Having failed to earn a bracket since her previous success in February last, the Srinivas Reddy-nursed mare Golden Gazelle finally came good on Tuesday when she tackled a mediocre set of rivals with utmost ease. Entrusted to Akshay Kumar and not HM Akshay on this occasion, Golden Gazelle raced close behind the front-runners headed by Happy Soul, who was followed by NRI Sport and Colt Pistol in the initial stage of the seven-furlong journey. Akshay switched lanes as the field swung into the home stretch and brought the mare on the outside before scrubbing her for an effort. Golden Gazelle (Authorized – Deauville) stepped up her speed to swiftly collar the tiring Happy Soul and cruised away for an emphatic win. Clefairy improved in the straight to take the runner-up berth whilst Happy Soul and NRI Sport finished in the third and fourth spot respectively.
 
Apart from Golden Gazelle, Normui and Nkalanzinzi were the only two clear favourites to oblige in the eight-race card framed by the Hyderabad Race Club authorities on Tuesday. The card that featured on the extra day was anything but attractive or competitive. Worst still, the bland and boring racing programme turned out to be a nightmare for punters with trainer K. Satheesh emerging as their tormentor-in-chief. The on-money favourite Normui from Magan Singh Parmar’s yard raced abreast with Knotty Senorita in the early stages of the race and surged ahead just as the heads turned for home. K. Mukesh Kumar-ridden Normui (Saamidd – Prime Time) then skipped away for a two-length victory over Knotty Senorita. Palash stayed in the third place ahead of Always Special, who laboured hard in the straight but in vain.
 
G. Sandeep-saddled Nkalanzinzi did oblige but Akshay had to sweat it out astride the favourite to ward off the spirited bid of Morning Mist to upstage her. Earlier, If You Like It led the field into the straight with Only The Brave in pursuit and both Nkalanzinzi and Morning Mist making their bid together in the final run-in. Nkalanzinzi managed to overhaul If You Like It about a furlong from home but was soon challenged by Morning Mist. Akshay astride Nkalanzinzi (Top Class – Magnolia) and Deepak Singh-piloted Morning Mist waged a ding-dong battle in the final lap however it was the strong finishing effort of the former which helped him to secure a head verdict over his rival. If You Like It held on to the third spot beating Char Ek Char by a short-head. Deepak lodged an objection against Akshay for bumping close home but his frivolous attempt to reverse the verdict in the stewards room did not succeed.
 
A race later, Akshay was in saddle atop the day’s shortest priced runner Dream To Fly, who flopped badly. Robin Reddy-saddled Dream To Fly ended a dismal third behind winner Great Giver and Total Control, both sent out by trainer LVR Deshmukh. Apprentice Shivansh-partnered Great Giver hit the front soon after the gates flew open and enjoyed an uncontested lead till the last hundred metres where he came under attack from stablemate Total Control with Dream To Fly also trying to make his presence felt. Ajeeth Kumar atop Total Control fought hard with Great Giver (One Lucky Dane – Paprika) but Shivansh drove the latter vigorously and held on by a head at the wire. Dream To Fly ran third, a good three lengths away but a neck ahead of Varaneek Gold.
 
Calistoga also failed to carry the public’s purse to victory as he came across one better in second favourite Torchbearer hailing from Deshmukh’s yard. After jumping out fluently from the gates, Torchbearer allowed both Newfound Glory and Inderdhanush to head the field with Calistoga settled close behind. Ashhad Asbar alerted Torchbearer (Chinese Whisper – Evelyn May) inside the last furlong and half and the bay gelding quickened well to go sailing clear of Newfound Glory and stretched out well as Calistoga battled hard to catch the winner. Born Brave found his moorings quite late and despite coming with a powerful run ended third, a neck behind Calistoga. High Heels ran fourth.
 
Bottom-weighted Pancho (Leitir Mor – Touch My Soul) showed surprising improvement over his recent performances to enter the winner’s enclosure. Favourite Star Cruise went straight down to business from the word go but failed to break free from his rivals and was nagged by Classical Music all the way into the straight. HM Akshay spurred Classical Music and fought hard with Kuldeep Singh (Sr.)-ridden Star Cruise whilst B. Nikhil-steered Pancho slowly but steadily got closer to the leading pair. Classical Music gained the upper hand over Star Cruise but MS Parmar-groomed Pancho’s late surge saw him triumph by a head. Smart Boy warmed up towards the end to finish half-length behind with Star Cruise about a length behind.
 
The bay filly Misty Night, with RS Jodha aboard, jumped out smartly from the innermost draw to grab the lead and made every post of the six-furlong sprint a winning one. Satheesh-nursed Misty Night (French Navy – Grey Mist) teased and tormented favourite Tootsie Darling throughout the home stretch and went on to record her maiden success quite easily. Tootsie Darling had to play second fiddle with Pride Aside finishing in the money. Joint-favourite Honey Luna failed to make any impression at any stage of the race and ended fourth. 
 
Satheesh ended the day with a winning brace when Star Medal went wire to wire to stun the fancied runners in the concluding event. Ekram Alam pushed Star Medal into the lead and showed a clean pair of heels to Assured Success and favourite Shadow Baby, who chased the winner into the straight. Alam packed enough punch in his finishing effort which enabled Star Medal (David Livingston – Emeritus) to scrape through in a tight finish from favourite Shadow Baby, who went down by half-length. Born Beauty made a late dash only to finish a neck behind the runner-up whilst Assured Success having to settle for the fourth spot.