Trainer Bharat Snigh’s Fancourt, with Jockey Vinay Jaiswal astride, fought a tooth and nail battle with second favourite Angel Grace before lifting the Acorn Stakes at RCTC on Thursday. Unfortunately, the ante-post favourite Valeria had to be withdrawn at the starting stalls as she refused to enter them. Astoria led till after the home turn, where Angel Grace and Suraj Narredu took over the running.  She seemed to be headed for a comfortable victory before Fancourt (Saamidd-Oakdale) decided to dispute the issue. All credit to Vinay Jaiswal for riding a gem of a finish. 

The Hyderabad Race Club Cup saw Vijay Singh’s Splash Proof  (Suraj Narredu up) get the better of Aggregated after a brief tussle in the straight. In his eagerness to reach the winning post ahead of his chief rival, apprentice Vikram tried to steal a march over his rival Splash  Proof who was running up front.  But the mount of Suraj Narredu came back at him with a vengeance 

Trainer Shafiq Khan recorded a difficult treble with Bang Bang, Airlift and the unstoppable Mustang with his fourth consecutive win. Brother Sarfaraz joined in the party with Archivolt. The last named won the Ramkirpal Handicap without too much trouble thanks to a well-judged ride by whip-less apprentice Rupal Singh. Following Casablanca till the top of the straight, Archivolt (Chevalier-Arnatta) shot ahead to win as he liked from Marigold and favourite Happy Returns.

Trainer Shafiq Khan commenced his success story of the day with the help of former champion jockey  Christopher Alford who piloted Bang Bang (Stardan – Ballad Of Glory) to a smashing triumph in the Gurkirpal Handicap. An outside draw forced Alford to travel wide for most part of the journey but the superior class of the animal had its say at the end of the day. There was a blanket finish for the second spot with Bacaardi, Caiden, Alien and Scarlet Emperor finishing in that order.

Shafiq’s Airlift (Arazan-Perpetuate) won the mile race for the Academy Gold Handicap next in the hands of Nikhil Naidu. It was favourite Alyssa’s fourth run consecutive over a mile and she found one better once again. Ironically, it was her owner-mate on this occasion. During that period, her rating has escalated steadily from 46 to 54. Nevertheless, she may yet pick up a win before the end of the season. She has been running out of gas in the final furlong of the mile, so unless the field is very weak, seven furlongs would probably be more her cup of tea. 

Shafiq completed his treble with the most amazing victory of all – the indomitable six-year-old Mustang (Diffident-Marquisa) completing his fourth consecutive win of the season. His first win was at the rating of 6, he is now rated at 59. All his wins were under apprentice Rupal Singh, who is now eligible to carry a whip. If he keeps riding with this kind of vigour – and let’s hope he does – the apprentice is sure to grab the leading apprentice sash at the end of the season. He has Mustang and Shafiq to thank for his success. As they say, ‘fortune favours the brave’, and in this case three ‘braves’ -  kudos to the trio!

Trainer Vijay Singh notched up a double with Multiple and Splash Proof. Multiple (Multidimensional-Al Dente) was ridden flat out by Nikhil Naidu to keep at bay bottom-weight Malana who may have collared the winner with an extra 10 metres to travel. That’s racing for you, the narrowest of margins can make a difference between winning and losing. Apprentice Vikram could claim only 1.5kg of his 3kg allowance. Whether the 1.5kg would have reversed the verdict of short-head is anybody’s guess. 

Suraj Narredu showed his vast experience by winning the Hyderabad Race Club Cup astride Vijay Singh-trained Splash Proof (Multidimensional-Splash Of Class) without raising a sweat, He simply permitted the over-eager Aggregated to call the shots till the straight before making his move and putting an end to his aspirations. The other runners were never in the race.