Ravindra Singh trained Shandaar (Lord Admiral – Duchess of York) pulled off an exciting win that saw more than half the field finish in a heap to claim the Durgaraja Cup, the feature event of the day at Hyderabad. The 12/1 shot settled to chase leader Sketch of Beauty all the way into the straight and then tried to break free. That was not to be as Sketch of Beauty played it up staying alongside even as Shandaar barely put his neck ahead. Big Flash the fancied one slipped in through the inner rails and was fighting hard to be in the reckoning, Mighty Swing was seen warming up and covering ground getting closer to those in front, while Magical Skill seemed to depend too much on some magic to do the trick for him. In a scramble for the finish, Shandaar, with jockey Ajit Singh in the saddle, put in all his might to crane his neck in front in the nick of time to carve out a narrow victory from the late finishing Mighty Swing. Sketch of Beauty did well to end in the money while the top weighted Magical Skill will rue his chance for having finished a close fourth, a nose ahead of Big Flash.

Southern Legacy (Tazahum – Gracious Melange) galloped to his third straight win and he too had his moments of apprehensions. He settled in third behind Trump Girl and Riddari and soon made a forward dash on turning for home. Southern Legacy found Riddari to be a thorn in the flesh as he just could not shake him off. There was another challenge brewing from the outside as Be Sure started gathering momentum. The trio fought out a few strides but in the last 50 meters or so, jockey Suraj Narredu forged ahead to score a decisive victory albeit by less than half a length. The Laxman Singh ward surged ahead and away from his two pursuers to the thrill of his large number of supporters.

Shiloh (Gaswar – Aptiana) brought about her second victory on the trot and this one was an even more comprehensive one. Shiloh, with jockey Rohit Kumar in the saddle had to jostle at the start but soon settled to stay behind the leader Royal Gift all the way into the straight. Past the 400 m mark, the D Netto ward sailed past the leader and assumed charge. Once in the lead, Shiloh was going great guns and steered clear of the rest and galloped on majestically to score an emphatic victory with a healthy margin. Shiloh is in great heart and will be among the top contenders next time out as well. Drogan and Mr Bruss went about their task to take the second and third slots without causing any alarm to the winner.

Amazing Elegance (Chevalier – Elegant Approach) was impressive on debut as he won in a canter leading right from the start through to the winning post. He dominated all the way, but had Doubly Sure on his way until they turned for home. Into the straight, Amazing Elegance, with jockey Akshay Kumar in the saddle, accelerated smoothly and Akshay simply urged him a bit going hands and heels until into the last furlong. They switched to cruise mode for the rest of the distance to sail away and win easing up. Trainer RH Sequeira deserves praise for getting his fit and ready for such a bold show first time out. Doubly Sure ended a faraway second and Latest News held on narrowly from Crimson Girl to save place money.

Kamyar was one who could not add to his win tally after bring strongly fancied to do so. He led them into the straight with Honest Hunter the only one in the vicinity the rest were panting at the bend. Kamyar worked up a good pace to stay in front approaching the distance post and Honest Hunter was fighting hard not letting Kamyar get away. Jockey Ashhad Asbar rode his heart out to get alongside Kamyar and then there was some pressure applied on the favourite. They went stride for stride fighting every inch of the final furlong and Kamyar stayed a bob of the head ahead until the last couple of strides which was when Honest Hunter found that bit extra to snatch victory on the very last stride. It was back to back wins for Honest Hunter who is trained by SK Waseem Ahmed.

His Excellency (Twirling Candy – Smoky Opal) brought about a sensational rally in the homestretch, springing up from a long way back to pick up speed along the long Hyderabad straight, and finish with a flourish to shock Max a stride or two from home.

The field was spread with gaps between horses as Holy Healer led them into the straight with a handy lead. He kicked on for a while before Max quickened for home and got past with ease. His Excellency was nowhere close at that stage with a little more than a furlong to go. Jockey Hannam worked hard on the Srinivas Reddy ward and got him into galloping mode soon. His Excellency responded with a scorching run to gain ground at a very brisk rate and then sprung up in time to zip ahead meters from the winning post to register his maiden success with an eye-catching finish. Max was humbled way too close to the wire and ended a good second. Bombastic finished a faraway third.

Trainer Prasad Raju’s Brave Warrior (Chinese Whisper – Da Vinci Rose) won the concluding race of the day and provided rich dividends for his connections. All Star General had it going all the way into the straight and then the others starting catching up. All Star General was ahead a couple of lengths at the distance post when Hollister started to close in. Soon Sisco and Brave Warrior arrived with a strong finish and in the end, Brave Warrior, ridden by Koushik,  prevailed with Sisco finishing a close second. Hollister saved the place money.