Racing at Mysore on Thursday was held in gloomy conditions with the sun hidden behind the clouds whole afternoon. The eight-event card was dominated by older horses as the Bangalore-based trainers had chosen to contribute a meagre number of acceptors. Even The Chief Ministers Gold Cup, the feature event of the day, had a small field of seven runners. Robert Foley helped in conducting this race by saddling four out of them. Champion jockey B Prakash chose to ride Wonder Smile in this event. Sirajuddin's Talk Of The Devil and Wonder Smile had run within a neck of each other in their previous clash. The handicap today was almost similar and another keen tussle was on the cards. On previous form, Wonder Smile stood tall amongst this set. Her performances in recent months had been pretty ordinary, and in terms of sheer handicapping, she was only marginally ahead of the rest. This nine-furlong race was suited to her style of running. The bookmakers were happy to offer even-money against her, while Talk Of The Devil and Our Little Savage cornered stray support in the betting ring. The favourite's stablemate Kingdom Of Heaven set a strong pace ahead of Our Little Savage and Talk Of The Devil, while the others were strung out in single file as the runners began to take the rising ground near the four-furlong marker. Wonder Smile was held back at the rear and Prakash made no effort whatsoever to improve her position at that stage. The supporters of the favourite were getting a little worried. Their worries were short-lived, as the scene changed alarmingly at the bend. The front-runners had shot their bolt and were unable to sustain their efforts. Talk Of The Devil had been popped the question and he had no answers. Our Little Savage was floundering under the whip and dropping back. The only one who seemed to be galloping was Wonder Smile. She came with an effortless run and stormed into the lead. It was only hands and heels thereafter. Prakash somehow knew that she was at the top of her form this afternoon. He did not need to use the whip even once, and that somehow sums up her performance. Wonder Smile won by seven long lengths from Talk Of The Devil and Our Little Savage. Warren Singh made a brilliant start by winning the first two races in the day's card. Vivek rode a neat race on Mahseer in the day's opener. The horse was the first choice of the punters. Allowing no-hopers Stola and Run For Fame to lead till the bend, Vivek produced Mahseer through the middle of the pack and assumed command. He had to ride vigorously to stave off a belated challenge from Green Passion. Star Of Paradise was held back till well into the straight before being given his head. This six-year-old finished an easy third, and is ready to win for the asking. Warren's three-year-old Real Gladiator was pitched in a handicap race for horses of his own vintage. He was the only one to have won a race in this set. The other runners neither had the Class nor the form to pose a challenge. He started as one of the shortest priced horses this season. Jockey Appu had little problem in steering this horse to an easy victory. Real Gladiator was held back till the bend before he swept past Smart Fresh, Constance and early leader Looking To Luck. The winner is likely to get a stiff penalty for this victory, and this may hamper his chances to win another race in the near future. Smart Fresh has the ability to improve on this performance. Jockey Vivek completed his double in a class III race over 1,200 metres. He was able to rouse Tina's Triumph to win this race. Fanaa and Tina's Triumph had finished within a "nose" of each other in their last start. The rider of Tina's Triumph had objected on the grounds of interference and was unsuccessful in getting the verdict reversed with Fanaa on that day. The two runners were installed as joint favourites in today's event. Appu ridden Fanaa lost all her chances by getting left at the starting gates. On the other hand, Tina's Triumph took a good jump and followed the speedy Easy Rider till straightening for home. Vivek pushed him to the front at this stage and set sail for home. The horse responded to the stick and managed to cross the wire ahead of Golden Flowers and a late finishing Tantrik. Fanaa lives to fight another day. The Hotel RRR Gold Cup was another race, which generated a lot of excitement. Neil Darashah's Hill Of Grace and Foley's Scenic Melody were strongly supported. Rakesh's The Gain was backed by people in the know and the odds against him kept shortening with the passage of time. The runners were tightly bunched in the backstretch, with Scenic Melody being the best positioned amongst the fancied trio. The first horse beaten in this race was Hill Of Grace. She seemed to dislike her heavy impost and shifted towards the inside rails when asked for an effort. Prakash ridden Scenic Melody looked poised to score before The Gain arrived on the scene. Harish put him in top gear and stormed into the lead. The hard ridden Scenic Melody was unable to match strides with her challenger and caved-in to finish a close second. Hill Of Grace finished a fair third. A huge bombshell in the form of Royal Zen landed in the third race of the day. Shot Of Gold and Nearco Master were the market leaders and the race seemed to be restricted between these two runners. The others had not even come close to finishing on board in recent times. The supporters of Shot Of Gold were delighted to see Nearco Master being lethargic at the gates. The favourite was cantering smooth and easy in the backstretch and John took him to the front after rounding the bend. Testarosa had been put under pressure by Gnaneshwar and looked like the closest challenger. Nobody had bargained for the sudden acceleration displayed by Royal Zen. The four year old made a move on the inside rails ,and under an awkward ride from rookie Koch, managed to edge out the favourite. The winner was available at 60/1 with the bookmakers. The last race of the day witnessed some amazing scenes. Hidayat Khan's Red Stone was an on-money favourite the whole morning. He opened at even-money at race time. For no apparent reason, the odds against this horse began to rise alarmingly. The horse had the best credentials, the finest form and some smart performances in his last many starts. He was well placed at the scales as compared to his opponents, and on paper, looked like a "good thing" in this set. The bookmakers seemed to have some "inside info". To the surprise of most present at the course, the horse started as a 12/1 rank outsider in this race. It was apparent that Red Stone was not going to win today. Shobhan Babu kept him in third last position till the bend before weaving a passage through the inner portion of the track. He finished third behind Bullet Train and Admiranda. There is only one lesson to be learnt from this incident. Small trainers have small strings because they are poor at their trade. Horses from such stables should be ignored from a betting perspective and left alone. One should only stand and applaud when they score once or twice in a year!