C V G K Kishore trained Royal Shaan who is in tremendous nick, recorded an encore in brilliant fashion, toying with the opposition in the 1600 metres Abide Plate, a race for horses rated 60 and above, the feature event of Wednesday`s Mysore races. The majority of races in the day were claimed by horses which carried a fair bit of money on their back. There were no rude upsets.

With Royal Shaan looking overwhelmingly superior on the basis of his last start win, he was backed to the exclusion of the rest as the only possible threat was Spaniard whose last run was below par. Al Ataturk set the pace as Royal Shaan raced a handy second before smoothly slipping through the rails in the straight and stretching away from the rest with his jockey Ashhad Asbar hardly having to move a muscle. Royal Shaan checked in well clear of a struggling Spaniard and Al Ataturk. The winner is in great heart and can repeat.

	Royal Shaan (A Ashhad Asbar up) winner of the Abide Plate, being led in by trainer C V G K Kishore (left)

Rakesh trained Sharp Girl won the 1200 metres Diabolical Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category, at nourishing odds. With none in the fray inspiring solid support, the race looked an open affair with Perfect Speed, Jump In the Red and Queens Cruise being the preferred horses. Javelin tried to play a spoilsport with a start to finish mission but inside the final furlong, Sharp Girl shot through between the front runner and Perfect Speed who was working hard to bridge the gap. Queens Cruise who stayed in touch steadily lost pace to go out of contention in the run in for home. Sharp Girl then skipped away and easily held off Perfect Speed. Javelin ran on to take the third slot from Queens Cruise. Rickety Rock, who ended a dismal last, reportedly pulled up lame.

Vikram Appachu trained Supreme Strength was well fancied in what appeared an open affair in the 1400 metres Karighatta Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category as none of the runners had strong credentials. Shades of Scarlet was another who was enthusiastically backed. Apprentice jockey Saddam Hussain took Supreme Strength on a start to finish mission with Shades of Scarlet in chase followed by the rest who were well spaced behind. Supreme Strength maintained a healthy lead in the straight which helped him in good stead. The lead enabled him to stave off the late bid of Time Matters who covered plenty of ground only to find the winning post coming a wee bit soon. Arch Angel came from a long way back to finish third while Shades of Scarlet was not spotted after being prominent till entering the homestretch.

Monnappa trained As Always produced a strong run from the rear of the field and despite covering extra ground on the wide outside, managed to overhaul the front running Charm And Dream to win the 1600 metres Oxford Blue Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Small Cruise led the field as Delta Delight, Charm And Dream stayed in touch with the front runner while As Always graced the rear of the field. Rounding the final turn, Charm And Dream got a nice opening along the rails and slipped into lead. Delta Delight quickly faded out of reckoning in the straight. Ice Weapon quickly improved places to come into contention in the straight but he failed to sustain and weakened. It was As Always who showed up with a flourish on the wide outside and managed to prevail in the end. Ayman ran on to finish third. Favourite Delta Delight reportedly came back lame.

Monnappa had a quick double for the day as on money favourite Rising Rani proved vastly superior to the rest in the 1400 metres Varahi Trophy, a race for horses rated 40 to 65. After chasing Royal Prodigy into the straight, Rising Rani grabbed the lead at the top of the straight and went away for an effortless win by a widening margin of four lengths over Ben Ten who was in futile chase. The race ceased to be a contest the moment Rising Rani put her head in front. Kohinoor Blitz nosed out Gun Salute for third place.

The well fancied Masteroftherolls from the yards of trainer Bipin Salvi got stronger in the final furlong and edged past the long time leader Sancy and Albatross to win the 1400 metres Queen of the Hills Plate, a race for maiden three year olds. Favourite Sancy led from the start but progressively weakened in the straight to eventually finish fourth. First Light came up with big rally towards the close but narrowly failed to get the better of Albatross for the runner up berth.

Ranjeet Shinde trained Ensatus Elegans fought out a stiff battle for supremacy with Ice Brown before winning with a measure of comfort the 1400 metres Scone Stone Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. The rest of the runners were stranded way behind, with Penalty Kick finishing seven lengths adrift of Ice Brown in third place.