If the opening day of the Hyderabad Monsoon Season resembled a lottery draw, Tuesday`s card was the sensible cousin who paid the bills on time. Favourites finally remembered they were favourites, bookmakers found little to celebrate, and punters enjoyed a relatively stress-free afternoon, with only the occasional hard-luck tale to keep the post-race debates alive.

The feature event, the 1400 metres Colonel B Santosh Babu Memorial Trophy for horses rated 40 to 65, went according to script with Donald Netto-trained Corinthian justifying strong favouritism. Fresh from an impressive Bangalore victory, the five-year-old gelding had both recent form and race fitness firmly in his corner and never gave his supporters much cause for anxiety.

The chief local hope Wolf Creek also attracted solid support, but his race was virtually compromised before it began. Drawn so wide that he seemed to have started from a neighbouring district, he was forced to race at the tail of the field and was still over ten lengths behind turning for home. Meanwhile, Trevor Patel had Corinthian perfectly placed behind the pace before easing into the lead. The result was settled long before Wolf Creek unleashed his customary late charge down the outside. He flew home to grab second but asking him to make up that sort of deficit was like expecting a passenger to catch a flight after reaching the airport at boarding call. China Town picked up third at rewarding odds.

The well-backed NRI High Power justified confidence in the 1200 metres Royston Rock Plate. Akshay Kumar adopted the uncomplicated approach of following Born Brave into the straight before asking his mount to quicken. The favourite quickly established what proved to be a decisive advantage. Brilliant Lad arrived with a late flourish but found the winning post arriving a shade too early, while Walking Thunder finished third ahead of D Minchu, who made up considerable ground after trailing the field.

The 1100 metres Firecrest Plate (Division I) nearly produced a dramatic upset. Hilton Sequeira-trained See The Light, the short-priced favourite, appeared home and hosed after Akshay Kumar dictated terms from the front. But Ayushman, under an energetic Kuldeep Singh, launched a fierce late challenge and missed by the narrowest of margins. Another stride and the judge might have needed stronger spectacles. Foxy Girl finished third.

The lower division belonged to the dependable Greif, though not without a brief moment of commentator-induced suspense. Dashing Charm set off as though she had somewhere urgent to be and enjoyed a sizeable lead entering the final furlong, prompting observations that Greif had mountains to climb. What was overlooked was that Dashing Charm`s fuel gauge had already begun flashing. As her stride shortened, Greif gathered momentum and swooped in the dying strides to snatch victory. Dubai Touch stayed rooted in third without ever threatening.

The 1200 metres Shamirpet Trophy (Division I) looked one of the more competitive races on paper, with the betting market unable to separate several runners. Magan Singh Parmar-trained Ek, however, had clearly skipped that memo. Sent off favourite, she bounded to the front from the gates, steadily widened her advantage and turned the race into a one-horse exhibition, scoring by an expanding five lengths. La Quinta finished second ahead of Zindabad, but neither ever looked likely to trouble the winner.

The lower division was even more straightforward. Odds-on favourite Daring Spirit stalked Mysore Pharaoh before asserting near the final furlong and disappearing into the distance to score by more than five lengths. Analysis finished second ahead of the early leader, while the favourite made the opposition resemble enthusiastic spectators rather than rivals.

Trevor Patel enjoyed one of his easier assignments aboard Bharath Singh-trained Advait in the 1200 metres Scarlet Prince Plate for maiden three-year-olds. Tracking NRI Mega Power into the straight, Advait took command without fuss and coasted home comfortably. Master Class finished strongly to edge Northern Sky for second.

Trevor completed another successful partnership with Bharath Singh when La Fleuriere landed the 1600 metres Malakpet Plate for horses rated 20 to 45. Making every post a winning one, La Fleuriere was strongly challenged by Divine Tiger in the final furlong. The challenger`s cause wasn`t helped by drifting under pressure, though Akshay Kumar never stopped riding. Even so, La Fleuriere clung on gamely to score by a neck, while Mountain Touch stayed on for third without displaying any great enthusiasm for the argument.