Trainer Donald Netto mentored One N Only gave a superlative performance which fetched him his sixth straight success in the T. Chandrasekhar Reddy Memorial Cup, a six-furlong event for horses in Class I. Despite his impeccable career record it was top-weighted Black Onyx, who went out as the favourite though not out of turn as he had seven wins from twelve starts to his credit. However, Magan Singh Parmar-schooled Black Onyx had made his first appearance on the race track late last month after a year-long layoff, a fact ignored by most punters. That said, those race-goers who kept their faith in One N Only were amply rewarded as the Kuldeep Singh (Sr.)-ridden four-year old gelding gave a heart-warming display, which was the only bright spot during the day’s proceedings. Proud Mary sped into the lead from the barriers with One N Only waiting to pounce on her, which he eventually did when Kuldeep catapulted him to pole position inside the last two furlongs. It was plain sailing thereafter for One N Only (Akeed Champion – Magical Night) who found his mark in the highest with a fair degree of comfort. Black Onyx failed to keep pace with the front-runners till the bend and launched his assault when K. Mukesh Kumar showed him the daylight after entering the home stretch. Black Onyx devoured good ground in the straight but the winner proved too good for him. Encore ended third with Last Wish finishing close behind. The credit of the stupendous success achieved by One N Only goes to Netto, who carefully devised his ward’s journey thus far.
 
Leo D’Silva saddled a fine treble to hog the limelight and his first winner came through Corte Madera, who tasted his maiden success after the champion trainer decided to make use of some additional equipment on his charge. No-hoper Screenshot took charge of the running as the ten-horse field took off for the mile journey with NRI Blaze in hot pursuit whilst Corte Madera was ridden off the pace by Akshay Kumar. Kuldeep astride NRI Blaze found himself in the front as the field approached the final turn after Screenshot dropped back. NRI Blaze travelled on the bit and had a handy lead till crossing the two-furlong marker even as Akshay brought Corte Madera wide into the straight. Corte Madera (Dreamfield – Paso Robles) made swift improvement with every stride and gathered enough steam on the way to breeze past NRI Blaze for a convincing victory. Gold Giver edged past NRI Blaze to take the second place. Beast Master ran fourth.
 
Later in the day, the 15 to 1 longshot Silver Lining provided D'Silva with his second success. Ridden by Alex Rosario, Silver Lining slipped into the lead soon after the gates opened and enjoyed an uncontested lead till she reached the wire. Despite enduring some excessive whipping from Akshay, favourite Vital Sign could do no better than runner-up, a length and quarter behind the winner. Elegant Lady and Always Special finished third and fourth respectively. Second favourite Assured Success failed to make headway after being prominent till approaching the bend and faded out to finish third last.
 
Emperors Charm from Hilton Sequeira’s barns suffered the same fate as her stablemate Vital Sign as Vittal Deshmukh-saddled Linda called a merry tune to her rivals all the way over the seven furlong trip after Ashhad Asbar eased her into the lead shortly after the field had settled down. Emperors Charm made a serious effort to catch Linda (Whatsthescript – Caprile) as Akshay brought him into contention in the final lap but the filly was in no mood to relent and scampered home to win by two lengths. Lifes Journey ended in the money ahead of Kings Best.
 
The terrific turn of foot unleashed by Hurricane Bay from D’Silva’s string helped Akshay make amends for his twin failures. Akshay astride Hurricane Bay bided his time at the rear end as Brooklyn Beauty showed the way to the six-horse field and had Lucky Zone, True Icon and Fly Tothe Stars in chase. The moment Akshay alerted Hurricane Bay (Planetaire – Midnight Wind) when the heads turned for home, the on-money came with a devouring run to go past the front-runners and finally tackled Brooklyn Beauty with about a furlong and half left for home. The race was over bar the shouting there and then. Brooklyn Beauty retained the second spot with True Icon and Fly Tothe Stars following her home.
 
P. Sai Kumar-ridden Knotty Senorita justified her favouritism in the day’s opening event with a hard-fought win over leader Glimmer of Hope. Sai Kumar kept the A. Imran Khan trainee within striking distance of Glimmer of Hope from the word go and pressed the mare into action as soon as they came into the straight. Glimmer of Hope flickered for a furlong or so before Knotty Senorita asserted herself and went on to score over late-finishing Gloria, who pegged back the long-time leader on the post. Total Control failed to make any impact and ended a tame fourth.
 
Ananth Vatsalya-nursed Sadiya finally was in a galloping mood and the grey mare came with a flourishing run to foil favourite Master Touch’s attempt to surge ahead. Earlier, Lucky Fiero sped into the lead and brought his rivals into the home stretch and just when Mukesh-atop Master Touch appeared poised to assume command, Deepak Singh-piloted Sadiya (Sussex – Arikara) staged her grand entry to frustrate the favourite. Sadiya had the race wrapped a long way from home and won quite easily from Desert Sultan, Silver Arrow and Master Touch.
 
Sequeira-trained Secret Option, who had never hit the board during his nine career starts, gave a resolute performance to taste his maiden success in the last race. Secret Option raced on the haunches of leader Politics all the way from the start and engaged her in a fierce duel in the home stretch. Politics gave a tough fight but failed to repel the onslaught of Ajeeth Kumar-partnered Secret Option (Net Whizz – Jasoora), who gained the upper hand in the dying moments of the seven-furlong race. Battle On failed to quicken when asked for an effort by Sai Kumar and had to settle for the third spot ahead of Tupac. There was a lot of money coming the way of Deccan Ranger in the betting ring, however, but for a fleeting moment when he tried to come the shortest way in the straight, it never looked like the SSF Hassan-saddled gelding would live up to the expectations.