A card of eight events went underway at Malakpet on Sunday and the quality of the participants was like someone piling a heap of trash in front of the race-goers and expecting them to find gold nuggets in it. Left with no option but to endure the lacklustre type of racing which the turf clubs seem intent on churning out, regular punters end up regretting their decision to bet on horses which glitter like gold. Be that as it may, one horse that stood out in the day’s card was Knight Crusader. With two wins under his belt, Hilton Sequeira’s charge looked poised for a hat-trick but he was annihilated by an interestingly named horse, Annhilator. Antony Raj held even-money favourite Knight Crusader in a handy position behind Armstrong till the distance post and he was travelling so well when cruising ahead, it seemed that the race was over bar the shouting. But D. Netto’s ward Annhilator, who was gnawing at Knight Crusader’s heels soon after the start, loomed large on the outside to challenge the favourite in the final furlong. In the ensuing battle, Kuldeep Singh (Sr.) aboard Annhilator (Gusto – Tsesebe) nailed Knight Crusader about hundred metres from home and surged ahead to record a convincing win. Star Forever finished on to be third ahead of second favourite Catchme If You Can, who too failed in her hat-trick bid.
 
Magan Singh Parmar-saddled Petra Star was another hot favourite to bite dust later in the day. Following her fluent victory on debut, K. Mukesh Kumar-ridden Petra Star was expected to tackle a weak set of rivals. However, the 12 to 1 longshot Varaneek Gold proved to be a thorn in Petra Act’s path. As the start was given, Aos Si showed plenty of early speed to grab the lead in the initial stages of the race with Varaneek Gold racing well up with the leader whilst Petra Star was hugging the rails close behind. When the heads turned for home, Mukesh made his bid and joined Varaneek Gold (Air Support – Alexandrite) in tackling Aos Si. Petra Star, though powerfully driven by Mukesh, could not repel Varaneek Gold’s aggression as jockey HM Akshay steered S. Sreekant’s ward to an upset maiden win. Petra Star ended two lengths behind the winner with Shadow of Light (formerly known as Miracle Mary) finishing in the money ahead of Cherished Lady.
 
Mukesh soon made amends for his failure astride Petra Star when partnering First Class to a hard-earned victory in the next race. After racing in the mid-bunch as Indradhanush took charge of the running shortly after the field had sorted itself out, Mukesh brought First Class on the outside and launched his assault. Parmar-trained First Class (Stardan – Anassa) stepped up her speed to overhaul both Amyra and High Reward and scampered home to earn precious stakes for her connections. Amyra necked out High Reward at the post to take the second slot with Clefairy completing the judges’ frame.
 
Mystical Dawn from LVR Deshmukh’s stables showed good improvement over her previous two runs to justify the favouritism in the maiden set vying for the Crown Treasure Plate. Ashhad Asbar kept Mystical Dawn within striking distance of leader Grey Sky and Corte Madera and alerted his mount when the heads turned for home. Mystical Dawn (Smuggler’s Cove – Mykonos) wore down Corte Madera at the two-furlong marker and was never in danger of being caught thereafter. Corte Madera, Lake Michigan and Ashwa Changez ended in a procession behind the winner and took the minor places in that order. 
 
The aged gelding Wandring Warrior gave Akshay Kumar his first winner in the opening event but not before overcoming the stiff resistance offered by favourite Take A Breath (formerly known as Oskars Officer) close home. Wandring Warrior raced in the rear bunch as Hoping Wind called the early shots but fortunately got a dream opening towards the rails as the field ahead spread out at the turn. Akshay powered Wandring Warrior (David Livingston – Roof Fiddle) into the lead and drove the Sreekant trainee relentlessly to ward off Take A Breath’s desperate attempt to catch him. Silver Arrow ran third with Shubrak finishing way behind.
 
Akshay achieved a double with another power-packed effort which enabled Dyanoosh to score over Runlikethewind and Challenger. MF Ali Khan-schooled Dyanoosh raced in the third spot behind Challenger and Runlikethewind soon after the start and made his bid shortly after the front-runners had straightened for home. Before Runlikethewind could tackle Challenger, Dyanoosh (Declaration of War – Bunga Bunga) put in a strong run to overpower the first-named inside the last hundred metres and skipped away for his first win this season. Runlikethewind finished runner-up ahead of Kings Best, who ran on to be third, a neck ahead of Sopranos.
 
Srinivas Reddy-saddled Sargent provided HM Akshay his first success during the day when the four-year old bay unleashed a powerful run down the straight to floor his opponents. Sargent (One Lucky Dane – Scarlet O’Hara) raced in close attendance of leader Quality Warrior till HM Akshay put pressure on his mount to take charge of the running soon after passing the two-furlong post. Sargent (One Lucky Dane – Scarlet O’Hara) wrapped up the race a long way from home as Amboseli struggled to catch him while Quality Warrior fell back but held on to the third place, half-length in front of Bellingham. Favourite Palash raced hopelessly throughout and even failed to grace the judges’ board.
 
HK Akshay got a chance ride on Glimmer of Hope as he substituted Gaurav Singh aboard Ravinder Singh’s ward in the last race of the day. Star Cruise and favourite Swiss Girl headed the field from the word go with Pancho in pursuit. With Swiss Girl throwing in her towel inside the last two furlongs, Mukesh spurred Pancho into the lead. However, before Pancho could stride clear, HM Akshay inspired Glimmer of Hope to put his best foot forward. Eight-year old Glimmer of Hope (Excellent Art – Heiress) who had not seen the winner’s enclosure for over two years, stormed ahead to collar Pancho and register a shock victory. Muaser came with a late charge to finish third, a neck behind Pancho whilst D Battle took the fourth spot.