Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Lagarde completed the formality of beating stablemate Towering Presence in the Gr 2 Nizam`s Gold Cup, a terms race for four-year-olds and over, the feature event of races held at Malakpet on Monday. There were just three runners in the fray and two of them of vastly inferior credentials with Towering Presence who finished second having a rating of 40 as against 118 of Lagarde.

It is a pity that Nizam`s Cup which was once a premier event has been reduced to this status. Of the three that contested the race, Sea Lion had a rating of 90 and Towering Presence 40 being a maiden in 13 appearances. The authorities may well consider changing the timing of the race or changing the format to make it more competitive. If there is no desired response, it is better to cancel the event instead of making a mockery of a reputed race being contested by inferior horses which don`t deserve the black-type status.

Be that as it may, Trevor Patel took Lagarde on a start-to-finish mission. The favourite kept on expanding the lead to eventually win by over nine lengths. Sea Lion who was in the second position, tired out in the stretch, unable to tackle the mile and a quarter trip and grounded to a halt so much so that a horse which is more than half of its rating could take the second position easily.

Jockey Akshay Kumar reached a unique milestone of booting home 800 winners when he guided Crimson Rose to a facile win in the 1200 metres Silver Phantom Plate (Div I), a race for maiden three-year-olds. Crimson Rose had run way down the field in her last run at Ooty but her preparatory workouts suggested that her current fitness was suggestive of a change of fortunes and that she was capable of taking on the modest lot of horses she was asked to tackle with. Hugh Capet who had run third in her last outing attracted huge money resulting in the odds offered on Crimson Rose easing to more than 2 to 1. In the race itself, Crimson Rose faced no issues, shooting ahead inside the final furlong to win with a measure of comfort from The Thunder who flattered to deceive. Ivanhoe was third. Favourite Hugh Capet made no-show.

Any horse that Akshay Kumar sits on ends up being a favourite and most of them. The interesting thing is that the horses that Akshay Kumar comes and wins from impossible positions making one wonder whether he has any magic wand! Juramento was backed strongly to win the lower division of the Silver Phantom Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds. The favourite was not spotted in the front bunch and was in the second-last position at the final bend. The last start failed favourite Yaletown led freely in front and later was engaged in a stiff battle for supremacy all the way in the final furlong with Dyanoosh. At this stage, Juramento was not even sighted. However, Akshay Kumar conjured up a magical performance from Juramento who covered the leeway in the nick of time to edge past the battling duo in the shadow of the post. Yaletown headed Dyanoosh at the post to keep the runner-up berth.

Smart money came on Prasad Raju trained Cabello close to race time in the 1100 metres Himayat Sagar Cup (Div I), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Cabello was nowhere in sight when Above The Law and Happy Go Lucky were disputing the lead in the final furlong. Cabello flashed on the scene from way off the pace with such a flourish that the progeny of Phoenix Tower filly had covered the leeway in a trice and sped away for an impressive win. Cabello appeared to be a better-class horse. Precious Gift ran on to finish second ahead of Different while the battling duo of Happy Go Lucky and Above The Law who appeared to have stolen a march, completely weakened and finished behind these horses in the fourth and fifth positions.

Lesser fancied Rising Queen from the stables of Robin Reddy Kondakalla came home with a big effort to get past Hard To Toss to land the spoils in the Khammam Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 65. City of Bliss and Full Volume were preferred than the rest. Jockey Mukesh Kumar was unable to take City of Bliss on a customary front-running mission as Hard To Toss showed greater resolution to lead the field. Hard To Toss maintained the lead well into the final furlong but the strong finish of Rising Queen who covered ground swiftly was the undoing of the front-runner. Full Volume was third ahead of Angel Tesoro while City of Bliss failed to get any momentum in the stretch and was a big disappointment.

Hilton Sequeira trained Kancha obliged expectations with a powerful dash down the final furlong to get the better of Coming Home to win the 1200 metres Charminar Cup, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Prasad Raju trained Briar Ridge who had won two days ago was put in the fray by the connections in the hope of exploiting his form quickly. The money came pouring on Briar Ridge who however found the going tough. Coming Home shaped like a winner but her hopes were put paid by the late rallying Kancha who flew home in the hands of jockey Abhay Singh to win by racing in the closing stride of the race. Briar Ridge stayed in the hunt till the final furlong but the favourite failed to find an extra gear and faded out to finish third.

Sreekant trained Star Cruise came in for sustained support in the betting ring to become a strong favourite to win the 1200 metres Hill Forte Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category. Good Tidings was next in demand. Jockey Kuldeep Singh took an early advantage on the favourite and had him lead by lengths all the way in the stretch which held him in good stead. A patented late dash by jockey Akshay Kumar on Good Tidings went in vain as the winning post came to the rescue of the front-runner who held on to win by a whisker. Good Tidings was sluggish at the start and was in the rear at the final bend but covered acres of ground under a persevering ride only to miss the berth narrowly. Charmer ran on to take the third position.