Wednesday was a proud day for Trainer Rakesh and his family, as they combined effectively to lead in four winners on the opening day of the Winter Season at the Mysore Race Club. His brother Rajesh rode a brace ,while the other two were guided home by his nephew Himanshu. The latter has gained immense confidence after completing ten winners last season, and is an improved apprentice after being permitted the use of a whip. All four winners from Rakesh's yard were well fancied , and his supporters had a field day. They included Dare Don, who had the distinction of winning the day's feature, which happened to be a sprint event for horses in the highest Class at Mysore. Dare Don is one of the highest rated horses at this centre, and was accordingly handicapped at a back breaking weight of 64 kgs. The presence of Himanshu reduced that burden by three kilos. The bottom weighted Special Force was a piping hot favourite for this race while Dare Don was next in demand at 4/1. Gaurav Sapra chose to make full use of his inner draw, and took Special Force to the front. Mayhem, Eona and Swift Sword were his closest challengers till well into the straight. Dare Don was drawn the widest in a field of twelve, and was ridden for eventual speed by the apprentice. He was caught the widest of all as they swung homewards, and was gaining ground with each stride. Himanshu gave him a crack or two, and this four year old responded valiantly. The favourite began to shorten his strides ,and with less than fifty metres still to travel, Dare Don and Special Force were matching strides with each other. Dare Don got stronger near the finish ,and eventually won with a measure of comfort. Snap Dragon came with a late effort to finish third. She is running into some sort of form and has the Class to pick up a race in the near future. The winner , in all probability, shall be shifted back to Bangalore to race in Class I company. The other success for Himanshu came astride first favourite Pat On The Back, who was one of the easiest winners of the day. He made all the running over seven furlongs and was not pressed to retain a firm grip on this race. The others in the field seemed totally disinterested , and it was left to rank outsider Jericho to take the second spot ahead of Pancho Pete. Rajesh rode Dragonair and Gallardo to exciting victories. Although Dragonair opened as a firm favourite, he was soon displaced at the top of betting boards by stablemate Ambiens. The latter was backed down to even-money, while the odds against Dragonair drifted to 5/1. The two stablemates were well positioned by thier respective riders. Ambiens did his usual front running and got tired in the final stages of the race. Dragonair came with giant strides from mid division and collared Hail Mikhail and Ambiens near the winning post. Rajesh was seen at his best while guiding Gallardo to a thrilling success. This even-money choice was badly placed in the back stretch, and was pushed further out as he took the final bend. Rajesh did not lose hope and kept urging his mount on the outer strip of the grass track. In a grandstand finish, Gallardo swept past early leader Pal Joey and staved off a belated challenge from Ho Chi Minh near the winning post. The supporters of Gallardo were relieved to see his number being hoisted on the winner's board. Perfectremembrance made a belated effort to run a very close fourth. The other talking point at the race course was the double success for Darashah and Gnaneshwar in the day's card. Veteran Darashah has chosen to train only at Mysore, and in the process has handed over his Bangalore string to his son Neil. He believes in working his horses in the open and gives them the best possible chance to win maximum stake money. Both Fire Of Joy and Gold Grid had won races in the Main Season, and today's opposition looked a little weak. Accordingly, both these horses were strong public favourites and gave no anxious moments to their supporters while cantering away in their respective events. In Fact, both won by identical margins and spared two lengths to their nearest rivals. Fire Of Joy beat Victory Queen while Gold Grid skipped away from Arkwright and Mr Bureaucrat. Darashah's runners can be supported with confidence during this season. A nice gamble was landed on Alinski, who gave jockey Vijay Kumar an armchair ride to victory. The rider was a mere passenger, as he had trouble holding Alinski in second place for most of the way. He released his hold on this horse near the distance post, and Alinski stretched out comfortably to run away from Suave and early leader Always For You. He can win another race in his own age group. Suave was seen finishing strongly at the end, and is more suited over a longer trip. He will be too good to miss over a mile in similar company Another public fancy to impress was Dinesh Pujar's Healing Touch. After winning a race in Delhi in March this year, Healing Touch was relocated to Mysore. He was given seven runs in the interim period and brought down to Class B. The stable obviously knew about his capabilities, as they slammed him down with the bookmakers. The four year old was taken to the front, and moved impressively to make every post a winning one. He seems to be in good form and can be placed to pick up another race in the near future. The opening day's racing was kind to the punters. Many well backed horses ran according to expectations and won untroubled. The number of horses at Mysore has gone up, and the competition is bound to get tougher as the season progresses.