Wednesday's racing at Mysore witnessed the maximum number of close finishes seen on a race day in recent times. Six out of the eight events were won and lost on the post. The Hyderabad Race Club Gold Trophy, a seven-furlong race for horses in the highest class at Mysore, was split into two divisions with the upper division being the feature event of the day. With the withdrawal of Crown Royal, the field was reduced to seven. The top-weighted pair of Armament and Dangerous Illusion cornered most of the betting as most racegoers expected it to be a match race between the two. Pied Piper had been prepared on the Bangalore track and shifted to Mysore a couple of days before the race. There was a late spurt of smart money which came on to Pied Piper, as the horse was seen being backed down to 6/1 from 10's and over. Al Qamar shot into the early lead with Pied Piper right behind him; the rest were seen jostling for advantageous positions. Dangerous Illusion got into third place while Armament dropped right through the field and was seen gracing the rear as the seven runners swung into the straight. Chandrasekar pushed the Sharat-trained Pied Piper into the lead and they opened up a fair lead, before Dangerous Illusion started to make headway. Armament was seen flashing on to the scene on the wide outside. The winning post came to the rescue of the leader as Pied Piper held on to his slender advantage and lifted the Gold Trophy ahead of Dangerous Illusion and Armament. The lower division of this race was the concluding event in the day's card. Ponte Romano was a strong favourite ahead of Lyra and Forever Grande. Sensitive Prince disturbed the pace of this race as he opened up a long lead in the backstretch. He started to send distress signals near the 200-metre marker as Ponte Romano, Forever Grande and Lyra gained ground on him. Although Ponte Romano briefly headed the field, it was apparent that he would not be able to sustain that effort. He was challenged by Forever Grande in the middle and Lyra on the wide outside. Ultimately, it was Lyra who proved to be the strongest of the lot as she powered to a 3/4 length victory ahead of a tiring Ponte Romano and Forever Grande. Racing patrons at most off-course betting centres began to file out of their respective Clubs. They suddenly heard that an objection had been lodged in the race. When they heard the details of the objection, and realised that it was by the third placed horse against the winner, they did not want to waste their time since they had already seen the live relay of the race. What followed was a bizarre turn of events. The Chairman of MRC was joined by two fellow stewards to deliberate on the objection. They were assisted by Fin Powrie and a junior stipendiary steward called Mahendher. The proceedings were being telecast live to all racing centres in the country. The Chairman read out the objection and said that Appu on Forever Grande had objected against Ashish on Lyra for "coming in sharply in the last 200 metres of the race and disturbing my horse. I had to momentarily stop riding my horse and since the verdict was only 3/4 length, I feel my horse would have won this race". Ashish clarified that Lyra was moving the strongest at the finish. He said that he was clear of Forever Grande when he changed course. Lyra had not touched Forever Grande during the said period. The jockeys were thereafter asked to leave the room. The Chairman asked Fin Powrie to give his opinion. He said, "Mr Chairman. I would like to clarify that Appu's statement that he finished 3/4 length behind the winner is technically wrong. He has finished 3/4 length plus a neck behind in third place. Lyra has come from behind and was not punished by his jockey in the latter stages of the race. There was no contact between the two horses. In my considered opinion, the objecting horse would not have beaten the winner. The objection lacks merit." The Chairman now turned to Mahendher. He said, "In my opinion, Lyra cut across the path of Forever Grande. This incident made a difference of 2 to 3 lengths. The objection should be upheld." Most people watching this performance of Mahendher had a hearty laugh. Little did they realize that he made a lot of sense to the three learned stewards of the Mysore Race Club. The stewards did not realize that Mahendher was shooting from the cuff. Appu had not claimed that he would have won by 2 lengths, whereas Mahendher was making irrelevant remarks. They did not take more than a few seconds to announce that the objection had been upheld. It seemed that they had privately made up their minds because there were no deliberations in front of the close-circuit cameras. They awarded the race to the well-backed Ponte Romano, who had been beaten fair and square in the race. In fact, even if one was to concede that the progress of Forever Grande had been disturbed, the favourite in that case would have managed to finish only third. The stewards of MRC showed themselves in poor light by blotting their copybook in taking this decision. The young Stipe displayed his ignorance about matters pertaining to racing, and would be well advised to refrain from advertising his talent in front of a live TV audience. Many experienced railbirds were of the opinion that, "There is more to it than meets the eye!" It was a disastrous afternoon for racegoers as favourites took a back seat, while long priced horses won most of the races in the eight-event card. Sharat Kumar and Chandrasekar combined effectively to land a double with Analika and Pied Piper. Vishal Yadav was the other professional to saddle a double, when Victory Queen and Mr Bureaucrat won their races in close finishes. Victory Queen nailed the front-running Place Her Well, while Mr Bureaucrat edged out favourite Suleman Pasha near the winning post. Mazeppa, Gypsy's Advise and Mauritius Star were the others to win their respective events.