The wait seemed never-ending as racing had come to a halt thanks to the pandemic and it had been a long while. The gates finally banged open at Hyderabad providing a sense of relief and abundant joy among the racing fraternity.

The horses too did not let them down and they rose to the occasion as if to make their own statement! The first race itself was a testimony of fitness displayed by fancied By The Bay (Lord Admiral – Karisini) from trainer Laxman Singh’s yard; the filly jumped out well and didn’t take long to assume command within the first furlong or so.

Jockey PS Chouhan had her hard-held taking the turn and was on cruise mode deep into the straight even as those chasing her were gasping to keep up. None looked threatening at any stage as By The Bay sped away, increasing the distance with each stride to score a runaway victory. Total Darc improved under the whip to finish second a good six lengths behind the winner. Maximum Glamour moved up from behind to finish in the money, pegging back Angelita for the third place.

Ace jockey P Trevor gobbled up half the card returning a rich haul of four winners on the day off the eight-race card. Trevor began his ‘roll-of-four’ in the second race astride trainer Deshmukh’s ward Fire Power (Speaking of Which – Roses in Bloom). The strongly fancied runner did cause a wee bit of anxiety as he had more than half the field in front of him at the turn.

Rayal Pal and Polonsky were disputing the lead on straightening up, with Explosive and Cheltenham shaping up to challenge them. Trevor had to push hard and guide Fire Power through horses and once he switched to the outside to get a clear run, the dark bay gelding opened throttle to surge past them all showing a good dash of speed to not only get past, but stretch away further, to score an emphatic victory by over four lengths. Cheltenham fought off Explosive for the runner-up berth, while Royal Pal stayed on to finish in the frame. Polonsky squandered a good chance as he could not improve after being in the prime spot coming into the homestretch.

Trevor then guided Francis Bacon (Born to Sea – Look Over) to a comfortable victory, the five-year-old finally adding to his solitary win which had come in 2019. Trevor had Francis Bacon up in front alongside early leader Pedro Planet until into the straight. Favourite Just Incredible on the contrary, found himself way behind and had a lot to do in the homestretch.

Francis Bacon shook off his companion soon on entering the straight and Trevor had to ride him out to pile up a safe lead approaching the final furlong and converted it well, resulting in trainer Deshmukh leading-in his second of three winners on the day. Ashwa Arjun too progressed past the tiring Pedro Planet, but could not match up to the winner. Just Incredible finished on well but his effort was not good enough, ending just behind Ashwa Arjun to take the third spot.  

Trainer Srinivas Reddy’s Ashwa Bravo (Leitir Mor – Shadow Roll) provided Trevor with his third win while beating a tough set of rivals with ease, despite giving weight. Trevor played a big part in ensuring that Ashwa Bravo did bolt away as he is notorious for doing it in the past. Trevor settled Ashwa Bravo well racing in the third spot as Lagos shot ahead to lead comfortably until into the straight.

Once in, Trevor unleashed Ashwa Bravo and in a trice the colt showed his class by galloping away smoothly, displaying is known turn of foot to bounce away and win by a three lengths plus margin,  chalking up his fifth victory in nine starts which was also his first over the shorter six-furlong sprint.    Ashwa Bravo, in the process, also showcased his versatility, as returning to shorter distances after racing over much longer trips is never easy.

Ashwa Bravo showed splendid alacrity in the homestretch that even left his competent rivals devastated. Lagos tasted his first defeat after a streak of four wins, while runner up house of Diamonds and Vijays Simha too were completely outpaced. Ashwa Bravo ought to progress further and is expected to pull off a few more.

Trevor signed off the day with another victory atop Colachel Battle (Planetaire – Brindaban) to score a fourth win and give trainer Deshmukh his treble for the day. This one though came through hard work in contrast to his three previous wins.

The Speedy Gusty Note shot into the lead from the gates and had a handy lead turning for home. Thunder Road soon burst through between horses and set up to chase Gusty Note. At this juncture, Colachel Battle was way behind and even went wide while taking the turn. That did not deter Trevor as he focussed on catching up with the bunch. Gutsy Note was still ahead in the final furlong and Thunder Road too was warming up to put up a stiff challenge for the lead when Colachel Battle sounded the bugle. The chestnut rig arrived all guns blazing and although Thunder Road gave it his all, Colachel Battle thundered past to pip Thunder Road on the post to stay undefeated, notching up another win over his successful debut last season. Thunder Road returned a gallant runner-up and should not be disappointed. Gusty Note made a promising start and he can look forward to performing well this season.

Local lad Akshay Kumar made his mark in the fifth race partnering D Netto trained Appenzelle (Lord Admiral – Disarming) to victory. Appenzelle jumped out quickly and settled into the third behind Flying Jet and Blink of an Eye, while Hidden Hope was in the mid-bunch.

Appenzelle took control soon on turning for home and jockey Akshay Kumar had no difficulty in galloping past Blink of an Eye; Flying Jet bowed out meekly and faded away. Appenzelle finished-on well to stay comfortably ahead, winning by two and half lengths. Star Racer warmed up nicely midway down the straight to improve and beat Blink of an Eye to take the second slot. Hidden Hope too improved at the finish, ending alongside Blink of an Eye.

Srinivas Reddy trained Ashwa Yashobali probably scored the most dramatic victory for the day with a splendid rally from the last position to shock Maxwell closer home. Apprentice jockey Gaurav Singh should be proud of his efforts as he seemed to have left a lot to do with only two furlongs to go.

Full Volume came in on full blast with a handy lead passing the 400m mark well ahead of Maxwell. With jockey PS Chouhan going all out on Full Volume, Maxwell took a while to draw level. Maxwell had just surged ahead and was stretching away from the leader when Ashwa Yashobali came charging down from the outside. It looked touch and go with only 50 meters from the post, but the momentum that Ashwa Yashobali had gotten into, saw him get past Maxwell in the last couple of strides to carve out a narrow half-length victory in an exciting finish. Maxwell would be disappointed for doing so well yet beaten close home. Full Volume was reduced to the third spot.

Siyavash (Top class – Malakeye Ziba) from Srinivas Reddy’s yard achieved his maiden success on his fourth attempt. Jockey Ashhad Asbar had him up with the leaders City of Bliss and Hard to Toss.

City of Bliss galloped gamely and seemed in control in the homestretch. Hard to Toss was finding it hard to combat City of Bliss and both were going all out. Siyavash was a bit erratic, not finding a good rhythm but was hanging right there. He took his time and then unleashed a powerful finishing effort, timing his finish to a nicety, getting past the stubborn City of Bliss to notch up a memorable first win by a narrow margin. City of Bliss fought gallantly all the way and should be shaking out of the maiden ranks sooner than later. Hard to Toss did reasonably well to finish in the money.

For the professionals, trainers LVR Deshmukh and M Srinivas Reddy lined up a treble each, while jockey P Trevor was the star of the day with a rich haul of four winners.