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Favourites Fall Like Nine Pins At Mysore

By Pearcey | 18 Jun 2008 | MYSORE


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Wednesday's racing at Mysore was marred by unruly scenes at the Race Club. Race goers present at the course decided to take the law into their own hands and tried to stall the proceedings after the third race of the afternoon. They threw stones and coconut shells into the paddock, shouted slogans against the Club's authorities and finally came and squatted in the parade ring. The Club requested the police to send rein fir cements and the situation was brought under control after their arrival. Fortunately, there was no damage to the property of the MRC. Following an announcement that an enquiry was going to be held at the end of the day, the agitators relented, and the last three races were held in a peaceful atmosphere. The reason for this protest was the results of the second and third race in the day's card. Appu was astride two piping hot favourites in these events, both of whom were trained by Ranjeet. San Siro had run a promising second in her last start over a similar trip. This three year old filly was facing a bunch of older horses and since most of them were giving weight to her, she was backed down to 40/100. She was a handy second behind Way To Wealth as the field entered the straight. The two of them were seen racing abreast as they pulled away from the rest. Apprentice Sreekanth was pushing Way To Wealth while Appu was making free use of the whalebone on the favourite. San Siro was unable to pass the frontrunner and ultimately lost the race by half a length, while Exceptional came with a good run to finish third. A lot of punters were disillusioned ,as this happened to be the first leg of the jackpot pool. The next race saw the appearance of Surmount, who was making his first appearance on this track after being relocated from Western India. Surmount had won a barrier trial last week and was looking exceedingly well in the paddock. Punters refused to look beyond him, and accordingly, backed him down to half money favouritism. Appu decided to make all the running and took this speedy horse ahead of Dom Perignon, Pertinent, Much More and South Leo. Surmount started to send distress signals near the bend and started to shorten his strides in the final stages of the race. Much More came with a powerful run on the wide outside and won from South Leo. Pocket Dynamite came from the rear of the field and beat Surmount into fourth place. The situation turned ugly thereafter. It was difficult to fathom the exact reason that had upset the public. It was perhaps the fact that both these horses had a common owner, trainer and jockey. Both had been heavily backed and had followed a similar pattern of running in their respective races. Both had run out of gas at a crucial stage of the race and were seen plodding at the end. The public suspected foul play and decided to let the authorities know about their feelings. An enquiry has been ordered into the running of these two favourites. Racing is a great leveller. Appu was a darling of the crowds when he scored a hat-trick at Bangalore on Sunday, and after the public agitation today, he had to report sick and sign off for the day after his two failures. There was no respite for the punters, as favourites took a back seat in the three races that were held after resuming the day's proceedings. Based on all known form, Eona was an outstanding runner in The Royal Western India Turf Club Trophy, the feature event in the day's card. She was a winner of two races and was rated higher than the rest of the runners. The terms of this race favoured her, and she was hammered down to half-money. But, in keeping with the day's trend, the speedy Eona led all the way and buckled under when she was challenged by the bottom weighted Looking To Lead. Her supporters were shocked when she lost at the post by a head. Hail Mikhail ran third ahead of Always For You. The last named was last into the straight and quickened nicely thereafter to run on board. He is one for the notebook and should be supported when he is campaigned in a handicap event. Suleman Pasha was the next one to bite the dust. A runner-up in his last start, this well bred horse was installed as the first favourite and was backed to the exclusion of the others. In the race itself, he put up a doleful performance and was unable to finish on the board. Artistic Way, who was friendless at 20/1, sported a pair of wings and ran away from the field. He clocked in almost five lengths clear of Cannon Run and Worth A Gold. The last race was won by the speedy Ansonia, who led from the start and was lucky to win from a luckless Armament. This fancied runner was given a feeble ride by his apprentice rider, and was made to do too much in the straight. With a heavy impost on his back, Armament made up lots of ground in the straight, but was helpless as the winning post came to the rescue of Ansonia. There was total silence as race goers were seen leaving the Mysore Race Club.