Malakpet race course wore a festive look on Sunday, with Hyderabad Race Club celebrating a glorious fifty years of existence. 1961 – 2011 has been a saga of success for the club, having grown to be one of the premier racing institutions in the country. A race to commemorate the occasion was framed for the day, along with the running of the Grade I, The President of India Gold Cup, which has always been regarded as a prestigious event in Indian racing calendar.

Excitement and action was in abundance both on and off the turf, in the President of India Gold Cup. A small field of four runners had lined up for the 2400 metres trip, two of them, Arabian Prince and the Nizam’s Cup hero Ordained One producing a pulsating fight, which lasted out till the wire, getting the entire grand stand to the edge of their seats. Arabian Prince was ridden along the inner rails by Ryan Marshall while Mark Gallagher made his bid two off the fence. The two fought every inch of the final furlong and it was the stronger finish of Gallagher that enabled Ordained One to put his nose in front and win the coveted trophy. Ryan Marshall lodged an objection against Mark Gallagher for bumping and pushing him towards the rails in the last 50 yards which was overruled by the Stewards. For the ‘Goldie Brown’ camp which was represented by trainer S. Ganapathy, it was a double delight. A win in the President of India Gold Cup turned out to be an apt birthday present for Dr. M.A.M.Ramaswamy who celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday.

J.S.Dhariwal trained Aristos (Okawango-Leros) rose to the occasion and pulled off a gallant victory for the silks of Dr. & Mrs. Vijay Mallya, in the HRC Golden Jubilee Commemoration Cup, runs over a metric mile. Six runners took off from the gates and the local challenger Iaepetus shot ahead and set a true pace with Aristos pursuing in second. Entering the home stretch, Iaepetus held on for a while but faltered when Ladjadj Stephane changed gears on Aristos and cruised ahead. Aristos proved that he was a mighty miler and missed breaking his own course record by a fraction of a second. String Along towed in third while Immense on whom rumours did rounds right from the morning that he would be a non starter as he had suffered pain during shoeing finally ran the race but never produced his best and finished a tame fourth.

Speaking to India Race after the race, Mr. Zeyn Mirza, Managing Director, U.R.B.B. said,” Aristos is also a front runner but Iaepetus going into the front suited us well. The pace was spot on and Aristos relished it and we are happy to win this special trophy”.

Jaggy Dhariwal schooled Aprillia (Burden of Proof-Anonymity) gave the colours of Dr. & Mrs. Vijay Mallya a double while storming home in the Turf Authorities Million. As the six runners entered the straight for the final run, Aprillia was in the centre with Kyles Of Bute along the inner rails and Rapture of Victory on the outside. Rapture of Victory was the first to pack off and Kyles of Bute not finding enough room was pulled out by jockey S. John. Ladjadj Stephane in the meanwhile had got Aprillia to quicken and emerged clear. Kyles Of Bute flashed on towards the closing stages to bridge the gap and finish second by half a length.

L.V.R.Deshmukh and P. S. Chouhan combined to win the Soli and Gool Poonawalla Memorial Gold Cup and provided a mighty back to back double for the popular colours of ‘pink, red stars’, winning the Golconda Million. Vijay Damini (Elusive City-Kabubina) made every post a winning one, in the Soli and Gool Poonawalla Memorial Gold Cup, a category I sprint over 1200 metres. Out of the three other runners in the race, it was Guiding Light who could get to the shadow of the winner and the other two, Walnut Creek and Above The Line finished many lengths behind.

The Golconda Million attracted six contenders, with Golden Rule, who had finished fourth to Super Duper in the Colts Championship Stakes garnering maximum support in the betting. Vijayshaurya (Trade Fair-Troppa Freska), second in demand at 11 to 4 set out on a start to finish bid and successfully stayed in front, to win the Million. River Side and Golden Rule chased the winner without hope, right through the home stretch and the latter eventually took the second place. Golden Palace improved late to join the stable companions and finished a close fourth.

The in form jockey, A. Imran Khan booted home two popular winners on the big day. A win in the Vybrant Million astride Sirajuddin’s Secret Punch (Royal Gladiator-Temple Bay) was his first and he topped it up with Prasad Raju’s Melody Queen (Hymn-Jukebox), in the concluding race, the Half a Crown Cup. Imran steered the top weighted Secret Punch along the inner rails while Special FX started to essay a challenge inside the last 300 metres. Aegis too moved up well and it was turning out to be a three way finish when Imran got stronger on Secret Punch to skip away by a clear two lengths. Aegis managed to get the better of Special FX for the second place.

Prasad Raju’s well calculated gamble on Melody Queen paid off in the Half A Crown Cup. Imran had Melody Queen running second last in the first five furlongs of the mile trip and improved gradually to be behind Qinghuangdao upon entering the home straight. Quinghuangdao held out in front for half a furlong on the straight but drifted out and was no match for Melody Queen’s speed. Ice Rain and Cherry filled the frame.

Faiyaz Shaikh’s Genius Empress registered a facile win under Gary Carter, in the Rani Rudramma Devi Cup. Daniella was speedy and tried to run away with the race from the start but Gary brought Genius Empress with a good gallop in the final furlong to shoot ahead and win despite veering out towards the closing stages.