Sulaiman Attaollahi-trained Splendid Dream, who had barely shaken the champagne bubbles from her debut win last week, was tossed straight back into the deep end for the 1200 metres F K Irani Memorial Million 2025, a terms race for three-year-olds, the feature event of Friday`s Mysore races. Splendid Dream made the so-called seasoned rival Magnetar look like he had accidentally taken a wrong turn into the walking ring.

After Midnight Blue burned petrol setting the early pace, jockey Shreyas Singh simply pressed the accelerator on Splendid Dream, and she bolted away. Poor Akshay Kumar kept flogging Magnetar like a man trying to revive a flat tyre, but the favourite only plodded on miserably. Midnight Blue staggered in third, a country mile behind.

Trainer Dominic, meanwhile, continued his tradition of playing hide-and-seek with punters. His horses win when you least expect them to, and collapse when the betting ring declares them certainties. Case in point: Jersey King in the 1200 metres M W Chinnappa Memorial Trophy, a race for horses rated 60 and above. The market went gaga over Knotty Blush, with punters throwing money like it was Diwali night, while Jersey King`s odds drifted away like a bad dream. Pneuma led, Knotty Blush tracked, and Sai Kumar rode like a man possessed to keep Knotty Blush going till the wire. Serrano tried to join the party but could only manage third. Jersey King, under Anthony Raj, flew home late with the kind of timing that makes punters want to bang their heads against the tote board. Too little, too late.

Then came the 1200 metres Police Trophy, a race for horses rated 40 to 65, where The Golden Sunrise decided to ditch consistency for dominance. With apprentice Abhishek Mhatre aboard, the six-year-old mare stalked Creative Girl (who was chasing a hat-trick) before turning the straight into her personal victory parade. She won by a widening four lengths, while Falcon Fury and Court Jester played the supporting roles. Creative Girl limped home fourth and literally limped off after — clearly, hat-tricks are overrated.

Next up, another Dominic “favourite” in Raffles for the 1100 metres Secunderabad Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category — a category where form is as reliable as monsoon predictions. The Ashwin Rao-trained longshot Lead Singer took charge and refused to relinquish the microphone, holding off NRI Gold and Golden Gallery. Raffles wilted in the final furlongs, leaving his backers singing the blues.

Ashwin Rao wasn`t done upsetting apple carts. In the day`s opener, the 1400 metres Paddock Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category, his ward Rich Strike lived up to his name, striking rich at long odds under Ayaz Khan. The favourite Warrior Woman stormed late under Anthony Raj, but once again Raj`s timing was off — proving that finishing second with running to spare is his new party trick. Pette`s Choice managed third.

Finally, for those who still had betting money left to burn, Darius Byramji-trained Tolkien delivered some expected relief in the 1600 metres Jog Falls Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. He went start-to-finish, winning by eight lengths with the sort of ease that suggested the others were running in slow motion. Acanta was second, Thrill of Brazil was third, both trailing by embarrassing margins. Tolkien even clocked a smart 1 minute 35.72 seconds, but honestly, he could have stopped for tea at the two-furlong pole and still won.