Monday’s longish card of nine races conducted at Malakpet had race-goers into a tizzy as most fancied runners failed to justify the support they received in the betting. The victories of Proud Mary, Tiger Mountain and Mysterious Angel were an exception, bringing the much-need relief for the tormented punters.
 
Debutante Gretsy scored a fluent victory right at the start of the day and with it brought despair for the punters. The chances of Gretsy (Gusto – Time Square) were overlooked as she was entrusted to rookie Sonu Kumar and her name did not figure in the recent morning trials’ report. Assured Success and Encore the first two favourites were in the reckoning as they raced ahead of the field till the last two furlongs. Kuldeep Singh (Sr) ridden Assured Success veered out at this stage hampering Role Model. Kuldeep showed no presence of mind and made the right-handed use of his whip which caused his mount to drift alarmingly on to Role Model, which also inconvenienced Great Giver who was ranging alongside. Gretsy meanwhile came through the inner rails and shot ahead and, despite running green, was ridden hands and heels by Sonu to an easy victory over Assured Success, Great Giver and Role Model. The stipendiary stewards should have immediately initiated an inquiry into Assured Success’s wayward running, which deserved a disqualification or at least relegation to the fourth place for Kuldeep’s careless riding. Be that as it may, the objection of the third place Great Giver against the favourite was upheld and got promoted to the runner up spot ahead of Assured Success. Role Model ended a close fourth.
 
Before punters could digest Assured Success’s failure, on-money favourite Decoy’s loss gave them another blow. MR Chauhan saddled Decoy had all but beaten stablemate Clare three weeks ago and he was backed to the exclusion of his rivals in the hands of a stronger jockey, A. Imran Khan. Decoy took off from the barriers in the right earnest as he sprinted ahead but sent distress signals when Imran pulled out his whip in the last two furlongs. Decoy still held a narrow advantage in the last 100m but was overpowered by Hoping Sky, D Right Time and Trishul. Perhaps the burden of the public's purse riding on his back proved too heavy for Decoy to carry. Hoping Sky (Kingda Ka – Dawalisha), who had finished a distance behind the winner on her debut on the same day when Decoy ran, came eight horses wide but was the fastest moving horse in the final 100m. The Mohit Singh ridden and Jasbir Singh saddled Hoping Sky gained rapid ground with every stride to snatch glory close home. Runner up D Right Time had also gathered momentum in the final furlong to gain the upper hand over Trishul and Decoy but fell victim to Hoping Sky’s brilliant run. Decoy’s effort needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Trishul gave a good account on debut and should not linger in the maiden ranks for long.
 
The runaway victory of Exotic Dancer in the next race almost had the punters gasping for breath. MR Chauhan saddled his second upset winner of the day when Exotic Dancer (Air Support – Exotic Fantasy) gave a speedy display to grab the lead after coming from the wide draw. The initial lead established by Exotic Dancer with apprentice Sonu in saddle held her in good stead when Laurus and favourite Malaala came menacingly close to toppling her. Laurus slipped through the shortest way home with a late bid while Malaala got into her stride a bit late. Both found the winning post coming to the rescue of Exotic Dancer. Star Racer and Angelita followed them home.
 
Imran made amends for his twin failures when guiding Laxman Singh’s ward Proud Mary to a comprehensive victory. The chestnut three-year old filly was backed down as if defeat was out of question and Proud Mary justified that optimism by recording the easiest win of the day. Proud Mary was settled in the fourth spot after the field of 15 had sorted itself out after the start. Imran brought Proud Mary in contention at the turn and drove her out to take charge in the last furlong. Proud Mary lengthened her strides as the winning post neared and finished well clear of runner up Dyanoosh, Reigning Beauty and Sound Echo. 
 
LVR Deshmukh schooled Lucky Zone also ran true to form but was required to be hard-ridden by Ajeeth Kumar to quell Role Model’s exuberance close home. Apprentice RS Jodha-steered Role Model took charge from Fresh Hope approaching the final turn while Lucky Zone (One Lucky Dane – Lady Sergeant) was set into motion by Ajeeth. Lucky Zone made steady progress to join the issue with Role Model, who ran a bit erratic. Lucky Zone, despite lugging in himself, wore down Role Model in the final stages of the race. Life is Good, who received enthusiastic support in the betting ring, failed to live up to the expectations and managed to finish third ahead of Fresh Hope, who was inconvenienced by Role Model at a crucial juncture of the race.
 
The strong handling of Akshay Kumar enabled hot favourite Tiger Mountain to establish her credentials against Ashwa Morocco in the dying moments of the seven furlong event. Tiger Mountain (Top Class – Star Mountain) saddled by Chauhan, who is in charge of suspended trainer D’Netto’s string, was ridden off the pace by Akshay as Blissful showed the way to the field with Carlisle close on her haunches. Ashwa Morocco, who raced behind Tiger Mountain till the turn, was full of running when shown daylight by apprentice Sonu after coming wide into the straight. Akshay meanwhile asked Tiger Mountain for an effort and the dark bay filly started to cover the leeway. Both Ashwa Morocco and Tiger Mountain entered the fray before Carlisle, who overtook Blissful, could get streak clear. Ashwa Morocco and Tiger Mountain went stride for stride in last half furlong with Akshay’s power-packed finish astride Tiger Mountain helping the favourite to assert herself in the last couple of strides.
 
Like Tiger Mountain, Mysterious Angel too was asked to tackle a trip which seemed too sharp for her liking. However, the filly from Deshmukh’s yard did not disappoint her admirers when registering a narrow victory over Royal Grace. Mysterious Angel (Smuggler’s Cove – Mykonos) raced in the rear as the closely bunched field of nine was headed by Makhtoob in the early stages. Mysterious Angel really got going in the last furlong and half and so did Royal Grace, who came with a big run from the wrong end of the field. Royal Grace made a gallant but vain bid to collar Mysterious Angel, who won easier than the official three-part length verdict. Top-weighted Amyra ran far behind to finish third ahead of Unsung Hero who had Makhtoob and Mark My Day in close tow.
 
Robin Reddy nurtured Above The Law unleashed a stupendous run from a hopeless position and literally flew in the straight to shock Red Snaper on the post. Hard To Toss showed the way to the field and was in charge till Red Snaper and Garnet tackled her in the last furlong. Garnet failed to contain Red Snaper’s challenge but the latter was surprised by Md Ismail-ridden Above The Law’s (Surfrider – Melinda) spirited run in the final couple of strides. Morior Invictus sneaked through to deny Garnet the third place. D Yes Boss ran leisurely to finish an uninterested fifth.
 
S Sreekanth saddled Just Incredible finally found his way to the winner’s enclosure, a profitable venture for his connections too. Ridden by Kuldeep (Sr), Just Incredible came with a powerful run down the centre to overhaul leader Fatuma and just drew away to land the spoils. Lady Danger ran a faraway second and was separated by a head from Fatuma. Sucker Punch rallied late to figure in the judge’s frame ahead of Sopranos.
 
MR Chauhan led in a winning treble with Sonu Kumar handling two of them while LVR Deshmukh and Ajeeth Kumar had a successful brace each.