Carrying only 0.5kg extra after his victory a month ago, few race-goers would have thought that the law of averages would catch up with Ashoka, or so it seemed on Sunday. Donald Netto-schooled Ashoka conceded 3.5kg when thrashing Candy Girl by a good 14 lengths during their last encounter. On this occasion, Candy Girl was in receipt of 11.5kg from Ashoka, which can be of comfort to those seeking an alibi for the latter’s defeat. The fact, however, remains that K. Satheesh-trained Candy Girl was conscious of not leaving her galloping shoes at home as she not only hit the front over the six-furlong trip for the Bold Venture Plate but also sustained the lead all the way home. Entrusted to the 1.5kg-claimer Ekram Alam, Candy Girl shot into the lead from the barriers with Alexina in chase and Kuldeep Singh (Sr.)-ridden Ashoka waiting to pounce on the pair ahead. Soon after the heads turned for home, Ashoka tried to take the opening between Candy Girl and Alexina but the latter moved in slightly denying the favourite a clear run and forcing Kuldeep to switch lanes. Having lost his momentum, Ashoka was seen struggling when Kuldeep tried to renew his assault. Candy Girl (Net Whizz – Frizbee), meanwhile, shrugged off Alexina’s attempt to overhaul her and strode out attractively to land the spoils for her connections. Ashoka ended third while Miss Maya, who appeared to have been thrown into the deep against seasoned campaigners, ended fourth despite the indiscriminate use of the whip by Akshay.

The outcome of the rest of the five events was akin to a draw of lots to decide which horse was lucky enough to claim the end-of-the-season lottery. Vittal Deshmukh-saddled Gloria was the first lucky contestant to reap a rich harvest in the day’s curtain raiser. Lesser fancied than only Shooting Star, Gloria lacked initial speed but she moved up rapidly to join the front-runners. Meanwhile, it was not Shooting Star but her owner-mate Opera Queen who slipped into the lead from the gates with the two fancied contenders close behind. Ashhad Asbar and Abhay Singh both had their mounts off the bridle in the final run-in and it was Gloria who gained the upper hand as Shooting Star faced an ingenuine problem in finding her rhythm. As Gloria (Sanus Per Aquam – Dancer’s Fan) zoomed ahead, Mix The Magic joined the issue and threw a strong challenge at her. Gloria, however, was vigorously driven out by Asbar to prevail by half a length over Mix The Magic in the second division of the Peddapalli Plate for maidens. Shooting Star ended a poor third ahead of Emperors Charm.

K. Mukesh Kumar made good amends for his loss astride Mix The Magic and avenged his defeat by guiding That’s My Mission to victory over Asbar-piloted Linda in the upper division of the Peddapalli Plate. SSF Hassan-groomed That’s My Mission stormed ahead from the innermost draw and built a comfortable lead inside the last two furlongs. This margin proved crucial when Linda started to bridge the leeway but Mukesh did not let his guard down which saw That’s My Mission (Oiseau De Feu – Spina Christi) hold on gallantly at the wire. Linda fell short by a neck with Newfound Glory and Lifes Journey finishing on to take the minor places.

Neglected in the betting as Kings Best, with Akshay in the driving seat, cornered majority support in the bookmakers’ ring , Espionage gave a stellar show though not of turn to claim the Hyderabad City Police Commissioner’s Cup. Rolls Royce seized the initiative as the field sorted itself out soon after jumping out from the gates with Espionage swiftly coming to the fore. Kuldeep (Sr.) let Rolls Royce enjoy his role till two-furlong marker. Espionage tackled Rolls Royce effortlessly to take over the running and the race ceased to be a contest thereafter. Espionage (Gusto – Ainra) trounced his opponents to record an authoritative win, his third from six starts. Kings Best clearly could not muster enough power to challenge the winner and eventually ended second in a dead-heat with Detective, who came with long-stretched strides from the rear. Ashwa Gajraj ended faraway to be fourth just ahead of Star Forever, who seemed to have saved her best for some other day, and Rolls Royce.

Hilton Sequeira-nursed N R I Superpower improved on her previous effort to land the spoils in the Smt. Teegala Sulochana Reddy Memorial Cup run over a mile and quarter. Top-weighted Last Wish decided runaway tactics for a change when showing the way to eleven-horse field and leading them into the home stretch. N R I Superpower, who was in hot pursuit of the leader all the way, was asked for an effort by apprentice Shivansh at this juncture following which the mare improved steadily to wear down Last Wish about a furlong and half away from the wire. N R I Superpower (Wind Legend – One Life To Love) eventually gained the upper hand in the final furlong and went on to win by a margin of two lengths. Last Wish retained the runner-up berth ahead of Delhi Heights. Favourite Hurricane Bay failed to reproduce the sparkling effort which previously fetched him five straight wins and could only finish fourth. Akshay-partnered Fly Tothe Stars kept Hurricane Bay company in the rear bunch and ended fifth after finding the going tough on entering the straight.

After two deceptive runs over a mile and nine-furlongs, trainer Laxman Singh decided that it was about time that Proud Mary was allowed to reveal her talent over six furlongs, her pet distance thus far. P. Sai Kumar had Proud Mary gnawing at the heels of leader Wind Sprite till herself and Shadow Fax both joined him soon after coming into the straight. Shadow Fax made a strong bid to seize the initiative but Proud Mary put paid to his hopes and stretched out gamely in response to Sai Kumar’s call. Proud Mary (Lord Admiral – Mind of Madness) then streaked clear of her rivals and was not fully extended when sparing over five lengths to her nearest rival Shadow Fax. Wind Sprite ended in the money ahead of joint-favourite Final Judgement, who failed to bring any relief to Akshay as he failed to oblige his fan-following for the second successive race-day.