Anyone desirous of knowing what the term ‘one-sided’ exactly meant had to be at the Malakpet racecourse Monday to get a sense of it. Manipulation or not, the outcome of seven races in the card of eight went in favour of the strongly fancied runners. Punters had a dream run as the horses that carried their purse were right on the money race after race till the sequence was broken in the concluding event. It goes without saying that the bookmakers were at the receiving end of this phenomenon and they are not likely to forget this episode in a hurry.
 
Be that as it may, after bagging the second classic of the season a day earlier, trainer Laxman Singh claimed the two trophy events with Lifes Journey and Dali’s Destiny, both registering an encore. P. Sai Kumar once again got to substitute Trevor Patel, who was originally engaged to steer Dali’s Destiny in the Chaitanya Chakram Cup. Unfancied Windsor showed plenty of speed to hit the front soon after the start and held the advantage over Happy Soul and Toffee whilst Dali’s Destiny, who was very keen to unravel his potential, was kept on a leash by Sai Kumar. Once into the home stretch, Dali’s Destiny (Dali – Dance to Destiny) was let loose by Sai Kumar and the dark bay soon tackled Windsor and scampered home for a convincing victory. Windsor ended runner-up with Golden Gazelle and Darling’s Boy following them home.
 
Jockey Gaurav Singh, who was entrusted with Lifes Journey on this occasion, literally had to sweat it out before lifting the Vikarabad Cup. The horse that very nearly proved to be a thorn in Lifes Journey’s path was his owner-mate Antidote. After racing in the mid-bunch behind the front-runners headed by Planet Super, Hilton Sequeira-saddled Antidote unleashed a powerful when alerted by Abhay Singh and stepped up the pace to go surging into the lead in the last furlong and half. Lifes Journey was almost caught on the wrong foot by his owner-mate as he was nearly six lengths away when Antidote stole a march over her rivals. Gaurav, however, seemed unperturbed as he drove Lifes Journey vigorously and the punters heaved a big sigh of relief when it was announced that the favourite had beaten Antidote by a shorthead in virtually his last stride. Nkalanzinzi ran third, a distance behind with London Bell close behind.
 
Magan Singh Parmar-trained Burgundy Black also delivered the goods but had a close shave with defeat at the hands of Colt Pistol. Burgundy Black jumped out smartly from the gates but K. Mukesh Kumar decided against cutting the pace with apprentice Ajay Kumar-ridden Colt Pistol, who seized the initiative from the gates. Instead, Mukesh eased off his mount and went in chase of the leader. Colt Pistol relished his front-running role and the lead established by him in the home stretch had Burgundy Black struggling to bridge the leeway. However, Mukesh put his head down and his vigorous effort saw Burgundy Black (Basem – Sister Etienne) lengthen his strides to overhaul Colt Pistol in the shadow of the winning post. Burgundy Black eventually prevailed by a neck. Power Ranger ended in the third spot ahead of Flashing Memories.
 
In a similar nail-biting finish, One N Only got the better of Gatiman, his main adversary in the Nirmal Plate (Div-I). The cramped odds offered against One N Only suggested that Donald Netto’s ward would have it easy over the five and half furlong scurry but he faced stiff resistance from Gatiman, who raced close on the haunches of Blissful, who burst into the lead when the starter’s flag came down. With about a furlong left for the wire, Mukesh pressed Gatiman into the lead but found One N Only arriving on the scene to join the issue. Both sprinters fought a fierce battle the climax of which saw Kuldeep Singh (Sr.) packing enough punch in his riding astride One N Only (Akeed Champion – Magical Night) to get the better of Gatiman by a neck. Winning Attitude and Assured Success made a late appearance to finish third and fourth respectively.
 
For the third time in a row a close fight was witnessed and it was a three-way finish between favourite Newfound Glory, N R I Range and Dream to Fly. Netto nearly pulled off a good gamble with N R I Range, who was entrusted to lesser-known rider A, A. Vikrant for obvious reasons. N R I Range raced on the haunches of leader Eminency and alongside them both was Sai Kumar-piloted Newfound Glory. N R I Range was only a neck behind Eminency when the field was about to enter the home stretch but he dropped back after shifting out at the turn, which probably sealed his fate. Shortly after straightening for home, Newfound Glory collared Eminency and slipped into the lead but G. Naresh-partnered Dream to Fly and N R I Range started to inch closer as the favourite was unable to pull away from them. Sai Kumar had to make free use of the whip to help Newfound Glory sustain the lead and just about managed to hold on as both N R I Range and Dream to Fly almost upstaged her. KSV Prasad Raju-trained Newfound Glory (Air Support – Striking) scraped through this ordeal by a neck whilst Dream to Fly ended a head behind runner-up N R I Range. Eminency faded out to be fourth.
 
The day started off with the success of Torchbearer, who ran true to his name. Ashhad Asbar replaced Trevor in the saddle astride Vittal Deshmukh-schooled Torchbearer (Chinese Whisper – Evelyn May), who showed a clean pair of heels to his rivals and scored a comfortable win. Calista Girl ran prominently behind the winner and took the runner-up berth. Kenaf was outpaced throughout and finished a faraway third whilst Rival ended fourth.
 
Knight Crusader, a recent migrant from Western India, was backed as if defeat was out of question in the Cyndy Plate (Div-II), reserved for maidens and he indeed proved too good for his opponents. Saddled now by Sequeira, Knight Crusader allowed Great Giver and Hawk Wing to do the initial running and the moment Akshay relaxed his grip on the reins, the race was as good as over. Knight Crusader (Speaking of Which – Adiella) went sailing clear inside the last furlong and half and was not fully extended when recording a five-length victory over Great Giver. Peanut warmed up late to finish third ahead of Safala, who ended a distance away.
 
The four-year old maiden Nityasundara hailing from Magan Singh Parmar’s string was racing after a long layoff but was heavily backed to win in the lowest class. Nityasundara got straight down to business soon after the gates flew open and had a good lead when the field was homeward bound. B. Nikhil-steered Nityasundara shortened her strides as the winning post came into sight and it was Char Ek Char, who came charging down the straight when Mohit Singh asked the MF Ali Khan trainee for an effort. Char Ek Char (Smuggler’s Cove – Exemplary) wore down Nityasundara close home to win by three parts of a length. Reining Queen also came with a menacing run but had to settle for the third place, a shorthead behind Nityasundara.  Taaliyah and Blue Brigade, who were both next in demand to the favourite, found their rhythm late and finished a neck and a shorthead away from Reining Queen.