With the terms of the Kakatiya Million favouring her chances immensely in the small field of five contestants, the six-year mare Lagos was spot on when she gave an armchair ride to Suraj Narredu and steam-rolled her four opponents with her speedy dash. Donald Netto nurtured Lagos (Gusto – Blumarine) headed the field from the barriers and had her rivals dancing to her tune all the way home. Black Onyx, De Villiers, Beauty Blaze and Kingston raced in that order in a single almost at every post of the six-furlong trip and finished thus.

Black Eagle (Excellent Art – Classic Sky), the shortest priced runner of the day, also romped home with Akshay Kumar not having to flex any of his muscles astride the Srinivas Reddy groomed colt. Backed as if defeat was out of question, Black Eagle gave no anxious moments to the moneybags as he defied the heavy impost of 62lg on his way to victory, his second within a matter of a fortnight. N R I Fantasy, Milton Keyes and Divine Connections were no match for the winner and followed him home meekly.

To an extent, Master Touch and Wot’s Up Jay were the only other fancied runners to have obliged the public. SSF Hassan trained Master Touch was the pre-race favourite but lost favour in the betting ring as MS Parmar’s ward Burgundy Black attracted maximum support. DS Deora-ridden Burgundy Black ended up being the on-money favourite while the odds against Akshay-partnered Master Touch doubled as the start of the race neared. Vision Of Rose showed the way to his eight rivals and had Classy Dame and Fresh Hope racing behind. Burgundy Black was settled nicely in the fourth slot and Master Touch not too far away. The order of running remained unaltered as the field turned for home and as they approached the 400m-marker, Burgundy Black stumbled after clipping the heels of Fresh Hope and almost came down on his knees. Deora gathered his mount but the damage was already done as, while the mishap took place, Akshay spurred Master Touch (Knight’s Tour – Believer) and grabbed the initiative. Despite drifting out under pressure, Master Touch was home safely which helped Hassan reach his career's milestone of saddling 400 winners. Classy Dame ended second ahead of Mireya, who made good progress after her barn-mate Burgundy Black dropped out of contention.

Waseem Ahmed ended his week’s engagements on a profitable note when Wot’s Up Jay obliged and earned an overdue win in the concluding event of the day. K Mukesh Kumar ridden Wot’s Up Jay (Tenth Star – Speed Angel), after racing in the fifth position behind leader Jack Daniel, made gradual progress and started his bid when the heads turned for home. Mukesh went flat out on the favourite before he could tackle Jack Daniel and Muaser near the post. Shubrak caught the eye when finishing third ahead of Jack Daniel with It’s My Life and My Way Or Highway, who saved their best for some other day, ending close behind.

It was a roller coaster ride for favourite runners in the rest of the day’s card. Despite their excellent pedigree, current form and the best in class professionals to guide their fortunes, fancied horses like Strauss, Sangreal and Miss Maya ran far below expectation.  

City Of Bliss, the recent migrant to trainer N Rawal’s yard, gave a speedy display in the hands of Mukesh when making every post of the six-furlong journey for the Telangana Race Horse Owners Association Trophy a winning one. The 20 to 1 longshot slipped into the lead as the gates flew open and Mukesh guided him adroitly to accomplish a gratifying victory. Suraj ridden Strauss gave a flat-footed response to his rider’s call and ended a dismal fifth behind runner up Avancia and the late finishing Bangor On Dee and Rising Queen. Miss Little Angel and Stag's Leap ended close on the haunches of Strauss without being fully extended.

Miss Maya and Sangreal, the two juvenile fillies saddled by RH Sequeira and KSV Prasad Raju, were highly fancied on the expectations of them improving on their previous efforts. However, Akshay-ridden Miss Maya and Sangreal with Suraj in the saddle caught a tartar in Detective who was steered confidently by B Nikhil to stun the fancied duo. Miss Maya led for about a furlong and half from the start before being overtaken by Sangreal. Detective (Sedgefield – Translation), the bay colt saddled Sequeira standing in for Laxman Singh, was always in a striking position behind the leaders till entering the home stretch and faced little resistance from Sangreal when the Nikhil-ridden winner challenged the filly. Miss Maya ran a poor third ahead of Bash On Regardless.

In a quick reversal of form Soorya Vahan (David Livingstone – Maripasoula) and Star Babe (Top Class – Bold Babe) both registered upset victories during the day. Robin Reddy schooled Soorya Vahan beat just one home in the fourteen-horse field when Pal Cha won late last month. Ridden by Sai Kumar on this occasion, Soorya Vahan raced well up with the pace as Pal Cha divested My Master of his lead after travelling a furlong or so from the gates to show the way to Mr Perfect and Soorya Vahan till entering the home stretch. Meanwhile, Mukesh-piloted hot favourite Indian King dropped back after failing to get a clear run towards the rails and his misery worsened when Jet Falcon, who met with interference half way through the seven furlong trip, badly inconvenienced him. Elsewhere, Soorya Vahan engaged Pal Cha with a resolute run about two furlongs from home and got the better of him in the shadow of the post. Coming Home ran on late to pip Pal Cha for the runner up slot while Indian King ran on from the tail end and his gallant effort on the wide outside was wasted as he could only fill the fourth slot.

Star Babe not only surprised the race-goers but probably trainer MR Chauhan and jockey Abhay Singh also. Star Babe, who had finished 24 lengths behind the winner Show Me Your Walk over an identical distance just a fortnight ago, found herself in front as the gates opened and fought a valiant battle to ward off Beauty Flame, who had almost nailed her close home. Wallop And Gallop came flying towards the end to grab the second spot from Beauty Flame while City Of Blessing ran an uninterested fourth. Char Ek Char, who was ridden by Sai Kumar in place of S Saqlain, ran listlessly throughout and without raising any hopes for his supporters.