The Hyderabad Monsoon Races, the commencement of which was delayed by a week due to some horses turning unwell with suspected ‘Strangles’- a contagious upper respiratory tract infection of horses caused by a bacterium -, finally started off on Thursday with a card of nine races framed for the opening day. Fancied runners fared well on the day with only the last race of the day being won by a rank outsider. Trainer K.Satheesh was the only professional to score a double.  

J.Silvester trained Odalis (Hymn-Sublimely Single) won the Madras Race Club Cup, a six furlongs sprintevent, which featured the nine races card on the opening day of the Hyderabad Monsoon Season. A packed field of fifteen horses lined up for the start. Hidden Destiny went ahead to lead the field early, with Odalis settling down well in second. As they came into the final 400 metres on the straight, Odalis headed swiftly to get to the front and kicked on gamely. The favourite Plenipotent after toiling in about sixth or seventh till the last 200 metres warmed up late to be the runner-up. Young Soldier finished third ahead of Indian Epic.  

L.V.R.Deshmukh trained Ashwa Shakti (Rebuttal-Sppedwell), the highest rated among the five runners returned to its winning ways while beating the ‘on money’ favourite Sheer Genius convincingly in the C.R.Bhoopal Memorial Cup. Oasis Vision led the field early followed by Sheer Genius, Ashwa Shakti and the others. Mid-way up the straight Sheer Genius surged forward to the lead but just couldn’t match strides when jockey Anil brought the top weighted Ashwa Shakti with a challenge. Despite running a little erratic on the straight, Ashwa Shakti moved ahead to win by over two lengths. 

Jockey P.S.Chouhan kick started his monsoon campaign with a fine win on debutant Catherine (Warrshan-Outtostealthescene) in the lower division of the Welcome Plate, the first race of the season. The field of eight 3 year old maidens was reduced to seven after Tejaswani was withdrawn. M.Srinivas Reddy schooled Catherine sporting the colours of Col.S.B.Nair was settled well in second as Satheesh’s ward Fair And Square hit the front over the five and a half furlongs trip. Approaching the last 200 metres Catherine moved alongside the front runner and with a couple of backhanders from Chouhan, forged ahead to score well. Fair And Square finished second while the favourite Golden Art was third.

The lower division of the race for maidens was won by Ananth Vatsalya trained Kohinoor Desire (Eljohar-Barcelona). Rock Heights went to the front and held forte till into the last furlong. Kohinoor Desire which was tracking the leader all the way from the bend was ridden out hard by Harinder Singh and surged ahead to win. Deal Maker moved strongly towards the closing stages but could only beat Rock Heights for the second place.

The consistent Fairy Boy (Hymn-Naaina) from the stables of K.S.V.Prasad Raju, which had finished in the money in all its five starts, scored an encore in the Nelston Cup. The favourite Musical Note was well in front from the start and Ziv being the one getting closer when the race got to a boil inside the last 200 metres. Nilesh Rawal was working on the top weighted Fairy Boy, moving widest of all from the rear. Covering places steadily, Fairy Boy flashed with a resolute gallop to fly past the two in front in the last 50 metres. Prayer Call came up strongly from a second last position to finish an impressive second. Ziv got the better of Musical Note for the third place.

L.D’Silva trained Ocean Side (Novere-Maratha Princess) raised a fluent gallop under Kuldeep Singh to win the lower division of the Wandering Star Plate. Best Pal led early with Vijays Best in close attendance. As they neared the distance post Vijays Best went past Best Pal. Ocean Side improved steadily from around sixth position and got stronger to draw away and win comfortably. Glorious View finished third ahead of Best Pal.

K.Satheesh trained 4 year old Ground Crew (Hurricane State-Deep in the Jungle) which had remained winless from nine starts came good as a favourite in the division one of the Act in Time Plate. Racing a close fifth till approaching the final bend, Ground Crew rushed through, in between the leader Montego Bay and Golden Jewel. Striding with Montego Bay till the last 150 metres, Ground Crew drew clear. Montego Bay held on to finish second. Big Boss and Sabreen Princess filled the frame.

Satheesh saddled a back to back double with Gold Medal (Hurricane State-Alvinia) in the higher division of the Wandering Star Plate. Gold Medal started to close up on the front running Drum Beat inside the last 300 metres and was beginning to hang in badly. Jockey Ajit Kumar did well to keep the chestnut gelding on even keel, avoiding leaning over Drum Beat and surged forward to be a length and a half clear at the finish. Drum Beat finished second and Power Planet third. The rider of Drum Beat raised an objection on the winner for interference and the one of third placed Power Planet objected to Drum Beat shifting in sharply. Both the objections did not hold water in the steward’s room and the original placing was not disturbed. 

Sk.Kassam trained Confidential (Black Cash-Serious Trouble) was the biggest upset of the day, paying a whopping Rs.304 on a fiver in the lower division of the Act in Time Plate, the concluding race of the day. The favourite Desert Bloom was up in front from the start with jockey P.S.Chouhan trying his best to keep it going. Rocking Racer tracked the leader till the last 100 metres and with a sustained run charged to the lead. Longshot Confidential came menacingly under M.Mark to get the better of Desert Bloom by a neck in the shadow of the winning post. Break Away beat Desert Bloom for the third place.