Donald Netto trained Knotty Dancer bounced back to winning form after having run a fair race in the Nilgiris Derby more than two months ago. Backed to the exclusion of the rest, Knotty Dancer was not hard-pressed to assert his supremacy in the hands of jockey A A Vikrant in the1400 metres Golconda Cup, a race for horses rated 40 to 65, the feature event of races held at Malakpet on Monday.

Knotty Dancer had run third in the Derby in September with a front-running effort which saw him finish a little more than two lengths behind the winner Alicia. Knotty Dancer towered over the modest lot of horses that he was tackling. Knotty Dancer tracked the pace-setting Mark My Day before storming head inside the final 300 metres. Knotty Dancer effortlessly sailed ahead and looked very impressive when stretching the lead to more than four lengths at the finish. Red Snaper snatched the second position by a whisker over One Wish who should surely be better off for this forward run. Mark My Day weakened to finish fourth.

Hilton Sequeira trained NRI Valley had finished second on four occasions after reeling off a hat-trick of wins and looked to have as good a chance as any to win the 1400 metres Totaram’s Cup, a race for horses rated 60 to 85. The favourite for the race was Scramjet who started as a short-priced horse but the odds expanded close to race time which made many to revise their prediction for the race. NRI Valley who raced up with the pace shot clear in the final furlong and went beyond the reach of the rest to record an easy win. Saffron Art who was coming back in distance after having won over a trip of 2000 metres did well to take the second spot ahead of the favourite Scramjet. The favourite had a tough task at the top of the straight and Scramjet running into a pocket ensured the finishing effort would only be of academic interest.

Trainer Robin Reddy Kondakalla recorded the first double of his career when his wards won both the divisions of the 1400 metres Kinnerasani Plate (Div I), a race for horses in the lowest category. Southern Act came in for inspired support to win the race. Lorena was the favourite. The favourite had a healthy lead going into the final furlong but had no answer when Southern Act got her act together and came home with a menacing effort. Southern Act won by a margin of three lengths beating the long-time leader with ease. Royal Girl was third. The lower division of the race posed a lot of problems for the punters to shortlist their choice but the three-year-old filly Siri surely was one among them to corner attention in the betting ring. In keeping with the expectations, Siri had no problem in obliging expectations, having the race sewn up a long way from home. Lightning Fairy who had significant supporters could do no better than finishing second best at the expense of Red River by a whisker.

The season’s first race for two-year-olds, the 1100 metres Elusive Hero Plate, went the way of the fancied Neglect Me Not from the stables of trainer Srinivas Reddy. Backed to win on the basis of the good preparation, Neglect Me Not took a while in the stretch to get into a rhythm but once found his foot, he came home with a blistering run to record an easy win. Galway Bay necked out Lights On to take the runner-up berth.

K Satheesh trained One More Time won the 1100 metres Bhongir Plate (Div I) at lucrative odds with a powerful effort down the final furlong to win with ease. NRI Touch and Gregor Clegane occupied the next two slots. Alba had her share of supporters but the horse was far from ready besides was running over too sharp a distance considering her breeding. Prasad Raju trained Cabello was an impressive winner of the lower division of the race. Cabello veered out at the start but jockey Pradeep Chouhan gathered the horse and allowed her to get into her rhythm before unleashing her in the stretch. Cabello came home with a big effort to account for the opposition in an impressive fashion. Beauty Flame and Sally took the next two spots on the frame. There was solid support for Vittal Deshmukh trained Visionary who was not inclined to put her best foot forward.

The 1200 meters Bloomer Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45, saw an interesting turn of events. Shiraz Sunderji trained Buckley was the original favourite but close to race time, his stablemate Farrell came in for spirited betting to end up as a firm favourite. However, Buckley stayed focused on his task and had no problem in tackling the challenge of Stunning Force. Farrell ran on late to get the third place ahead of Moonlight Ruby.