The Manjri Stud Farm bred Dragon shot ahead inside the final furlong and staved off the late flourish of favourite Star Formation to win the 1400 metres Mysore Million, a terms race for three year olds confined to Mysore based horses, the feature event of the opening day`s races on Thursday. Jockey Srinath perhaps was caught napping when Dragon moved on his outside and went in chase of the pace setter in the run in for home as he then had to angle the horse out for a clean run. The manoeuvre cost him precious fractions.

Star Formation who was a surprise second behind Eternal Flame in the Fillies Championship was the betting rage. Such horses get an exaggerated rating by virtue of a performance which may have come out because of circumstances. Barring Eternal Flame, the other top three performers had occupied the last three spots in that race. Three of them namely Angel Dust (Bangalore Derby), Conspicuous (Terms race) and Ageless (in higher category) had gone on to win their next outings thus putting a question mark on the way the Fillies Championship was run. The underfoot conditions too had played a critical role as some horses did not act on the rain soaked track. Some years ago, Beauty Is Truth ran behind Maisha in the same Fillies Championship and the horse is still to win a horse though on the basis of that performance, punters lost a fortune backing her at least the next two times that the horse ran.

Racing history is replete with such instances and it was no wonder that Star Formation was quoted at very cramped odds. In a race of this nature, the emerging three year olds can always throw the form upside down. Cosmic Touch was the horse next in demand while Dragon was quoted at long odds. Perfectionist took over the running within the first furlong and led the field as Srinath settled Star Perfection along the rails with Cosmic Touch staying in close proximity. Dragon was hesitant at the start but swiftly moved up and was in striking position by the time the front runners took the final bend.

Perfectionist put up a dogged resistance and with Dragon swiftly improving on essaying his challenge on the outside of Star Formation which resulted in Srinath having to wait for a few fractions to angle out and get a clear run for his horse. Dragon fought out with Perfectionist and got stronger in the final 100 metres. Though Star Formation came home with a big rush, Dragon had enough leeway to pull through by a diminishing margin of a neck. Perfectionist stayed on to finish third while Cosmic Touch gave a timid performance. The winner is trainer by Michael Eshwer.

A poor quality field was in the fray for the 1600 metres H H Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Memorial Trophy, a race for horses rated 80 and above. Though Super Storm had won the Indian Derby, his form in recent years had been anything but encouraging. The fact that the six year old has been kept in training was only because of his remarkable achievements as a younger horse. Trainer Rajesh Narredu could not have hoped for a weaker opposition for Super Storm to strike winning form as he was confronted with locally based hoses. Suraj Narredu took Super Storm on a start to finish mission. Though Class Is Class put up strong challenge, Super Storm dug deep and managed to head home for a gutsy win which was a good achievement given the fact that he has had several issues with his legs. Castle King was faraway third.

The betting trend in the 1200 metres B K Krishnadevaraj Urs Memorial Trophy (Div I), a race for horses rated 40 to 65, indicated the confusion in the minds of punters to plump for any horse with conviction. Good Fruit, Cool Hand, Glittering had their supporters but the one to get special attention was Mandarin whose odds came down while that of everyone else drifted out. Mandarin came into strong contention in the straight and stretched away for a facile win over late finishing Good Fruit in the hands of jockey Zervan. Glittering was in chase of the eventual winner but was overhauled in the end by Good Fruit who snatched the second position. Evalina brought off an upset as favourite Secret Dimension found foot late to win the lower division of the race. Miracles of Life who lost ground at the start, did well to finish third.

Zervan was in danger of cramping himself for space on Referent while essaying his challenge but managed to work his way through to win the 1200 metres Varada Plate, a race for horses rated 60 and above. West Side Story who led from the start along the rails held the initiative till the final 100 metres but once Referent warmed up to the task, there was no stopping the favourite. Jockey Zervan thus had his first double on the Mysore track.

Rajesh Narredu saddled a double for the day when long shot Super Strong who raced a handy third into the straight, put up a strong performance and won the 1400 metres Pune Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Helios who was the overwhelming favourite as usual warmed up late for the task and could only finish a well beaten second. Ontime was a poor third. Summer Mane had a good cushion going into the final furlong and easily held of the late bid of favourite Astral Spirit to win the lower division of the race.

Dominic trained What A Wonder had no problem in beating the opposition pointless in the 1600 metres Somanath Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. What A Wonder moved up well to take over the running coming into the straight and despite going wide in the straight, spared over five lengths at the finish to Indian Legend and Always On Top.

Silver Oak chased Ophira well into the final furlong before taking over the running in the 1200 metres Virija Plae, a race for lowest rated horses, the season`s opener. Silver Oak had something in reserve when passing the winning post ahead of late finishing Flirting King. Catwalk Queen was third while the long-time pace setter Ophira disappeared without a trace.