Irfan Ghatala trained Queen Envied pulled off an improbable win in Gr 2 2400 metres Golconda Oaks, the third classic of the season at Malakpet on Tuesday. Queen Envied who was the favourite to record back-to-back classic wins, appeared to have lost the cause when she went wide and ran on late with Hope In Cloud having established what was a possible winning lead. The never say die attitude displayed by jockey Trevor Patel saw the filly win by the shortest of margins when for the naked eye, it looked as though Hope In Cloud had survived the late onslaught by the favourite.

Queen Envied is owned by Chennai-based Arun Alagappan in partnership with the breeder Sans Craintes Stud Farm.

Humanitarian who was in serious betting was taken on a start-to-finish mission by jockey Suraj Narredu, followed by Nugget, Princess Daka, NRI Superpower, Hope In Cloud and Queen Envied who was a little sluggish at the jump-out. Humanitarian brought the field into view with jockey Mohit Singh on Hope In Cloud quickly bringing his horse into contention from the second last position. Queen Envied took time to warm up and went wide under pressure. Hope In Cloud shot ahead inside the final furlong even as Humanitarian packed up and had a useful lead when Queen Envied began a late rally. The two runners were wide apart and it was difficult to pick the winner though nobody would have been faulted if they thought that the long shot had landed the spoils. The photo finish camera showed that Queen Envied had indeed pulled it off by the proverbial whisker. NRI Superpower was third three lengths adrift.

Watch My Stride had the best credentials to win the 1600 metres Shri A S Krishna Memorial Cup as the Hilton Sequeira trainee had finished a noteworthy third behind Lagos in the last essay. Backed strongly to give a bold show, Watch My Stride was held back in about the fourth position till turning for home as Mark My Day set the pace. Watch My Stride covered the leeway on the front runners briskly in the straight and by the final furlong had things under control. Though Kesariya Balam finished on strongly, Watch My Stride was home and dry. Premier Action ran on to finish third.

Prasad Raju trained Strauss was the short-priced favourite to make amends for the last start failure in the 1400 metres Aberader Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. On the last occasion, the horse had ducked soon after the start causing jockey Suraj Narredu to lose balance and come a cropper. The well-bred son of Multidimensional was running after a gap of 120 days. The punters unhesitatingly backed the four-year gelding with conviction. This time out there were no hiccups as Strauss took a good jump, and settled in about the fourth position as My Marvel set the pace. Suraj Narredu pushed Strauss to improve his position approaching the final bend. The favourite smoothly cruised into the lead inside the final two furlongs and went away for an easy win. In a cluster finish for minor placings, Flaming Falcon who ran on from behind necked out Soorya Vahan who in turn was a head in front of City Cruise.

Shashikanth trained NRI Doublepower was backed with enthusiasm to reverse the verdict on Huntingdon to whom she had lost in the last clash. Both these horses shared market support. After Assured Success led the field into the straight, Hindu Singh got busy on NRI Doublepower who responded well, produced striking acceleration and stormed clear by the final furlong to record an easy win. Huntingdon who was briefly denied a clear run in the final furlong, however, was no match for the eventual winner. Golden Gazelle claimed the third slot ahead of the long-time pacesetter Assure Class.

The strong driving finish of Akshay Kumar made a critical difference to the fortunes of lesser fancied Laurus in Division III of the 1200 metres Cupid Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 65. After Mind Reader led the field into the straight, Akshay pushed Laurus to take charge. Though Laurus looked vulnerable in the final furlong when Above the Law almost drew level, the forceful ride saw the lesser fancied runner produce that bit. Laurus held the lead grimly to win by a shade less than a length. Above the Law was second while the short-priced favourite Maximum Glamour failed to show the spark expected of her and even lost the third position to late rallying Top In Class in the closing strides of the race.

Lesser fancied runner from the stables of Faisal Hassan prevailed in a close finish in the 1400 metres Mother Teresa Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category. Hot Seat had the lead going into the final furlong but was hard-pressed to keep the same as Mauser and favourite Lady Danger closed with big efforts. However, the front-runner had enough legs to pull through by a fast-diminishing margin.

Vittal Deshmukh trained Yesterday was backed with confidence to go one better on his previous effort in the 2400 metres Ranga Reddy Cup, a race for horses rated 40 to 65. Stablemate Francis Bacon set a comfortable pace in front, allowing Trevor Patel to settle Yesterday in a handy second position, with the others spaced out behind. Rounding the final turn, Yesterday steadily bridged the gap and stormed ahead in the final furlong to win the race by a widening margin of four lengths over Path of Peace. Francis Bacon stayed on to take the third position. Just Incredible was third. Juramento who initially started as the favourite was never in the hunt.

Newly apprenticed jockey Md Ekram Alam overcame his nervousness and managed to neck out favourite Visionary in the 1400 metres Best of Gold Plate (Div II), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Milton Keynes led from the start but the inexperienced jockey was unable to get the lesser-fancied runners to take a turn without drifting. Milton Keyes took the turn six horses wide and continued to drift further all through the straight and looked to have lost the winning chance as Visionary along the rails gained the lead. However, the apprentice persisted in pushing his horse, managed to gather his wit and steered it to a narrow win. Protocol was third.

Jockey Akshay Kumar has perhaps charged his habit of bringing his wards too late into the picture which often produced adverse results. This has been evident in his recent rides. He kept the well-backed NRI Ultrapower in a handy third position till turning for home and the Sequeira trainee quickly assumed the charge by the final furlong and went on to record an easy win over late rallying Grand Duke. Superstellar, another well backed horse in the fray, was a tame third.