Favourite Vijay Singham from the stables of trainer Laxman Singh recorded an encore in the 1200 metres Deccan Star Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 65, the feature even of the opening day`s races of the Hyderabad Winter Season on Sunday. The authorities have decided to run the first three races days of the season on the monsoon track in view of the excess rain which hampered the preparation of the winter track. Visiting jockey Robbie Downey guided the winner.

Second favourite Sitara went in a runaway fashion and shaped to win when she had a good break over Vijay Singham with a furlong left in the race. While Sitara faltered in the closing stages of the race, Vijay Singham produced an electrifying run to overhaul the front-runner with a measure of comfort. Flamboyant Lady who was loitering at the rear of the field covered enormous ground and managed to nose out the long-time leader to snatch the runner-up berth.

Donald Netto trained Trump Star pulled off a narrow win over Aintree in the 1100 metres Beginners Plate, a race for maiden two-year-olds. After Queen Daenerys led till the final furlong, Aintree took charge but drifted out under pressure. Jockey Vikrant showed alacrity and changed course on Trump Star to the inside of Aintree who otherwise would have run into her path and managed to pull it off. Queen Daenerys weakened to finish third. Favourite Astronaut was under pressure from the beginning and was never in the hunt.

Leo D`Silva trained Red Snapper who was backed strongly to win the 1400 metres M B Mangalorkar Memorial Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Red Snapper had a commanding lead all the way and broke the maidens` ranks in the11th attempt in the hands of apprentice jockey Jitendra Singh. Tiger of the Sea and Angel Tesoro was poorly positioned to make an impact on the result. Tiger of the Sea finished on strongly, but the front-runner had enough cushion to win with a measure of comfort. Angelo Tesoro ran on from behind to save place money. Aneel who rode the runner-up put an objection against Jitendra Singh who guided the winner for cutting across in the first 100 metres causing a chain reaction which resulted in him losing position which ultimately affected his winning chances. The same was overruled as it had little substance. Satheesh trained Mind Reader who was given easy outings during the monsoon season was in true colours in the lower division of start, winning with a start to finish effort by a widening margin of six lengths in the hands of jockey Nakhat Singh. Mind Reader who won his first race in his 11th start showed good speed to have a commanding lead while the others struggled to pick up momentum. The race was sewn up by the lesser fancied runner a long way from home. Favourite Augenstern was not spotted to have any chance while the third favourite Aristocrats Charm too performed dismally. Flag of Honour nosed out Bar Et Law to grab the second position. Bar Et Law came in for inspired touch close to race time with his odds crashing from a higher quote.

Satheesh trained Best Friend had it easy in the 1200 metres Srisailam Cup (Div I), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Best Friend showed good speed from the gates and had a comfortable lead all the way which held the lesser fancied runner in good stead. Favourite Handsome Duo produced a late dash, but it was not good enough to catch the shadow of Best Friend who provided apprentice jockey Jitendra Singh with an easy win. Best Friend thus broke the maidens` rank as a four-year-old in the 13th attempt. Human touch ran on to finish third. Prasad Raju trained Guiding Force won the lower division of the race, the opening race of the day at nourishing odds after a gap of 466 days. Deshmukh trained His Excellency was backed to the exclusion of the rest. Loch Stella who was one of the fancied runners took over the running in the stretch and led deep into the race. Guiding Force who was loitering at the rear of the field picked up momentum on the wide outside in the homestretch and came home with powerful strides to nail the front-runner in the closing strides of the race. His Excellency was slightly hampered when Guiding Force made his bid from the back of the field but it did not make a material difference to the outcome of the race and the objection by Aneel against N Rawal who rode the winner was overruled and the favourite had to settle for the third position.

Waseem Ahmed trained California Beauty brought off a big upset in the 1200 metres Own Opinion Plate, a race for horses rated up to 25. California Beauty who had finished 22 lengths behind Galloping Gangster in her last run led all the away and went away for a four-length win over Air Salute and the heavily supported Red River. Form fluctuations ensured that punters were at the receiving end and this trend is likely to continue for some more time as horses which had been given easy runs during the monsoon season are expected to defy the form book as it happened on the opening day of the season.

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Guiding Force (N Rawal up) winner of the Srisailam Cup (Div-II)

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Trump Star (A A Vikrant up) winner of the Beginners Plate

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Vijays Singham (Robbie Downey up) winner of the Deccan Star Plate

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Red Snaper (Jitendra Singh up) winner of the M B Mangalorkar Memorial Plate (Div-I)

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Best Friend (Jitendra Singh up) winner of the Srisailam Cup (Div-I)

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Mind Reader (Nakhat Singh up) winner of the M B Mangalorkar Memorial Plate (Div-II)

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California Beauty (A A Vikrant up) winner of the Own Opinion Plate

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