Agni (Burden of Proof – Auxiliary) displayed skill, temperament and a good mix of maturity on debut to score an impressive start to finish victory and claim the Dodla Pratap Chandra Reddy Memorial Million in style. The 14/10 favourite was out quickly and hit the front with Red Snaper matching strides along the outside all the way until into the straight. While Agni galloped on to further his cause, Red Snaper could not keep up with Agni’s scorching stretch run. The D Netto trained Agni ridden by Akshay Kumar, accelerated well all through the straight to keep his opponents at bay, winning by a margin of a comfortable two lengths. Born Greek improved late to peg back Red Snaper for the runner up berth. 

Trainer Netto struck in the very next race with his ward Preciosa (Green Coast – Coco Chanel) bagging the Raja Pratapa Rudra Memorial Cup in a thrilling finish with five horses finishing within a quarter of a length off the winner. 

Preciosa showed good early speed and darted into the lead soon on start and maintained that lead well into the straight. Fashion High and Dance Oh Dance were the closest behind the leader but not making much headway. Preciosa was still galloping well past the distance post and just when it looked she would have it easy, the others began to inch closer. Fashion High started to bridge the gap and while Dance Oh Dance couldn’t find much, Exclusive Wind and Breezeofthesouth got really fast in the final 100 meters with Ambitious Approach also putting in a spirited finishing run. Preciosa however, sustained her momentum and just about managed to hold them at bay and post a hard-fought victory providing her master D Netto a grand Cup double. 

Trainer RH Sequeira sent out a back to back double and both his wards won drawing away. He first saddled Amazing Elegance (Chevalier – Elegant Approach) to a facile win, the filly winning her second race on the trot in as many starts. Settling in third position, Amazing Elegance shot into the lead midway up the straight and produced a fiery gallop at the business end to leave her rivals far behind. She won easing up, with jockey Akshay Kumar doing all the right things and easing her up meters before the winning post. That’s My Magic came from behind to peg back Excellent Hope who was in second at one stage, but failed to quicken and had to be content with the third spot. 

Sequeira then sent out Nimble Mind (Burden of Proof – Systematic) who too scored a runaway victory in the hands of jockey Nakhat Singh. Nimble Mind was at the tail end of the field and improved positions nearing the turn and stuck along the rails as they entered the straight. Long-time leader Dahlois ran out gas soon on turning for home and Exclusive Striker took over the lead. Nimble Mind was making progress along the rails as were Vijay’s Empire and Rajneeti from the outside. Buttonwood was struggling to stay in contention. Nimble Mind picked up momentum soon on taking charge and drew away from them all to win easing up with a widening margin. The fight was on only for the minor placing and Solar Heights who feel back to last crossing the 800, resurfaced with a strong finish to snatch the runner up slot from Rajneeti close home. 

Running Fire (Whatsthescript – Ramatni) picked up the opening race of the day with a fair measure of comfort. The Kishore trained filly made light of the top weight and accelerated beautifully in the later half of the straight to be elusive to her rivals who struggled to keep pace. Running Fire took charge soon on turning for home and galloped resolutely in the hands of jockey Arshad Alam to win by a healthy margin. Handsome Duo stuck behind chasing the winner in vain all along the homestretch but kept the momentum going to finish a good second, keeping Royal Style and Lancashire at bay. 

Big Brave (Western Aristocrat – Daily Edition), from the yard of trainer Laxman Singh, was ridden out well by jockey Neeraj Rawal who had to counter a serious challenge posed by Ulysses in the final furlong. Big Brave easing got past Corsican King in the straight to take charge and sped ahead building up a handy lead. Ulysses moved along the rails and started to inch closer to the leader, while the others were not up to it. Big Brave still had a useful lead coming into the final furlong, but with Ulysses putting in a fast finish, the anxiety was evident among his large number of backers. Neeraj Rawal stood up to the task and rode out hard to ensure there were no last stride blushes and warded off Ulysses who was a gallant runner up. Lockhart ended in the money, without making any impact on the top two. 

L D’Silva trained Natasha (Arazan – Shalaya) won the concluding event of the day with a blazing finish that saw her triumph by a good margin in the hands of jockey C Umesh. Red Bullet tried the runaway tactics and had sizable lead coming into the homestretch, but had no answer when challenged approaching the distance post. Natasha picked up speed and arrived with a breezy run and once she caught up with the leader, she just zipped past at a good clip to sail away and win with something to spare. Yoghasta improved in the second have to get past the other runners and end second pegging back Crimson Fire by half a length. 

For the professionals, trainers RH Sequeira and D Netto saddled a double each and jockey Akshay Kumar scored a double as well.