With the Hyderabad winter season set to conclude in a week`s time, punters are finding it hard to pick winners with any degree of conviction. Horses which hadn`t won for a long time are getting chances and those with consistent performance to back them, are showing tired legs so much so that winner picking is becoming a hazardous guess. The Wednesday`s races saw punters getting the wrong end of the stick, with barring an odd fancied winner, the other races went the way of long shots.

Jockey Abhay Singh is enjoying the end of the season run. He was astride a long shot winner in Hilton Sequeira trained Miss Little Angel who won the 1200 metres Best of All Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 40 to 65, at long odds. Barring All Time Legend who was the favourite, the rest of the runners were all at nourishing odds. Much to the chagrin of punters, the favourite finished last. Garnet had a runaway lead going into the final furlong but began to falter. Miss Little Angel who was not spotted at the busy end well into the straight, showed up on the wide outside with a powerful run and the five-year-old mare easily overwhelmed the front-runner and went away for an easy win. Baisa ran on to edge past Garnet to get the runner-up berth. The lower division of the race was won by a 20 to 1 shot Exotic Dancer from the stables of trainer Donald Anthony Netto. Naresh bolted to the front on Exotic Dancer with favourite Laurus in the chase. The front-runner looked vulnerable but pulled out that bit extra to keep the lead past the winning post. Laurus did his best but found the front-runner unrelenting. Sun Dancer covered acres of ground in the final stages of the races but just about missed pinching the second slot from Laurus.

Prasad Raju trained Rival obliged as a favourite in the 1200 metres Silver Fortress Plate (Div I), a race for maiden three-year-olds. Thunder Knight led deep into the stretch before Rival managed to cover the leeway and then storm clear for an easy win. Proud Girl ran on to get the second position. Long shot Worcester from the stables of trainer Leo D`Silva was driven out for a narrow win over late rallying Clare in the lower division of the race. After Smart Striker led the field into the final furlong, Worcester shot ahead but had to survive a late assault by Clare who came from the clouds to miss the berth narrowly. Great Giver headed the heavily backed favourite Morning Mist for the third position. The last named was a beaten cause all the way in the race.

Lesser-fancied Tripurari found his bearings in the final 100 metres and managed to snatch the issue from the battling duo of Golden Forza and Gusty Note in the 1200 metres Old Secretariat Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. The speedy Golden Forza held fort but had to face a strong challenge from Gusty Note all the way in the final furlong. Even as these two were expending their energy in seeing off each other, Tripurari finished with zest to get the verdict rather easily in the end. Ananth Vatsalya trained D Yes Boss was one of the few horses to save the day for the punters, Backed spiritedly to pull it off in the lower division of the race, D Yes Boss produced a winning effort in the final furlong to sail past Fatuma and Plethora to land the spoils. Ajeeth Kumar rode the winner.

Satheesh trained Power Ranger was backed to the exclusion of his rivals in the 1400 metres General Anders Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Lesser fancied Fresh Hope led from the start and spurted clear in the final furlong to win the race by a margin of over five lengths. Favourite Power Ranger graced the wrong end of the field and by the time, he emerged from the pack and began to make his run, the cause has been lost. Divine Destiny was third. The lower division of the race went the way of Leo D`Silva trained Verena who stole the race by the final furlong and the late dash by the heavily backed Coming Home vent in vain. Saint Emilion was third.

Long shot City Cruise from the stables of trainer Satheesh won the 1600 metres Amazing Fighter Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45, quite capably from late rallying Indian King. Apprentice jockey Md Ekram Alam pushed City Cruise to take charge within the first furlong and the long shot was never headed thereafter. Mireya was third. Favourite Temptations gave a poor account of herself and finished a dismal last.