Front Line (Ikhtyar-Safe Haven) from the stables of Laxman Singh pulled off a dramatic upset in the M.L.N.Reddy Memorial Cup which was the main event at the races in Hyderabad on Monday. Apprentice Harinder Singh took the 5 year old to the front as the field of six runners were despatched for the gruelling 2400 metres trip. Passing through the back stretch, Front Line extended the leeway to over eight lengths. Elzaam was in second , followed by Golden Rule, Vijaykeerti, Toli Toli Toli and Handsome Hawk at the tail end. Rounding the final bend, Front Line was still in front but the lead had been drastically cut to just a length by Elzaam. Inside the last 300 metres, Elzaam was trying to catch up and the ‘odds on’ favourite Vijaykeerti was given a few cracks by P.S.Chouhan, to quicken but grey had no gas in the tank. Front Line with renewed energy started to kick on and went past the winning post successfully. Toli Toli Toli moved fast towards the closing stages to be the runner-up ahead of Elzaam. Vijaykeerti was a poor fourth.

The fight for the jockeys’ championship gained momentum with both A.Imran Khan and P.S.Chouhan, who are level at the top booting home two winners each. Imran rode Shehzad Abbas’s Our Mascot and Inner Strength to victory, while P.S.Chouhan piloted R.H.Sequeira’s Sheer Genius and Enigma successfully. Trainer Anupam Sharma and jockey Carlos Henrique also pulled off a double with Striking Gold and Brahmani.

Our Mascot (Hurricane State-Integrate) just managed to scrape through in the Patrons Cup.  Skander, which was the ‘even money’ favourite in the race, reared up as the gates opened and dropped the rider as it came out. Our Mascot, settled in a promonent position behind the leader Flower of Temba till the last turn. As they rounded the turn, jockey Imran Khan steered Our Mascot along the inner rails and quickly gained a sizable lead., Inside the last 100 metres, when  Our Mascot was appearing to have it easy, came Ground Crew flying from behind. The two went past the winning post locked together and separating them through the naked eyes was not an easy task. The picture captured by the ’magic eye’ probably required multiple magnification before declaring Our Mascot as the winner.

Shehzad and Imran teamed up again to win with Inner Strength (Hurricane State-Integra), in the Columbia Plate. Shatakshi  and Elegant Approach came into the final straight together and the first named moved forward to gain the lead. The favourite Inner Strength was catching up on the outside and with Imran Khan getting vigorous, stretched out to win by a big margin. Elegant Approach finished third.

Jockey P.S.Chouhan rode a double for trainer  R.H.Sequeira through Sheer Genius and Enigma, both in the colours of Mr.Y.Damodhar. Sheer Genius (Gaswar-Carrera), who had failed as a favourite in its previous attempt, was again sent in at a short price. Jumping out from the outermost draw, Sheer Genius came in quickly to be in front as they passed the 1000 metres pole. Showing up first in the home stretch, Sheer Genius travelled  with ease and stretched out well. Rustic Gal, Dark Avenger and Dazzling Prince filled the frame in that order.

Enigma (Epicentre-Svetlana) scored a run-away win in the Grace And Strength Plate, the concluding race of the day. Perfect le the reduced field of thirteen runners, right from the start, over the 2400 metres distance. Into the final 400 metres, Enigma bridged the gap and surged clear with 300 metres left from home, to register its maiden victory.  Wunderbar got the better of Perfect for the second place.

First timer Princely Right (Princely Heir-Equal Right), owned and trained by Ananth Vatsalya,  pulled off a surprise win on debut,  in the Vijay Damini Plate, a five furlongs sprint for maiden three year olds. Into the home stretch, Goldie, Amazing Weapon and Fair And Square came in together. Princely Right, who was in fourth, started to drift out of the straight course but was also gaining ground. The filly surged past the font runners inside the last 100 metres and drew clear. Goldie finished second, in front of Fair And Square.

Zoheb Shaikh’s youngster Equaliser (Mull of Kintyre-Pupa Fiorini) went on a start to finish bid, over the mile trip, in the Mother’s Boy Plate and successfully made it to the winning post. Heading the field from the start, jockey Ch.K.Chary started to urge Equaliser on top of the straight and built up a good lead over the others. Golden Art finished on with a sustained run to take the second place. Ice Barrier finished third while the favourite Big Move ended up a poor fourth.

Anupam Sharma trained Striking Gold (Epicentre-Streaking Senorita) was given a good ride by Carlos Henrique, to win the lower division of the Armagnac Plate. Guiding Spirit was the first to take the initiative and take the lead on entering the straigh. Striking Gold moved up steadily to join the leader and after a keenly fought contest inside the last 200 metres, moved forward to emerge clear. Iceland and Sea Runner filled the frame.

Anupam Sharma  and Carlos were again in the fore front with Brahmani (Hymn-Jukebox) in the lower division of the Royal Prince Plate.  Azaiba set out on a start to finish mission over the seven furlongs distance. Approaching the distance post, jockey Carlos Henrique guided  Brahmani along the rails and with a forward trust surged ahead easily. Audacious rallied late to take the second spot, ahead of Azaiba.