Champion jockey Akshay Kumar is on an incredible run, yet again bagging a rich haul of five winners at the Hyderabad racecourse. Needless to say, the lad is in sublime form and his sheer consistency is rocketing him to the elite circle at a fast clip. He has lent a lot of credence to the belief that a jockey does pass on his confidence to his mount and the horses too give off their best under a confident rider. This was witnessed for the second time this season as Akshay drove home five winners for the second time running. He had a couple of close losses too and his tally for the day read eight rides, five wins and three seconds!

Among his conquests for the day, Knotty Dancer (Gusto – Daffodils) displayed terrific speed to beat a competent lot by a margin! Akshay took the D Netto trained gelding to a flashy start, getting straight down to business and travelling at a good pace. New Look tried to stay on his haunches, while favourite Columbian raced along the rails with Bugsy and Johannesburg on his outside. Alicia tailed the field, detached by a couple of lengths. 

Knotty Dancer made a dash for the post soon on turning for home and worked up a nice galloping rhythm, stretching further ahead of the pack with every stride. By the time they got to midway down the straight, it was clear that Knotty Dancer had sealed the issue with the others struggling to stay in contention. Knotty Dancer cruised away to score an emphatic victory finishing well ahead of the rest. Alicia improved considerably to finish second and although she finished three lengths behind the winner, for a debutante, Alicia did a commendable job in the homestretch to pick the runner-up spot from the fighting Bugsy. Columbian disappointed, as he failed to raise a gallop and never looked the part. 

Akshay started his day’s engagements with a robust victory astride trainer Sequeira’s Lifes Song (Lord Admiral – Hi Life) in the day’s opening race. Akshay guided Lifes Song into the lead and had a pack of horses close behind, but as they turned for home, Lifes Song gathered momentum and soon raced away to clinch the issue well away from home. Soloist tried hard to keep pace but in vain. Lifes Song pulled away and won impressively by over two lengths. Soloist ran on to finish second, while Morior Invictus made some headway to peg back Salisbury for place money. 

Downtown Girl (Multidimensional – Cest Bon) from trainer Laxman Singh’s yard showed out in her performance continuing her winning streak of last season by a strong and successful performance on her season’s first assignment. She was not overawed with the likes of hot favourite Lombardy in the fray and beat a strong bunch of rivals in a convincing manner. 

Havelock Cruise raced to the front coming out well from the outer draw and galloped freely, leading by more than two or three lengths. Long Range and NRI Valley were in chase of the leader, with Agni and Lombardy following this pair. Downtown Girl was further behind, but kept improving the position steadily. 

Havelock Cruise kicked on spiritedly, but the others got close approaching the distance post. Lombardy was not her usual self and looked rusty coming in after the layoff. Downtown Gal made her move with jockey Neeraj Rawal riding furiously, making a quick headway along the outside. NRI Valley had just gotten ahead past Havelock Cruise but his lead was short-lived as Downtown Gal arrived with tearing speed to collar Akshay-ridden NRI Valley close home to pull it off by a narrow half-length. Havelock Cruise did well to take the third spot, holding on by less than a length from Long Range. Lombardy’s under par performance was inexplicable as she looked fine in the paddock and had a couple of good gallops in her prep work as well. She just might have needed this outing and is likely to be in business soon in her next. 

Akshay was back to winning ways in the third race guiding Sreekant trained City of Bliss (Green Coast – City of Destiny) in a well-fought combat with One More Time and Total Darc. City of Bliss was on a start to finish mission and she kept slightly ahead until into the turn. Approaching the final furlong marker, City of Bliss, was ridden out, saw a threat emerge from One More Time. However, the latter started to drift out considerably and that cost One More Time dearly. City of Bliss kept a straight course all through and kicked on to score her maiden win on her fifth start. Total Darc managed to pip One More Time for the runner-up berth. Had One More time not drifted so much wider, the result could have well been in his favour. 

Akshay then guided Peaky Blinders (Whatsthescript – So Charm) to a sensational victory, coming from behind to snatch the ‘neck’ verdict close home in a fight to the finish. Rapid Fire led them into the straight with Saffron Art and Peaky Blinders right behind. Saffron Art was the first on the attack and progressed steadily to get past the leader. Peaky Blinders caught up with Saffron Art inside the final furlong and the two matched strides all the way. Peaky Blinders put his neck in front with a little over a hundred to go and looked to have the upper hand as Akshay pushed the Sequeira trainee aggressively to provide adequate assistance from the saddle and snatch a narrow victory. Saffron Art was a gallant second, while Fire Power improved to beat Rapid Fire for the third spot.

The trainer-jockey combo led-in yet again this time with NRI Vision (Excellent Art – Free Fall) in the very next race. This one too was a dramatic win considering NRI Vision was not in the best of positions when they turned for home. 

Dunkirk was contending with Linewiler for the lead with Four One Four, Rhine and Hashtag too in the melee. With just over a furlong to go, it looked like a keen battle brewing and Linewiler was shaping up well along the rails. NRI Vision galloped on the centre of the track and flew in the last few strides to swoop upon the bunch and blow away the opposition, winning by over a length. NRI Vision’s last fw strides were scorching indeed and what looked like a close finish on the cards, eventually turned out to be a breezy win with a fairly safe margin. Linewiler held on to the second spot from Four One Four and Rhine.  

Jockey PS Chouhan had to use all his skills and experience to thwart a serious challenge from Askhay ridden NRI Sun to see favourite Bisate (Western Aristocrat – Verbier) through to a thrilling win. Chouhan improved positions and was on the tail of leader Trump Star as they turned for home. NRI Sun on the other hand, was some distance away but improving gradually in the homestretch. Laxman Singh trained Bisate cruised past Trump Star and shaped like an easy winner as she surged ahead when Chouhan asked her to go. With less than a furlong to go, it looked a formality for Bisate, but NRI Sun did give Bisate a scare as he finished on with a terrific gallop to stretch Bisate all the way. Bisate held on by a neck to finally breathe easy past the post. NRI Sun may have had a tad too much to do in the final furlong but he rose well from the rear to make it a thrilling finish. Cheltenham snatched the place money from early leader Trump Star. 

Trainer Deshmukh’s King Maker (Varenar – Yemen Desert) made a late dash to outpace NRI Magic at the business end of the race to score an exciting victory. Gusty Note led them deep into the straight before surrendering the lead to NRI Magic with a furlong to go. Mind Reader too was hopeful as he stuck by NRI Magic trying hard to keep up. These two were engaged in a grim battle when King Maker, with Surya Prakash in the saddle, pounced upon the duo and shot ahead to score by a length. NRI Magic ended a good second, just ahead of Mind Reader, while Explosive arrived when all was over to take the fourth place. 

For the professionals, jockey Akshay was at his sparkling best riding home five winners again.