Akido (Outstrip – Gift Wrap), from trainer Satheesh’s yard, produced a fiery gallop at the business end to shock the more fancied lot and win the Chettinad Cement Nilgiris 2000 Guineas (Gr3) in a closely fought contest. 
Akido jumped out smartly and settled into third up with the pace as The Awakening rushed to the front with Ascoval close behind and the rest not too far behind. The Awakening led them into the straight and was soon tackled by Ascoval. Akido was moving along the rails with Knight Envied alongside others following in a close bunch. Cool Rider took a while to settle into a rhythm and that tardiness saw him tailing the field during the early quarter of the race, which could have had a decisive bearing on his chances.

The Awakening led them into the straight with Ascoval breathing down his neck. Akido was a couple of lengths away along the rails with Knight Envied on his outside. Cool Rider was the widest of all and started to make headway. 

Out in front, Ascoval got the measure of The Awakening and surged past to lead. While Knight suited and others were not making an impact, Akido switched lanes to get a clear run. At the same juncture Cool Rider too was alerted to the task and was covering ground briskly. Ascoval was making a desperate dash for the winning post when Akido came cracking down on him. Cool Rider also joined the fight and The Awakening too was right with them. Imperial Blue moved up but had a lot to do as the bunch in front was getting closer to the destination. Akido, with Nakhat Singh astride found his touch and with a terrific burst of speed dashed past Ascoval with Cool Rider also coming up fast. However, Akido had timed his run to perfection and got to the wire and won sparing by a narrow ¾ lengths. Ascoval just about held on to the runner up berth by a short-head from Cool Rider. Imperial Blue ran on to take the slot in the frame. 

Lady Royal (Knight’s Tour – Power Drive) had won her debut run impressively a fortnight back and was the hot favourite to repeat the feat. She did so with a measure of comfort confronting no challenge from her rivals. She sped away at the start working up breezy speed to lead the field soon on settling down. She stayed well ahead all through and sailed away smoothly in the homestretch. She kept extending the margin and scored her second successive victory by over three lengths without dropping sweat. Fiat Justitia chased her all the way to take the second spot. Uncle Sam fought off Victory Walk for the third. 

Sebastian trained Divina (Sedgefield – Dexie Dahlin) got back in form after missing out in her last run owing to a slow start. This time too she was out slowly and tailed the field for the good part of the race. She was last to turn for home as Don’t Dilly Dally led them into the straight. Jockey Nikhil Naidu rode out aggressively prodding Divina to accelerate as soon as they straightened for home. Meanwhile, out in front, Don’t Dilly Dally was fighting hard to stay in contention as Avellino and Comanche Brave were coming up fast to challenge his lead. Just when Avellino and Comanche Brave got past the leader, Divina arrived with a sizzling gallop. She picked up good speed to topple them all and skip away to score by a length. Avellino ended a good second followed closely by Comanche Brave and Don’t Dilly Dally. 

Mister Moonlight (Multidimensional – Moonlight Romance) was another short-priced favourite to score a runaway win, picking up his first win after his debut fourth at Kolkata in January this year. Mister Moonlight was in command all the way as he led the field with a sizable lead all the way into the homestretch. Once in the straight, Mister Moonlight galloped on working up a good pace and keeping the others way behind. The Mckeown trainee won well with a big margin of five lengths to record her first win. Dashing Beauty chased the winner finishing clear of the third placed Aretha. 

Branka (Oiseau De Feu – Danger In sight) produced a sizzling run in the final furlong to floor favourite Mighty Princess and Chaitanya, the latter fighting Branka all the way. Mighty Empress had a useful lead of over 3 lengths turning for home, but the rider had already gone for the stick as they were turning. Chaitanya started to inch closer to Mighty Empress while Branka was still in the mid-pack. 

Chaitanya collared Mighty Empress midway down the straight, but just as she was moving ahead, Branka, ridden by Nikhil Naidu, started gaining on her. Chaitanya battled hard but could not stop Branka. The Saddam Iqbal trained mare surged ahead meters from the winning post to win by a narrow margin. Chaitanya was unlucky to have missed out close home. Mighty Empress just managed to scrape through to finish third a ‘nose’ ahead of Sifan. 

In the earlier race, trainer Saddam Iqbal led-in Amazing Kitten (Dreams Kitten – Prada) in the opening race of the day. Propahlady set off at a good clip to lead the field by four or five lengths until into the turn. She had a handy lead with 400 meters to go, but Amazing Kitten started to devour ground briskly and soon surged past the leader. Amazing Kitten then drew away to compile an easy win by almost five lengths. Propahlady held on to finish second from the fast finishing Blue Patent and Cape Cod.

For the professionals, trainer Saddam Iqbal and jockey Nikhil Naidu scored a double each.