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Srinivas Reddy trained Prospero who was completely ignored in the betting ring sprang a surprise in the 1400 metres R Raghupathi Reddy Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 74 and above, the feature event of Sunday`s Hyderabad races. Given the fact that the horses were closely matched, the wide odds difference between the contestants was what made Prospero as an unfancied runner. Otherwise, he had every reason to be considered as having as good a chance as any.
That`s My Class who had finished second best in his last outing was installed the favourite. Incidentally, in the same race Prospero had finished seventh but only 3.4 lengths behind the winner Paprika. Mr Baahubali in his customary fashion went at a scorching pace in front only to pack up when the race came to a boil. Prospero who was handily positioned in the second place, quickened well inside the final 200 metres to go clear of the rest to win the race easier than indicated by the trend in the betting ring. Magical Skill occupied the second place ahead of Phenomenal Cruise. That`s My Class finished sixth.
Hilton Sequeira trained Aon Aon Aon who had let down as a favourite in his debut run, made amends in the 1200 metres Gangotri Plate, a race for maiden two-year-olds. Jockey Akshay Kumar took Aon Aon Aon to the front and the favourite stayed there put without coming under pressure. First-timer Swansea who was in about the sixth or seventh position at the final bend improved significantly in the final furlong despite hanging in and came with a rush to be a noteworthy second. Shivalik Valley was third.
Hope Is Eternal recorded a dramatic win over longshot Dancing Away in the 1600 metres Dynamic Dancer Plate, a race for horses rated 26 to 46. Dancing Away who led from the start had a useful lead going into the final furlong when Hope Is Eternal began to cover ground with menacing strides. Dancing Away was battling under apprentice jockey Gaurav Singh to retain the lead and appeared to have held on by a whisker but the photo-finish camera showed that Hope Is Eternal had indeed recorded an encore by the shortest of margins. Lancashire who was sluggish at the start was third. San Vinto who had finished eighth out of eight contestants the last timeout was made a strong favourite but true to his last run`s farm, the four-year-old finished in the ruck.
Sequeira trained Amazing Elegance who had recorded back to back wins during the monsoon season, was offered at miserly odds to complete a hat-trick in the 1100 metres Sardar Mohan Singh Bagga Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 42 to 62. Happy Together attempted runaway tactics by opening a big lead with Amazing Elegance in the second position followed by Kamyar. Inside the final furlong, the tactic appeared to be paying dividends as the favourite was taking a long while to warm up. But once she did so, she easily overhauled the front-runner with about 75 metres left in the race. Even Kamyar came up with a good rally to storm ahead of the long-time leader to get the second position.
Kishore trained Lockhart came home with a big effort to get the better of La Mer to land the spoils in the 1200 metres Malakpet Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 26 to 46. Favourite Doubly Sure led the field with La Mer in a handy second position with Man Apart also in proximity. In the home stretch, La Mer was slightly inconvenienced because she could not get a clear run as the gap between the favourite and Man Apart was not big enough for apprentice Rohit Kumar to have the confidence to force his mount through. Inside the final 100 metres, La Mer managed to squeeze through and shaped to win but was caught up within the closing strides of the race by the lesser fancied Lockhart. Man Apart was third. City of Akira took a fly jump and thereafter was never in the picture. Lesser fancied Will Glen from trainer Leo D`Silva`s yard won the lower division of the race. The market fancies Palsy Walsy and Dancing Doll were disputing it in earnest, but their hopes were dashed as Willow Glen subdued them with a powerful run on the wide outside.
Whenever two horses from a stable run in a race, the punters are their wit`s end trying to find out which one will be a serious contender. Sequeira trained Flowersfromabrook who had the services of jockey Akshay Kumar was the favourite but close to race time, the odds drifted out with stablemate Nathu La coming in for big support. In the event, Flowersfromabrook who was well positioned was driven out for a comfortable win by Akshay Kumar. Nathu La moved late to occupy the second position ahead of Eau Claire.
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Aon Aon Aon (Akshay Kumar up) winner of the GANGOTRI PLATE
Hope Is Eternal (Kuldeep Singh up) winner of the DYNAMIC DANCER PLATE
Amazing Elegance (Akshay Kumar up) winner of the SARDAR MOHAN SINGH BAGGA MEMORIAL CUP
Lockhart (B R Kumar up) winner of the MALAKPET PLATE (DIV-I)
Willow Glen (Jitendra Sing up) winner of the MALAKPET PLATE (DIV-II)
Prospero (A Ashhad Asbar up) winner of the R.RAGHUPATHI REDDY MEMORIAL CUP
Flowersfromabrook (Akshay Kumar up) winner of the MEGHALAYA PLATE
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