Watch My Stride (Whatsthescript – Flamingo Fan), saddled by trainer Sequeira, was strongly ridden by jockey Abhay Singh to pull off a thrilling half-length victory to claim the Telangana & Andhra Sub Area Cup, the feature event of the day.

Watch My Stride settled close behind the City of Blossom and Sporting Smile until the turn and then made an early move to take charge approaching the distance post. Menilly got tangled between runners and that made her task difficult as she could not wriggle out in time. Kingston put up a good fight and looked menacing as he came at the hot favourite with a strong finishing run, however, jockey Abhay Singh was up to the task and ensured Watch My Stride did have any last moment hiccup and held on to score her third victory off six starts. Kingston was the pick of the beaten lot, ending a notable second. Menilly just managed to finish in the money a shade ahead of Trump Star and Jean Lafette; the last named rallying well from the rear to finish one off but close to the frame-finishers.

After finishing second on his last two outings, Red Snaper (West Virginia – Shanghai Gal) came into his own and produced a spirited stretch-run to claim the Class III Ardent Knight Plate in an exciting finish. Chasing leader Balius until into the straight, Red Snapper, ridden by Afroz Khan, surged ahead into the lead with about 300m to go. Four One Four also moved up to challenge the new leader and was shaping well. Balius was fighting to stay in contention, while favourite Makhtoob failed to get going and looked an early casualty half way down the straight.

Red Snapper fought on hard as Four One Four was too close for comfort. At that crucial moment, Four One Four drifted out under pressure and that loosened the grip and let Red Snaper off the hook. The L D’Silva trainee galloped on a straight course and held on by a narrow margin. Had Four One Four kept a straight course, it would have gone either way. Balius kicked on to take the third spot. While Makhtoob just managed to stay in the frame.

Netto trained Garnet (Green Coast – Parade Queen) hit as a bolt from the blue while shaking off some poor performances and giving off her best yet. Garnet was prominently poised just behind leader OK Boss as they turned for home. Favourite N R I Sun was off slowly and paid a heavy price for that blemish. Garnet collared OK Boss with a little over 300m to go and was traveling better than those in close vicinity. N R I Sun had too much ground to cover and he made his bid from the wide outside. The favourite was devouring ground at a fast clip and was raising hope with every stride as he was finishing with a powerful run. However, Garnet showed enough grit to stay ahead and the winning post never came too soon for Garnet, who managed to score her memorable maiden win on her sixth outing. NRI Sun needs to be persisted with, considering the manner of his finish. Princeton too ran a good race while finishing just half a length behind N R I Sun.

Star Racer (Corporate Jungle – Vena Amoris) from Sreekant’s stables, showed good improvement over his last start fourth to ward off the stiff challenge posed by Sun Dancer in the dying moments of the race. Taking off at good speed, Star Racer was comfortably ahead as they turned for home. Jockey Ajinkya, held his mount until well into the straight before beginning to urge the gelding. He had a handy lead coming into the final furlong, which is when Sun Dancer found his rhythm. Sun Dancer finished strongly, but could only finish breathing down the winner’s neck. Star Racer warded off Sun Dancer to clinch the neck verdict in his favour. Curcumin stayed in the third position all the way, while Sheldon improved well toward the finish to snatch the remaining slot in the frame.

Trainer Shashikant’s NRI Vision (Excellent Art – Freefall) pulled off a coup for her connections, flexing her muscles in the lower class this time. It was surprising to see the strong support in the betting for the six year old mare, who had little to show in her recent starts. She however, rose to the occasion with a clinical performance to justify that overwhelming support.

Gusty Note led them into the straight with Story Teller and NRI Vision following him. Gusty Note looked good until into the final furlong which is when NRI Vision, with Mukesh atop, started to inch closer. The moment NRI Vision started to gain on Gusty Note, he looked good enough to overhaul the leader. He did just that in the final 100 meters and even the late charge of Hashtag had no bearing on the winner. NRI Vision won with a length to spare from Hashtag and Gusty Note. Sputnic too deserves a mention as he rallied well from the rear to finish full of running while ending on the haunches of Gusty Note. Over an extended distance, Sputnic might be a force to reckon with, in the near future.

Flamingo Flame (Burden of Proof – Flamingo Fan) was another of the well-backed favorites to oblige. Flamingo Flame settled well behind leader Elmira and Acadian Angel until half way down the straight and then lit up in the final furlong. The Prasad Raju trainee worked up good speed and came at Elmira with giant strides and flashed past to post a comfortable two-lengths-plus victory. Five-kilo claimer Santosh Raj rode out confidently to win convincingly. Elmira did well within herself to take the runner-up berth ahead of Battle Ready.

Trainer L D’Silva got his second winner for the day with Salisbury (Multidimensional – Ice Beauty) in the concluding race of the day. Salisbury rose from the mid-bunch in the latter half of the homestretch and flashed past a number of runners to storm home by a clear margin. Jockey Abhay Singh had it under control the moment he picked up Salisbury approaching the distance post and the three-year-old gelding was way too fast for the rest, achieving his maiden win on his 10th start. With this impressive win, Salisbury should be able to add on in his next as well. Wot’s Up Jay ran on to take the runner-up berth well ahead of Challenger.

For the professionals, trainer L D’Silva and jockey Abhay Singh scored a double each.did well within herself to take the runner-up berth ahead of Battle Ready.