A small card of six races was framed for Saturday’s races at Hyderabad. The Asaf Jah VII Memorial Cup, a seven furlongs trip, for horses in the highest category was featured as the day’s plum event, with eight runners lined up. Laxman Singh trained Napoleon (Glory of Dancer-Little Pleasure) was the raging favourite, while Prasad Raju’s Alberton Star (Royal Gladiator-Naval Guardian) had his share of supporters. The two fought tooth and nail right through the last furlong and crossed the winning post locked together. Alexander Square enjoyed a two length lead entering the last 200 metres, while Imran Khan on Alberton Star and Ashhad Asbar on Napoleon were getting busy and they flashed past the leader 50 metres from home. It was a hair rising finish and the judge failing to separate them in the photo finish declared a dead heat

Laxman Singh and Prasad Raju were the only professionals to pack off a double on the day. Hidden Destiny (Eljohar-Lucky Mining) was ridden to a gate to post victory by Gary Carter, for Laxman Singh, in the higher division of the Mount Everest Plate. Hidden Destiny was the fastest out of the gates and led all the way to quicken in the last 200 metres and get the race in a smart timing, just fractionally short of the course record. Notredame was in futile chase of the winner throughout.

Prasad’s Indian Epic (Epicentre-Cosmic Swirl) took the lower division in an incredibly close finish. Rio Grande entered the home stretch first but started to drift out alarmingly with Indian Epic inching up with every stride on the outside. Apprentice Kuldeep Singh failed to keep Rio Grande on a straight course and kept taking Indian Epic out, who almost landed on the sand track. Nilesh Rawal just managed to get Indian Epic to put his nose in front, to win the race on the last stride thus saving the dilemma of going to the stewards’ room with a grievance.

Longshot Devil’s Advocate (Serious Spender-Frequency) turned out to be a transformed horse with a change in the racing equipment, replacing the Rubber D Bit with a Rubber Hanging Bit. The favourite Secret Burden was up with the front bunch till the field rounded the final bend and shot ahead on entering the straight. Devil’s Advocate made a quick move from behind and cut across the field sharply on top of the straight and galloped strongly to get the better by a ‘neck’ at the finish, in the Dynamic Dancer Cup.

T.Srinagesh trained Hardccore (Hammerstein-Golden Locks), who had found one better in Standing Ovation in his previous run, where he went down narrowly, made amends to win the Karimnagar Plate comfortably. The speedy Sprint Champ and Hardccore raced in front till the last 300 metres from where Nitin Singh got Hardccore to raise a winning gallop. Casablanca and Pure Magic rallied late to finish second and third respectively. The favourite Sparkling Sapphire was left standing at the gates and finished last.

The favourite Nano Storm (Epicentre-Desert Strorm) successfully pulled off a well planed gamble for the stables of Ananth Vatsalya, in the Royal Tern Plate. Settled well in fourth till entering the final straight, Nano Storm shot ahead under R. Laxmikanth to win by two lengths from All the Fun. Apology for Love was always at a striking distance from Nano Storm but failed to capitalize after running green