In a probable bid to gain an entry into the forthcoming Indian Invitation Sprinters’ Cup, young Aman Hussain travelled to Malakpet with Magileto, who had finished fifth in the Dr SC Jain Sprinters’ Championship at Mahalaxmi on Derby day. There was not much of a competition in the Kakatiya Million for the six-year old bay but the race still had to be won and Magileto did accomplish his task. Trevor Patel allowed his main foe Ashoka to show the way and kept Magileto close on the haunches of the leader till after entering the straight. Trevor switched gears on Magileto and easily overcame the feeble resistance offered by Ashoka as the winning post came into sight. Malaala came with a menacing run in the final furlong but Trevor kept Magileto (Sedgefield – Providence) going under the whip and won by sparing a length to the mare at the wire. O Hansini and Lashka finished third and fourth respectively. Ashoka, who had not raced for over three months, was clearly short on fitness as he ended last in the field of six.

Trevor had tasted his first success right at the start of the day’s proceedings when he helped favourite Racing Ruler graduate from the maiden ranks in the Rising Star Plate (Div-I). KSV Prasad Raju-nurtured Racing Ruler was ridden well off the pace as initially Infinia and then NRI High Power headed the field in the last two furlongs. Trevor had to work really hard on Racing Ruler (Leitir Mor – Qawaafy) to get him into his stride and the bay colt picked up speed just in the nick of time to overwhelm NRI High Power in the last few strides to secure a half-length verdict. Calabasas finished an identical distance away while Sharanga ran fourth.

But for even-money favourite Dali’s Destiny narrow failure, Trevor would have bagged a treble. No-hoper Tripurari sprinted ahead as the field of seven set sail for the mile journey with Reigning Beauty settled on his tail. D Minchu, Anzio, Dali’s Destiny, Strauss and Fly Tothe Stars raced in close attendance all the way into the home stretch. With about two furlongs left for home, Reigning Beauty snatched the lead and surged ahead but found danger lurking behind in the form of D Minchu and Dali’s Destiny. Apprentice Shivansh, however, confidently spurred Leo D’Silva-schooled Reigning Beauty (Pinson – Beau Ideal) to stay the course and stave off the spirited bid of both D Minchu and Dali’s Destiny, who failed to put his best foot forward despite Trevor’s fervent bid. The first three finishers were separated by a neck each whilst leaden-footed Strauss ended fourth, over a length behind.

N R I Triple Power from Donald Netto’s yard made a winning debut in the Rising Star Plate (Div-II), a feat which her owner and stable-mate N R I High Power had failed to achieve earlier. Konaseema shot into the lead from the barriers with favourite Emerald Touch, Gusto’s Baby and N R I Triple Power in pursuit. Abhay Singh took evasive action astride Konaseema as riderless Yuvraj came abreast at the two-furlong marker and shifted out. Meanwhile, Royal Warrior slipped through the inner rails and led briefly before Kuldeep Singh (Sr.)-piloted N R I Tripe Power came with a powerful burst to take control of the running and pulled away for a surprise victory. Mahrosh, another rank outsider, finished runner-up whilst Royal Warrior held on to the third place from Gusto’s Baby. Neeraj Rawal-ridden Emerald Touch failed to quicken in the straight and faded out to finish sixth.

Hilton Sequeira led three victorious on-money favourites of which two were partnered by Akshay Kumar while the third one was steered by Antony Raj. Antidote, who had gone down narrowly to Lifes Journey earlier, made amends for that failure when accounting for a mediocre set of rivals. Antidote raced in the mid-bunch as City Cruise showed the way to field over the mile trip with Federer and N R I Skypower going in chase. Akshay brought Antidote on the outer flank shortly after the heads straightened for home and scrubbed the mare forcefully. Antidote (Akeed Champion – Anecdote) gathered enough steam to tackle Caraxes, N R I Skypower and Federer one by one on the way and finally swooped down on City Cruise to oblige the punters. City Cruise ended in the runner-up spot keeping Caraxes at bay by a neck with N R I Skypower ending close behind.

The four-year old filly Star of Night, who had returned from Mumbai after taking a shot at the fillies’ classics, was backed to the exclusion of her rivals in the Mirza Zunnur Ahmed Memorial Cup, a Class III event run over nine-furlongs. Antony had Sequeira-groomed Star of Night racing in the fourth spot as her stable-mate and second favourite Sugar went surging into the lead and held sway over the field till the last furlong and half. Star of Night, meanwhile, picked up speed when alerted to her task by her rider and caught up with Sugar soon. Star of Night (Excellent Art – Romantic Star) took some backhanders from Antony before stretching out and cruising away for an authoritative victory. Just Incredible and China Town warmed up only in the last lap of the trip and took the second and third spot respectively, pegging back Sugar to the fourth berth.

A confident piece of work in the saddle by K. Mukesh Kumar was instrumental in Magan Singh Parmar-trained Silver Act’s triumph over favourite Decoy in the Rajah Bahadur Venkatarama Reddy Memorial Cup (Div-I). Netto-saddled Decoy stayed close on the haunches of Brooklyn Beauty and followed the leader into the straight before Akshay started to urge him. Decoy eventually gained the upper hand over Brooklyn Beauty in the last furlong but the brilliant run unleashed by Silver Act in the final run-in put paid to his hopes. Silver Act (Saamidd – Angarika) made rapid progress when Mukesh stirred her into action and gained ground with every stride to overhaul Decoy in the shadow of the post. Decoy lost out by a neck and played second fiddle for the fifth time in a row. Golden Gazelle finished third whilst Lucky Zone took fourth place.
 
Sequeira had a readymade winner for Akshay in the four-year old maiden filly Shooting Star in the last race. Like Antidote, Shooting Star was pitted against a poor lot and the filly cashed in on that opportunity. Shoolin tried runaway tactics with Smart Boy in pursuit while Shooting Star fought for head as Akshay tried to settle her down. Shooting Star (Arod – Dance Oh Dance) was let loose by Akshay in the home stretch and the filly strode clear after tackling the two front-runners. As Shoolin beat a hasty retreat, Smart Boy rallied to take the second berth with Classy Dame and Golden Unicorn filling up the two minor places on the judges’ board.