Piping hot favourite Princess Nero was a mute spectator, as she was passed with ease in the last furlong by Behram in The Rajakumari Leelavathi Devi Memorial Trophy, the feature event in a small card of six races on Wednesday at Mysore. This was a rare event for juveniles, in which winners could participate with penalties. The quality of three year-olds on display at Mysore this season has been a bit below par. Rakesh-trained Princess Nero had won her only career start with a measure of comfort. On that occasion she had beaten most of the horses, including Behram, who were opposing her today. Even though she was carrying the statutory penalty of four kilos for that victory, the ease and manner in which she had triumphed was indicative of a repeat performance.

The punters lost little time in backing her down to odds-on favouritism, and were counting their winnings as she led into the straight. What racegoers tended to ignore was the fact that Darashah is a veteran trainer, and his youngsters are sure to improve. Behram had run a couple of seconds in his two starts, and was available at 5/1 in the betting rings. He was reappearing after a nice gap and had been subjected to some steady preparation by his master. Most importantly, he had the best jockey in the race riding him. The trainer has requisitioned the services of John for the remainder of the season, and the talented youngster was declared to ride Behram today. Behram was allowed to shadow the favourite till the bend, and was pulled out thereafter.

He lengthened his strides and sailed past Princess Nero with a minimum of fuss. The winning margin was a widening two lengths. Hi Heineken was another distance behind in third place while the other four runners were totally eclipsed. A seven-furlong race for horses in the highest class saw the appearance of another highly regarded horse from the Darashah stable. Four year-old Ashkan had progressed to this group with a victory over a similar trip in the lower class. He had made light of a backbreaking 62 kilos on that day. With five kilos off his back and a top jockey to guide his fortunes, Ashkan was value for money at 90/100. John held him on a tight leash till the bend, and showed him daylight thereafter. Allowing Fire Brigade and Copenhagen to burn each other out before the final turn, Ashkan cruised to the front and had little difficulty in keep going.

Dare Don was almost a distance behind in second place, while Tantrik came from the rear to save place money for his connections. The paucity of races for horses in Class I at Mysore shall see Ashkan moving his base to Bangalore. He is a compact horse who is blessed with speed and stamina, and is capable of making a mark at the highest level. The two victories enabled Darashah and John to claim the professional honours for the afternoon. Another easy victory in the day's card came from Rakesh-trained Youremysensation.

Rookie Afsar won his second race on this horse and showed that he has improved beyond recognition. It was not very long ago that Youremysensation won a race in the lowest class. He was put up for sale but not many showed interest in buying him. The connections decided to campaign him regularly and the results are there for all to see. The horse has won three of his last few starts and shall now get rated in Class II. Monappa's World Is Toomuch was an on-money choice in this race. He seemed to have lost his galloping shoes, as he was under severe pressure to finish more than ten lengths behind the winner.

His third placed effort behind Bullish Luck was definitely not indicative of his true potential. The day started with a long overdue victory for Vivid Colours. The grey was a winner in a much higher set, but was winless in the last couple of years. She had come down to a negative rating and most racegoers wondered why the connections were continuing to keep her in training. Their decision was vindicated, when Vivid Colours began to move up today, and got up on the last stride to nail Mutual Fund near the winning post. Early leader Stinger showed the way till the bend and retired gracefully. Ultra consistent Smile again ran her usual race while finishing a close third. The last two races were won by outsiders Al Qamar and All Round. Kishore's Al Qamar showed a lot of resilience while overpowering the leading group of Pat On The Back, Event Horizon, Rich Rogue and Regal Image.

Harish kept him out of trouble and allowed him to gallop unhindered on the wide outside. The nine year old loved these tactics and maintained his momentum. The effort was good enough to see him getting the better of Rich Rogue and a late finishing I Wanna Fly in the closing stages of this seven furlong race. All Round closed the day’s proceedings with an end-to-end effort and scored fluently from Worth A Gold, Way To Wealth and Swiss Chocolate. The grey had been knocking on the door with some forward runs, but had been unfortunate to get beaten close home. Today's set was tailor-made to his liking and there was none that could match strides with him.

The winning margin of three lengths was like a compliment to the beaten brigade. The other three horses finished in a heap and there wasn't much between them at the wire. The one who impressed was Swiss Chocolate, who made up a lot of ground in the straight and ended a very close fourth. It is quite likely that he may win before the end of this season.