Altamash Ahmed trained Augustus Caesar (Holy Roman Emperor – Snowy Day In La, Equus Stud) rallied well from the rear to raise a scintillating late burst to clinch the Hyderabad Race club Trophy, taking his win tally to seven. One can never write off any horse in the long Mahalaxmi straight and Augustus Caesar just proved that fact yet again. Neeraj Rawal saved his burst for the last and reaped rich rewards.

The two apprentice lads did just the opposite. Kirtish Bhagat atop Iron Age and Kavrah astride Joaquin sped off at the start. They cut pace with one other each determined to go for the lead. That over keenness proved costly as Iron Age and Joaquin had nothing in reserve to last out the long straight. This will be an important learning experience for the allowance-claiming boys of how not to cut pace in the initial half no matter what the distance.

It wasn’t surprising then that both Iron Age and Joaquin faltered at the business end. Gazino first had the measure of Iron Age and although Joaquin stuck by, Gazino eventually did get ahead. Augustus Caesar got the script right and finished on full of running to sail past them all to score by just over a length. Gazino finished a neck ahead of Joaquin.

Desert Fire (Arazan – Lady Angharad, Villoo’s Greenfield) from trainer Narendra Lagad’s yard, put in a fiery run all through to pull off a clinical start-to-finish victory, beating overwhelming favourite Colombian with surprising ease.   He took off at a scorching pace and maintained a safe distance over his four rivals at any given time. Majestic Warrior was the closest to him, with Red Merlot, Nothing To Worry and Colombian racing in a huddle behind the two in front.

Desert Fire grew stronger in the straight and soon increased his lead to over two lengths. Majestic Warrior and Red Merlot didn’t last too long, while Colombian and Nothing to Worry were stuck together a couple of lengths behind Desert Fire. Jockey TS Jodha handled his mount ably and rode out relentlessly to ensure a comfortable victory as Desert Fire won, sparing close to two lengths to the runner up. Colombian and Nothing to Worry fought on until the last stride with the favourite managing to nose out Nothing to Worry on the wire.

Ahead of My Time (Excellent Art – Miss Danehill, Villoo’s Greenfield) lived up to the expectations and shrugged off the burden of being the full brother of Ruffina and Corfe Castle to score an impressive victory on debut. The three-year old colt had vet issues approaching his racing days and also sustained a bad fall. Trainer Dallas Todywalla, though very concerned, nursed him back to health, obviously doing a great job with the potentially star colt.

Ahead of My Time lived up to his name as he decimated the opposition showing clearly that he was indeed well ahead. He cantered all the way into the homestretch and then accelerated fluently without much assistance from jockey NS Parmar to go clear and win by a massive margin of over ten lengths. Ahead of the Time sure has started with a bang and in clocking just over a minute and ten seconds going easy has soared his stocks up and a bright future  would be an understatement. Jerusalem followed the winner home clearly ahead of the rest.

Dallas had started the day on a winning note with Raffaello (Excellent Art – Stravella, Poonawalla Stud) pulling off a start to finish win, his second in seven starts. He was off quickly from the gates, with Hyperdimensional following close behind. The rest were headed by Lex Luthor and Fitado.

Raffaello quickened well soon on turning for home and began to increase the gap. Hyperdimensional weakened while Lex Luthor moved up along the rails. It was clear as early as the distance post that Raffaello was safely ahead with rider Kirtish Bhagat urging him on confidently.  Raffaello  duly won by three and half lengths from tote favourite Monarchy the latter improving positions in the homestretch to finish a good three lengths ahead of Lex Luthor.

Imtiaz Sait’s Rasputin (Multidimensional – Anywaysmile, Usha Stud) had it fairly easy to achieve his maiden success on his seventh start. Jockey PS Chouhan settled Rasputin in the third spot close behind early leader Arabian Phoenix and Orchids and then improved well soon on turning for home. He shot into the lead with two furlongs to go and worked up a nice pace. The two front runners fell back and Empower moved up to challenge Rasputin. Empower raised hopes momentarily midway down the straight when it appeared he was gaining on Rasputin, but Empower could not sustain the pressure for too long. Rasputin had still a lot left and he kicked away from Empower in the last few strides to score comfortably. Arabian Phoenix  held off Ladida to finish in the money.

Birkin Blower (Midnight Interlude – Al Khazneh, Nanoli Stud) made a grand return to the race track after about ten months and justified the strong support he enjoyed. He was made to fight though as Untitled fought on hard to keep his lead. Birkin Blower, who chased Untitled into the straight, had to pull of all plugs to go after the leader. They fought neck and neck through the final furlong  and apprentice jockey Aniket eventually surged ahead a couple of strides from the winning post to win by just under a length. Untitled finished a gallant second, while Slam Dunk finished a faraway third, beating Champers On Ice by a neck.

Subhag Singh trained Majorella Blue (Oath – Starynessy, Pratap Stud) picked up his maiden victory on his fifth start. Taking off after an alert jump from the gates, Majorella Blue led a tightly packed front bunch, with Sunlord, Zacapa and Rue St Honore’ close behind. Majorella Blue travelled sweetly on turning for home and soon marched clear of Sunlord and Zacapa. Rue St Honore’ arrived with a spirited run and got closer to Majorella Blue approaching the distance post. Jockey Zervan easily nipped the challenge at the bud and urged Majorella Blue ahead and away from the challenger to stay ahead all the way past the post. For a debut run, Rue St Honore’ did very well to finish just over a length behind the winner. She is bound to improve for the run and is one to watch for in her next outing. Sunlord ended a tame third.

Nirad Karanjawala trained She’s On Fire (Speaking of Which – Sacred Fire, Usha Stud) produced a scintillating burst at the business end of the race to thump the opposition and score an impressive maiden win on her ninth start.

Flash Force, the market fancy, started well and led the field all the way into the straight. He quickened well too and had a handy lead and with those close behind not making any impact, Flash Force looked on course to sustain all the way. However, She is on Fire warmed up nicely and rallied from the 8th position with 300 m to go, jockey Zervan weaved his way between horses and launched an all-out attack on Flash Force. She Is On Fire scorched the turf in her final finish to zip ahead in the last 100 meters to notch up an impressive win by two lengths. Flash Force was beaten by a better horse on the day and She Is On Fire could well score an encore going by the quick progress she made in the final furlong and half. Seminole ran on to peg back HIlad for place money.

Imtiaz Sait trained Honourable Eyes (Multidimensional – Gloriosa, Usha Stud) galloped on gamely to smother the spirited challenge posted by Sussing . Honourable Eyes led them into the straight with Sussing close behind. These two were well ahead of the rest and Sussing soon began to get alongside Honourable Eyes. Jockey Raghuveer Singh rode out determinedly and Honourable Eyes too galloped purposefully keeping Sussing at bay. Candescent Star came in far too late to pose any threat, but did cover ground briskly in the final 100 meters. Honourable Eyes fought until the last stride to ward off Sussing by a neck. Candescent Star beat Speculator for the third spot.

For the professionals, trainers Imtiaz Sait and Dallas Todywalla and jockey S Zervan each scored a double.