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Hilton Sequeira trained Long Range overcame a below par performance of the last effort to prevail by a whisker in the 1400 metres Police Cup, a race for horses rated 40 to 65, the feature event of Sunday`s Hyderabad races. The victory of Long Range halted the winning sequence of stablemate Ace Ace Ace who went to the post as a cramped on money favourite.
Ace Ace Ace had recorded a hat-trick of wins and the quality of his wins was such that he was expected to maintain his winning streak. After Mr Baahubali did the customary front-running and faded out inside the final furlong, Long Range shot ahead with favourite Ace Ace Ace looming large. However, the favourite failed to change gears at it were and Long Range maintained the grip on the race. Ashwa Bahula whose last run 195 days ago had been a winning one came home with a big rush only to miss the berth by a whisker. Ace Ace Ace could do no better than finish third. Long Range had no takers in the betting ring as he had run more than 12 lengths behind the winner in his last effort while Ashwa Bahula was returning to the track after a long break and hence had only a few followers. Long Ranger was ridden by apprentice jockey Abhay Singh.
Akshay Kumar had no problem in driving out favourite Call of the Blue to a facile win in the 2400 metres Red Chieftan Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Akshay sat patiently on Call of the Blue in about the fourth or fifth position unperturbed by the frenetic activity in front with Ashwa Arjun attempting runaway tactics. From the third position at the final bend, Symbol of Stars took over the running with about 350 metres left in the race and then bounced clear but could not sustain the lead in the final furlong as favourite Call of the Blue moved with raking strides and went storming ahead. Symbol of Stars stayed on to take the second position ahead of Mossad who came from a long way back to get the third position. The fancied Royal Style reportedly blood through both its nostrils.
Ravinder Singh trained Artistryy obliged expectations in the 1400 metres Diablo Plate (Div I), a race for maiden three-year-olds staving off the late challenge of Premier Action. Satyanarayana trained City of Blossom came in for one-sided support to end up as a strong favourite but the favourite was out of sorts and struggled to get a favourable position. City of Blossom was out of contention well before the race came to the boil. Artistryy who was in about the fourth position at the final bend, covered the leeway swiftly and had the lead going into the final furlong and had enough cushion to win from Premier Action who covered good ground in the end. The victory of Artistryy provided Akshay Kumar with a back to back double. Flamboyant Lady who led from the start weakened to finish third. Linewiler ran a disappointing race. Ravindra Singh had the winner of the lower division of the race. Jockey Ajinkya weaved his way in the stretch from a long way back and the progeny of Sedgefield covered ground with big strides to get the better of favourite Her Legacy close home. No Compromise was third. Favourite Tapatio ran green in the final stages of the race and hung in badly which affected his chances adversely.
Ananth Vatsalya trained Heaven Can Wait pulled off a narrow win over favourite On My Way in the 1400 metres Blue Max Plate (Div II), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Composure attempted runaway tactics and appeared to be on course as the six-year-old mare had a sizeable lead going into the final furlong. However, Composure began to falter close home and Heaven Can Wait who had advertised her readiness to strike by the noteworthy effort in her previous run, moved up with a rattle and managed to win the race from On My Way who was finishing the fastest after a poor getaway and trailing the field most of the way. Lesser fancied Joy of Giving from the stables of trainer Srinivas Reddy clung on to the lead resolutely to land the spoils. Joy of Giving led from the start but began to drift under pressure and looked vulnerable. However, Joy of Giving came up with second wind after being corrected and managed to stay on grimly to win from fast-finishing Humaaghar. Top Contender was third while favourite Golden Hope gave a poor account of himself.
Hilton Sequeira trained Nimble Mind was backed down from a higher quote to end up as a firm favourite in the 1800 metres Dr Harish Chandra Memorial Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 65 with the odds on Cincia Azzurra drifting out. Liberate went at a furious pace and was fast running out of steam in the final furlong. Nimble Mind who had several lengths to cover on the front-runner began to make a strong bid in the final furlong, covered the leeway and surged ahead. Midnight Dream came up with a late bid, but the favourite had enough legs to reach the post. Cincia Azzurra was a disappointing third.
Trainer Ravinder Singh`s third winner of the day came through rank outsider Royal Green who shot ahead inside the final 300 metres and had enough cushion to last out to win the 1400 metres P G Reddy Memorial Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 65. Vancouver who was at the rear till turning for home made rapid progress in the straight to finish second. Favourite Magical Skill was poorly handled by jockey Bopanna who failed to make his way through the middle and pulled him to the widest. Magical Skill finished with a good effort, but it was bound to go in vain because of the ground conceded to the eventual winner.
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Call Of The Blue (Akshay Kumar up) winner of the Red Chieftan Plate
Artistryy (Akshay Kumar up) winner of the Diablo Plate (Div-I)
Heaven Can Wait (Afroz Khan up) winner of the Blue Max Plate (Div-II)
Nimble Mind (Koushik up) winner of the Dr.Harish Chandra Memorial Plate
Explosive (R Ajinkya up) winner of the Diablo Plate (Div-II)
Joy Of Giving (Prasad up) winner of the Blue Max Plate (Div-I)
Long Range (Abhay Singh up) winner of the Police Cup
Royal Green (Ajit Singh up) winner of the P.G.Reddy Memorial Plate
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