The Golconda Derby Stakes (Gr1) saw a battle royal that had every spectator riveted to the edge of the seat as second favourite Consigliori and battle scarred Royal Crystal raging a pitched battle all through the long Hyderabad straight. Jockeys David Allan and S John were at their fighting best and the race soared to the pinnacle of excitement with the sustained suspense. Favourite Paso Robles missed out on the spotlight and chose the wrong moment to falter after a good showing in the Oaks.  

Consigliori raced to the lead soon on start and galloped at a fairly good pace and it was not long before Royal Crystal moved up from third to stalk the leader. These two raced alongside from the half way stage and few would have comprehended the duo to battle the rest of the journey all the way past the post. Ruletheworld, Artistry and Paso Robles raced close behind the pair in front with Vijay Singham racing a tad off the pace.  

At the turn, Royal Crystal was on the tail of Consigliori and these two were just ahead of the rest. Consigliori looked good coming past the 400 m mark but could not shake off Royal Crystal who seemed determined to stick along. By then the rest were huffing and puffing to stay in contention. Paso Robles was not finding the extra gear nor the acceleration she displayed in the Oaks. She only progressed to get past the tiring horses, not making any impact on the battling duo ahead. Vijays Singham too was found wanting over the extended trip and the gusto with which he beat Consigliori in the Colts’ was blatantly missing.

Meanwhile, out in front, Consigliori was fight hard to ward off Royal Crystal and with less than 200 to go it was still not clear as to which of the two would prevail. It was up to Royal Crystal to find the extra gear as Consigliori was still showing no signs of slowing down and that’s exactly what the Arjun Mangalorkar’s ward produced in the dying moments of the race. He picked up speed in the last few strides and just managed to stick his neck in front to end the suspense with a truly brave effort. Royal Crystal, after a couple of close defeats, rose to the occasion to win the Golconda Derby Stakes (Gr1) amidst loud cheer and one’s heart went to Consigliori too for the valiant attempt that went down narrowly. Paso Robles ended a tame third a neck ahead of Vijays Singham.

Prince Valiant (Varenar – Alma Mater) romped home to an easy victory in the Madras Race Club Cup, justifying the all-round support he received in the betting ring. The Deshmukh trainee settled in fourth as Mr Baahubali led them into the straight.

Prince Valiant, with jockey PS Chouhan in the saddle, caught up with the leader with 300 to go and then unleashed a powerful burst to draw away from the field. Isabella tried hard but just could not match the speed that Prince Valiant was galloping at and ended a tame second. Highly Acclaimed, That’s MY Class and Versallies finished together in that order.

Lombardy (Leitir Mor – Lombardia) added to her debut win with a clinical display of speed and temperament. The Deshmukh trained filly was nippy from the start and she shook off Flameoftheforest to lead them into the straight.

Once in the straight, Lombardy galloped freely in front but the challenge did come from Air Blast. With a furlong to go, Air Blast looked threatening, but jockey David Allan unleashed Lombardy  and the filly darted further ahead to thwart the bid of Air blast with a measure of comfort. Allabouther improved to finish in the money.

Debutante Good Connection (Leitir Mor – Guest Connections) showed a clean pair of heels and notched up a scintillating victory in the Bangalore Turf Club Cup. Jockey David Egan nursed the Deshmukh trained filly from an outside draw to lead the field with a smooth inward move without hampering any from the pack. He was in control from there on and niggled Good Connection once they turned for home. They set off nicely thereafter and Good Connection looked the winner coming into the final furlong. There was none from the bunch who bothered Good Connection and she won by over three lengths, promising to add to her debut win sooner than later. Queen Daenerys ran on to take the second spot from Ice Berry and Lightning Power.

Golden Fortune (Sedgefield – Fabulous Fortune) pulled off a facile victory in the opening race of the day, giving trainer Deskhmukh a positive start and the gentleman trainer went on to roll off four winners in the day. Jockey Ajeeth Kumar took the initiative early and hurried through the backstretch to take Golden Fortune to the second spot behind Mark My Word. Once in the straight, Golden Fortune had no difficulty in getting past the leader and take charge. Galloping Gangster made a serious attempt at challenging the new leader, but Golden Fortune accelerated fluently to win convincingly. Galloping Gangster settled for the second spot ahead of Exclusive Blue, who let down a large following.

Laxman Singh’s The Great Gatsby (Speaking of Which – Cest Bon) bounced back to winning form and won the Shravan Kumar Memorial Cup in style. Jockey Ashhad Asbar guided The Great Gatsby to the front and then galloped on gamely to steer clear of the rest closer home. City of Wisdom too moved quickly to be alongside The Great Gatsby and the pair didn’t let any other runner past them. There was a brief fight when City Of Wisdom tried to get closer, but The Great Gatsby showed enough resolve to kick on strongly all th way and notch up a comfortable victory by two lengths from City of Wisdom. Favourite Beyond Limits ended a tame third.

Sun Dancer (Ravel – Ekta Ekta Ekta) produced a spirited finishing run to prop up in the last 100 meters and score in the hands of jockey Imran Chisty. The L D’Silva trainee came into prominence in the final furlong when All Star General, Halo’s Princess and London Bridge were involved in a fiery fight. Sun Dancer quickened at the right moment to dash past the all to score by over a length. Halo’s Princess fought hard to hold on to the runner up berth from the fast finishing Hopscotch who pushed back London Bridge to th fourth spot.  

Ashwa Arjun (Arabian Gulf – Fire Streak) created a flutter while winning the Mysore Race Club Cup at longer odds. The five year old gelding from trainer Srinivas Reddy’s stables, had shown no form in his last three outings, hence was completely neglected in the betting.

He showed great alacrity at the start to lead the big field and then last out the rest of the journey comfortably. Wood Bridge tried hard to tackle Ashwa Arjun in the straight, but all his efforts were in vain. Ashwa Arjun kicked on spiritedly all the way to score by two lengths from Wood Bridge. Sea Castle did well to edge out Royal Dynamite for the place stakes.

Happy Together (Tazahum – Regal Glory) dropped another bombshell as the 20-1 shot gave weight to her rivals yet carved out a brave victory, galloping to her second win on the trot. The Sateesh trained mare shot into the lead soon after the start and galloped at a brisk rate. Celeritas was in second but could do no better. Happy Together looked good coming into the straight and jockey Jitendra Singh, who had partnered her in her last win too, was confident all the way. He waited until deep into the straight before starting to hustle her to go all the way. Happy Together quickened further in the final furlong to score comfortably from Celeritas. Esteva improved in the straight to finish in the money.

Sateesh led-in his second winner in the last race of an eventful day with Gazebo (Dean’s Kitten – Wonder Smile). Aibak led them into the straight and faded out. Nova Scotia shaped well as he took charge and accelerated well, but had a bunch of horses snapping at his tail.  Just when it looked like Nova Scotia could hold on, Gazebo picked up speed and arrived with a tremendous burst of speed. He sailed past Nova Scotia and pulled away to score by just over a length. Rhine just about managed to take the third post from the fast finishing Ice Warrior.

Trainer LVR Deshmukh was the star pro of the day saddling four winners.