Vittal Deshmukh trained Fire Power stayed on grimly in front and held on to win by the proverbial whisker over Saffron Art in the 1800 metres Totaram`s Cup, a race for horses rated 60 to 85, the feature event of Monday`s Hyderabad races. Jockey Ajeeth Kumar was successful in his start-to-finish mission as Fire Power pulled that out that bit extra to clinch a thriller. Favourite Falcon Edge was a tame third.

Falcon Edge who had recorded back-to-back wins was the strong favourite ahead of Fire Power to win the feature event. Jockey Akshay Kumar invariably positions his mounts in the rear and more often than not, his horses successfully cover the leeway but there are occasions, his patented riding style doesn`t suit the demands of the race. It was so on Falcon Edge who had conceded a lot of ground for him to have a realistic chance of obliging expectations.

Ajeeth Kumar took Fire Power in his usual customary front-running style followed by House of Diamonds, Saffron Art, Ashwa Raudee, Falcon Edge and Kesariya Balam. Fire Power enjoyed the uncontested lead but, in the end, was hard-pressed to keep it. Saffron Art ranged alongside Fire Power with 300 metres left in the race and the two carried the battle all the way to the winning post, with Fire Power winning by the skin of his teeth. Falcon Edge rallied in the straight but the ground conceded was too much to bridge and he had to settle for the third spot.

Hilton Sequeira trained Watch My Stride came from the rear of the field to the first in the final furlong to edge past Stunning Force in the 1400 metres Belager Plate, a terms race for three-year-olds and over. Watch My Stride was the favourite to win with stablemate Peaky Blinders being next in demand after an eye-catching second behind stablemate Falcon Edge in the previous essay. Peaky Blinders stayed glued to the rear of the field and finished the way he began. Stunning Force had the lead going into the final furlong but could not sustain it to the post in the face of a sustained onslaught from the favourite. Akshay Kumar is so confident in his opponents that he doesn`t mind relaxing till entering the homestretch and then getting busy to get the desired results despite conceding ground. The dismal performance of Peaky Blinders is hard to explain but the announcement that the horse returned lame put things in perspective.

Long shot Shah of Iran had it easy with a start-to-finish win in the 1400 metres Chaitanya Chakram Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds. Jockey Sai Kumar had the Raza Shezad trainee in front from the word `go` and the front-runner enjoyed the uncontested lead, made good the advantage to check in comfortably ahead of Mr Perfect who gave a chase in vain. The odds on The Thriller who began as a favourite drifted out with debutant Humanitarian coming in for sustained support. The fact of the matter was none in the field had the requisite surface form as a guide for the punters and the results amplified this. Humanitarian gave some hopes at the final bend but flattened out in the stretch to eventually finish third. There was some spirited support on Resurgence close to race time but he appeared to be hopelessly one-paced. The Thriller was lost in the crowd.

The flow of money on Best Buddy itself determined the fate of the 1600 metres Makulu Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Best Buddy had won long ago at Chennai and since then had this habit of running out in the stretch. Despite this known trait, Satheesh-trained Best Buddy was backed to the exclusion of the rest so much so that it looked as though the race was being gifted to him by a reluctant set of opponents. Best Buddy was taken on a start-to-finish mission by Nakhat Singh. The favourite went miles wide in the straight and raced on the outer rail despite which Best Buddy won comfortably. Southern Act who had some takers in the betting ring, graced the wrong end of the field and made some progress in the straight to finish third. Fly To The Stars had the best chance to win if Best Buddy had been more wayward for he was closest to the front-runner and got second place.

It does not matter where Akshay Kumar positions his horses because more often than not, this has no bearing on the outcome of the race. Invariably, his horses cover enormous ground and manage to win comfortably in the end. His tactics add excitement to the race. It was so in the 2000 metres Asaf Jah VII Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 40 to 65. Skipton attempted runaway tactics and led by lengths before he was caught up with by Icicle who surged ahead approaching the final furlong. Icicle shaped to win as Princess Daka had plenty of leeway to cover. Under a vigorous ride by Akshay Kumar, the Sequeira trained Princess Daka managed to bridge the gap and overhauled the front-runner in the shadow of the post to record an encore. Wallop And Gallop ran on to finish third. For the record, Skipton had last won 918 days ago at Mysore during the Invitation Cup weekend races.

N Rawal trained Flamingo Flame had been well prepared to have a bold show in the 1200 metres Green Haven Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category having raced in the higher category in her last run. Jockey Suraj Narredu brought Flamingo Flame into a striking position with a smooth run from the wide outside draw even as My Master did the pace-setting. Flamingo Flame tackled My Master midway in the stretch and surged ahead in the final furlong to record an easy win. My Master held off Horse O`War to keep the runner-up berth.

Black Onyx from the stables of trainer Magan Singh Parmar recorded an encore in the 1200 metres Green Haven Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. The well-backed Black Onyx was taken on a start-to-finish mission by Dhanu Singh Deora. The progeny of Stardan was not hard pressed to keep the lead all the way to the post. The Sensation gave a valiant chase but found the front-runner took strong for comfort. Battle Ready was third.