A majority of the regular followers of racing conducted by the Hyderabad Race Club (HRC) would have hardly imagined the heartburn that lay in store for them as the card of seven races was to unfold at the Malakpet racecourse on Monday afternoon. At least not until the horses were being paraded in the paddock for the third race of the day. For, there was nothing out of place in the outcome of the first two races. But what happened in the next two and half hours had everybody, except the bookmakers of course, reeling under the shock delivered by the result of the remaining five races. Punters were not just stunned by the eye-popping performance of Beauty Blaze, they had their heads swinging in disbelief at the underperformance of several on-money favourites.

Beauty Blaze won the feature race on Monday beating the piping-hot favourite Ashoka. Ex-jockey Neelesh Rawal-trained Beauty Blaze had run exactly three weeks ago as a favourite and had Akshay Kumar to guide her fortunes. The filly finished ninth, over thirteen lengths behind the winner and nearly eight lengths behind Miss Little Angel who ended third. The stewards questioned both Akshay and Neelesh and the following enlightening revelation appeared in the race-day report: “Explanation of Jockey Akshay Kumar (BEAUTY BLAZE) that his mount did not raise a fluent gallop throughout the race inspite of his best efforts. Trainer N. Rawal while confirming the above added that he too was baffled with regard to the running of his charge and has no plausible explanation to offer with regard to his charges poor performance was noted. The Trainer was however informed that any reversal of form in future, he will be liable for severe disciplinary action as deemed fit.” So far so good.

Three weeks on, Beauty Blaze was ridden by a lesser-known jockey NB Kuldeep in the Basalath Jah Memorial Cup (Div-I). The selection of the jockey was kind of ‘hero to zero’ but that didn’t stop Beauty Blaze from delivering a performance that can be termed as ‘zero to hero’. Miss Little Angel, one of the common runners in both the events in question, ran third over two lengths behind Beauty Blaze on this occasion. While race-goers will be searching for further enlightening revelations, it’s apparent that Neelesh will have to do a lot explaining for the sudden reversal in Black Beauty’s form. In the meanwhile, the racing fraternity will have to wait till the HRC stewards deal with the matter and disclose their findings.

Digressing from racing action for a while, it must be mentioned that despite all the uncertainty that surrounds it, horse-racing not only remains an alluring game but continues to thrive in India. Sadly, however, given the amount of wagering it attracts, race-goers find intrigue embedded into the sport today. That said, when it comes to the sport’s conduct in India, the occurrence of horses not living up to the expectations is common but what causes deep anguish to the race-goers is when contestants show an abrupt reversal in their form. There is a regulatory mechanism in place to oversee the sport’s fair conduct so to speak, but whether the Indian racing authorities have strived for high standards in horse-racing is a moot question.

It was just recently that the HRC’s stewards’ body came down heavily on several errant professionals by imposing an extended ban on them, a move welcomed by all. These severe punishments are expected to serve as a deterrent for the unscrupulous folks but, if one were to look at Monday’s results, it seems that the usual suspects fear no such consequences and continue to operate with impunity. It may sound like a cliché yet all this chicanery on the race-track is a wake-up call for the Turf Authorities of India, the HRC regulators in particular, to get their act together and safeguard the sport’s integrity.

At the races on Monday, punters had a perfect start with Donald Netto’s ward Born Brave (Arod – Swiss Eagle) making a winning debut. The colt was so well prepared that he donkey-licked opponents when cruising past Bellingham opposite the stands. Cannon Rose warmed up late to finish second ahead of Bellingham and Hoping Queen.

Last-outing winner Santa Barbara (Oiseau De Feu – Ritz) from Leo D’silva’s barns registered an encore with minimum fuss. Apprentice Ekram Alam kept Santa Barbara on the haunches of stable-mate Silver Lining and let her loose shortly after entering the straight. Santa Barbara went cruising ahead and was never in the danger of being caught thereafter. Deccan Daisy came from way back to take the second spot ahead of Silver Lining, who had Saint Emilion and Rochelle close behind.

The next three events saw three hot favourites – Brilliant Star, Barbet and Proud Mary, all ridden by Suraj Narredu, unable to shoulder the burden of the public’s purse. Those in the know backed Commanding Knight, who was second-in-demand only to Brilliant Star in the Basalath Jah Memorial Cup (Div-II) and were glad that their money rode on the right horse. Neelesh Rawal-groomed Commanding Knight (Declaration of War – Reflections) brooked no opposition from his rivals as P. Sai Kumar timed his challenge to perfection and brought the bay gelding with a superb run in the home stretch. Commanding Knight zoomed past City of Bliss and initial leader High Reward to record his fifth career win. Brilliant Star staged his entry only when the race was in safe-keeping of the winner. He was well beaten and ended a tame second ahead of City of Bliss and Kingston.

RH Sequeira-nursed filly She Can had dodged the winning post after her successful trip to Mysore this monsoon and she eventually lived up to her name when inflicting a narrow defeat over favourite Barbet. Apprentice Ajay Kumar-ridden She Can (Win Legend – Masquenada) raced behind Thunderstruck and Star Medal and was brought into contention at the bend, but came wide into the straight. She Can was driven out by Ajay to take charge while Barbet being hard-ridden by Suraj. Barbet got into her stride a wee bit late and it was a case of ‘good try, bad luck’ as she finished on but fell a neck short at the winning line. Hugh Capet appeared on the scene when it hardly mattered and could only edge out Miss Marvellous by a nose for the third place.

Suraj had his last assignment aboard Proud Mary, one of the shortest priced runner of the day, but he had to return home empty-handed as Laxman’s ward caught a tartar in Alexina. KSV Prasad Raju-trained and Sai Kumar-ridden Alexina (Western Aristocrat – Alexandrite) showed good initial speed to wrest the initiative at the start and skipped away in the straight for her third career win. Proud Mary came with a devouring run in the last furlong but, no matter how hard Suraj tried, the hot favourite was destined to lose. She ended a length behind Alexina with Dyanoosh finishing in the money ahead of Malibu.

Soon afterwards, it was Netto’s ward Ashoka’s turn to taste defeat. Carrying top-weight A. Imran Khan-steered Ashoka raced a handy second behind Best Buddy, waiting to pounce on the leader. A little over a furlong from home, Ashoka challenged Best Buddy and was poised to overtake him but was caught flat-footed by NB Kuldeep-partnered Beauty Blaze (Top Class – Lucy In The Sky) who came with a terrific run to floor her rivals in the final furlong. Ashoka finished runner-up, a neck ahead of Miss Little Angel who had Best Buddy a head away.

Capping the disastrous day for punters, Black Burgundy from MS Parmar’s yard annihilated the fancied duo, Worcester and Honourable Lady. Jockey Kuldeep Singh (Sr) had Burgundy Black (Basem – Sister Etienne) in the pole position shortly after the start and the bay stretched out well in the straight to surprise his rivals. Honourable Lady put in a strong run towards the end but Burgundy Black held on to win by a length. The on-money favourite Worcester failed to quicken when asked for an effort by Mukesh Kumar and plodded to finish third, a head in front of Sweet Whisper.