The bay filly Gretsy, who made a winning debut to stun a fancied lot a month and half ago, achieved a hat-trick when lifting the G. Sudhakar Reddy Memorial Cup on Saturday. MR Chauhan-saddled Gretsy was better placed on handicap as opposed to her main rivals, She Can and Kenaf, and with Akshay Kumar to guide her fortunes, Gretsy went out as the firm favourite. She Can  had substantial money coming her way in the betting ring but it all went down the drain. Gretsy, who is by Gusto out of Time Square, was spot on when registering another convincing victory. Gretsy allowed Kenaf and Star Medal to make the initial running till they brought the field into the straight. Akshay then put Gretsy into top gear and zoomed past Kenaf about a furlong and half away from the wire. Akshay subsequently rode her plain hands and heels as Gretsy skipped away from Kenaf, who had to settle for the runner-up slot. Antony Raj-piloted She Can tried hard to bridge the leeway but the extra lead in her saddle told on her effort as she ended up fourth, a neck away from Star Medal.

Chauhan led in another favourite earlier in the day when Maverick graduated from the maiden ranks with a facile win in the second division of the Nearco Plate. Ridden by A. Imran Khan, Maverick (Lord Admiral - Silver Cruise) raced on the haunches of Great Giver, who seized the initiative from Assured Success shortly after the field took off for the six-furlong sprint. Maverick wore down Great Giver in the last two furlongs and quickened well after a receiving a couple of cracks to draw clear of his rivals. Great Giver, Assured Success, Thunder Knight and the rest followed the winner in a procession of sorts.

Half an hour earlier, S. Sreekant-groomed maiden Magnum ran true to promise shown when going down to Blazing Gun in his previous outing. Backed down as an on-money favourite, Magnum shot into the lead and just when it appeared that he would romp home, the bay gelding veered out causing a stir among his supporters. Jockey Afroz Khan, however, skilfully got Magnum (Smugglers Cove - Ascension) to race on an even keel and warded off the threat posed by Deccan Spirit in the shadow of the winning post. Akshay-steered Deccan Spirit, who was in chase of the favourite along with Toffee, came through the shortest route and very nearly toppled Magnum. A mere half-length separated Magnum and Deccan Spirit with Toffee finishing third after failing to put her best foot forward when required. Bold Beauty ended fourth with the rest apparently out for airing.

Ashhad Asbar-partnered debutant Mineshaft hogged a lion's share of the betting as the B. Mukesh Kumar-trained gelding ended up as the first favourite in the third division of the Nearco Plate. The attempted coup however did not materialise as L. D'silva's ward Subha came from the widest draw to grab the lead from Shadow Fax a furlong after the race was flagged off and then showed a clean pair of heels to her rivals. Afroz drove Subha (Leitir Mor - Book Thief) confidently towards her maiden success. Mineshaft launched his assault on entering the home stretch but found himself short of a run and Asbar doing the runner-up no favour by changing lanes in the last furlong. It's unclear what exactly the connections of Silver Act, an expensive failure in the hands of B. Nikhil earlier, wanted to prove by engaging Akshay atop the grey filly. Regardless, Silver Act, the support for whom waned in the betting arena, and Akshay both woke up only when the race was in the safe-keeping of Subha. Silver Act nonetheless finished a close third behind Mineshaft with Eminency ending fourth.

Angelita, who had come down in handicap after giving some indifferent performances this season, was neglected in the betting as Thanks attracted the majority support. The MF Ali Khan-nursed Angelita (Surfrider - Alhuda) had not forgotten her galloping shoes in the stables as was evident when the mare took the toll of Thanks close home. Apprentice Kuldeep Singh-partnered Thanks shot ahead soon after the gates flew open and had a commanding lead over her rivals in the final run-in. But the 5kg-claimer Ajay Kumar-ridden Angelita made steady progress to collar Thanks and eventually gained the upper hand in the dying moments of the lower division of the Totaram Cup. Both Ice Berry and Lady Danger also closed the gap nearer home to finish a neck and head away from Thanks respectively though without posing any real danger to the winner.

The winner of the first division of the Totaram Cup was decided in a tight finish between Wallop and Gallop and Despang. Ananth Vatsalya-groomed Wallop and Gallop (One Lucky Dane - Woodchick) ran true to his name and came with raking strides when given his head by Ajeeth Kumar at the top of the home stretch. Meanwhile favourite Despang was hard-ridden by S. Saqlain to overcome early leader Best Buddy's resistance and take charge briefly. Despang, however, failed to counter Wallop and Gallop's brilliance and was finally pipped on the post by his rival. Best Buddy ended third ahead of the unextended It's On.

Four-year old Life's Living, who was sporting the same colours as Maverick and Gretsy, was the third winner saddled by Chauhan for owner-breeder S. Pathy. Life's Living was beaten for speed in the early stages of the five and half furlong scurry as Alexina, Sound Echo, Happy Go Lucky and favourite Precious rushed ahead. Yet, the dark bay daughter of Be Safe out of Hi Life moved steadily to join the pack in the straight even as Happy Go Lucky had measured Alexina. With a furlong half left for home, Happy Got Lucky strode ahead but rookie Shivansh-ridden Life's Living entered the scene with Precious also making her bid. Life's Living received a confident ride from the apprentice as she overhauled Happy Go Lucky in last 100m and got stronger at the finish. Precious looked dangerous when she ranged alongside Sound Echo but she failed to get a clear run and, in his apparent panic to attain success, Antony Raj changed the filly's course to make his final bid. Life's Living won sparing a length and quarter to Happy Go Lucky, who was a neck ahead of Precious. Alexina ran fourth and should improve on this forward run soon.

MS Parmar's ward Burgundy Black (Basem - Sister Etienne) swept his rivals off their feet and made every post of seven furlong trip for the Asifabad Plate a winning one in the hands of G. Vivek. Jockey Mohit Singh, who was astride KSV Prasad Raju-groomed Honourable Lady, got interested in the proceedings quite late but for which the outcome would have been different. Starwalt headed the bunch of uninterested contestants and finished a distance behind the runner-up. London Bell completed the final frame. Pal Cha was tasked with carrying the public's purse but the Imran-ridden favourite showed no inclination to oblige and surprisingly ran off the board though not for lacking ability. Ditto with Akshay-piloted Master Touch.

Trainer Sreekant ended the Derby eve on a high note as he sent out Kenna for her second successive win. Lesser fancied than Callison and Fara, Kenna (Total Gallery - Precious Replica) hit the front with Kuldeep Singh (Sr) in the saddle and won comfortably from Asbar-partnered Fara, who ran on leisurely to take the second slot ahead of Colt Pistol and Only The Brave. Neeraj Rawal-steered favourite Callison raised no hopes for her followers and ran far below par when failing to grace the judge's board.