out his stick and his mount was showing no signs of slowing down. However, John had other ideas. He produced Easy Rider on the centre of the track and began his assault on the leader.

The lead began to diminish with each stride but it seemed as though it had not been timed to perfection. The two horses came pounding towards the wire and were inseparable near the winning post. The race commentator called Special Force as the winner, but the camera told a different story. Easy Rider had managed to put his nose in front at the business end of the race. It was the closest finish that we have witnessed so far in this season. The two professionals had scored earlier in the day with Amazon. This maiden four year-old is the personal property of the trainer, and the victory of this 6/1 outsider was the result of some serious perseverance.

It is learnt that Amazon had a few setbacks in the early stages of his career. In this fifth run of the season, Amazon took a nice jump and after sitting second for most of the way, powered away to an easy victory. Fancied Romantic Design was unable to match strides with the winner, and for the second consecutive time, had to be content with the runner-up berth. A seven-furlong race for older horses in Class IV was split into two divisions. Sajid's Regal Image showed a clean pair of heels to the public choice Forever Grande, and gave jockey Noorulla a rare winner of his career. Regal Image had been knocking on the door by finishing close to the winner on numerous occasions. The other runners were totally outpaced and finished way behind the leading duo. The other division saw the biggest upset of the day. Jockey Amarpreet tasted success for the first time this winter.

He was relentless while riding Vishal Yadav's Pat On The Back, and did not relax after passing Maratha Conqueror near the distance post. This enabled him to hold the late and strong challenge posed by last outing winner Al Qamar. Only two firm favourites scored in the eight-event card on Wednesday. Rakesh trained Star Of Paradise was thrown in at the weights, and the six year-old reproduced that form with ease. The on-money favourite was content to sit behind Analika, Khoka and Nano Blue till well into the straight, before being alighted to his task.

A vigorous Madhu Babu made sure that he did not slow down near the winning post. Nano Blue and Wellington were able to save place money for their connections. Incidentally, it was once again Madhu Babu who was associated with the other successful favourite that won this afternoon. King Adler had run a blinder while losing by a short head in his only start in December. Trainer Monappa had obviously tuned him to perfection, as the horse came from the middle of a tightly packed field and ran away from Kaliyug Raja and a late finishing Pancho Pete.

The winner is capable of scoring an encore in the near future. Pratap Kamath's old man Artistic Way sprouted a pair of wings while accounting for Worth A Gold and All Round in a mile race for horses in Class III. The ten year-old Artistic Way came from the rear end of the field and showed that even at this age he retains his zest for racing. Some late support for Bee For You looked totally misplaced as the horse ran in snatches before finishing in the ruck. Bee For You has been showing poor form throughout this season and should be left alone till he shows some signs of improvement. The day's racing ended with a spectacular performance from the Kishore-trained Bullish Luck. This mare had been improving with each run, and had finished second in her previous start.

Her task looked extremely difficult today as she was facing some strongly fancied runners. Missiszippy, Dragonair and Royal View had strong support in the ring. The three of them were close behind each other as the field entered the straight. Just as Dragonair managed to seize the initiative, Rajesh Babu and Bullish Luck arrived on the scene. The five year-old's momentum carried her to a sensational victory.