Crimson Flame, who has seen her ownership change a couple of times since she started her career and has now landed in MF Ali Khan’s yard, made her first appearance at the Malakpet racecourse a winning one on Monday. Although she was running for the first time here and had done nothing worth of a note, the moneybags were aware of something more than the ordinary punter would fathom as Crimson Flame was a rage in the betting ring and quoted below even-money. Thankfully, Crimson Role, entrusted in the hands of Akshay Kumar, prevailed by a neck in the Asif Jah Memorial Cup (Div-I). Blissful and High Reward raced in tandem after the gates opened and showed the way to the field till passing the two-furlong marker where K. Mukesh Kumar spurred Shadow Fax to take the gap between the pair ahead. Shadow Fax pierced through to take charge but was under the whip as Crimson Flame unleashed a menacing run when stirred into action by Akshay. A few moments later, Crimson Flame (Dreamfield – Suzanna) strode out magnificently to humble Shadow Fax by a neck in her final leap. High Reward refused to yield the third spot as High Heels made a desperate attempt to slip through the rails after failing to get a clear run in the final stages of the sprint.

Ananta Vatsalya saddled Bhairava, who raced as Mighty Sparrow and had won twice with Pesi Shroff before being sold, appeared to have the concluding event at his mercy, or so it seemed. Bhairava was the money-back favourite to win the Fateh Maidan Club Cup (Div-II), however, the well-bred colt went down to none other than Perfect Light, a maiden on record and who came under Hilton Sequeira’s charge from the Western India professional Imtiaz Sait. Ajeeth Kumar-piloted Bhairava set off in the right earnest from the barriers with Perfect Light racing on his haunches but had the punters gasping for breath as he veered out when turning for home. Bhairava continued to drift despite Ajeeth’s attempt to control him and made Perfect Light suffer as he took him out with him. Both horses raced very wide on the racetrack with Bhairava returning to run on an even keel but his effort was paled by Perfect Light’s resurgence. BR Kumar-steered Perfect Light (Speaking of Which – Starry Brook), who was out-handicapped by the Bhairava, fought stride for stride with the favourite for about a furlong before inflicting a humiliating defeat on him in the last hundred metres. A distance behind finished Desert Sultan in third place with Caraxes, Alcahol Free and Path of Peace all finishing in close tow.

Vatsalya had started his day on a victorious note when Sunny Day claimed the Nice Fella Plate, a ‘no whip’ event reserved for four-year old and over maidens. Opera Queen held a narrow lead over Eminency, Sunny Day and favourite NRI Range when the field of eight had sorted itself out but packed her wares as soon as they turned for home. Eminency slipped into the lead briefly even as Ajeeth was fervently trying to get Sunny Day to accelerate whilst Dream To Fly came angling towards the inner rails when making her bid. Sunny Day finally forged ahead though battling for survival as Dream To Fly and Peanut posed a grave threat to his chances whilst D. Netto-groomed NRI Range was unable to find that extra gear needed to justify the wagers placed on him. Regardless, Sunny Day (Total Gallery – Excellent Day) scraped through warding off both Peanut and Dream To Fly, a neck each separating them as they hit the wire. Santosh Raj-partnered NRI Range’s misery in staying glued to the fourth spot saw no end.

The next race too was contested by maiden juveniles and it had Bharath Singh-saddled Andre going out as the hot favourite to win the nine-furlong event. Andre (Multitude – Fontainebleau), ridden by Akshay in place of Trevor Patel, embarked on a pillar to post mission and achieved it after enjoying an uncontested lead throughout. The fact that Sanaya and La Fleuriere could finish second and third behind their stablemate gives an idea of the calibre of the opposition they encountered in the seven-horse field.

Bharath’s luck appeared to have deserted him half an hour later as he had another heavily-backed runner Kalki competing for the Asif Jah Memorial Cup (Div-II). Kalki, who has let down his supporters on more than one occasion during his career, came across one better in A. Imran Khan-trained Exclusive Black on this occasion. Rolls Royce made the initial running with Imran Chisty-astride Exclusive Black going in chase while Kalki was ridden off the pace by Akshay. Chisty exerted pressure on Exclusive Black (Net Whizz – Matilda) to gain ground on Rolls Royce before tackling him passing the two-furlong marker and went on to register an easy win. Meanwhile, Kalki, who refused to put his best foot forward, made Akshay sweat hard in the saddle but could do no better than play second fiddle, a neck ahead of Rolls Royce. The rest of the field headed by Sopranos trailed behind.

N R I Triple Power caused no heartburn for the punters as the half-money favourite thrashed her eight rivals in the Fateh Maidan Club Cup (Div-I). Muaser set the early pace over the mile journey with Sucker Punch in pursuit whilst Mukesh held N R I Triple Power on a leash alongside Anemoi and Sargent. Sadiya showed urgency in joining the leaders and overtook Muaser before turning for home. Sadiya brought the field into the straight but the moment Mukesh gave N R I Triple Power her head, the race was as good as over. Netto-saddled N R I Triple Power (Gusto – Ascension) zoomed ahead and received a couple of reminders from Mukesh’s whip following which she stretched out for a comfortable win. That Gold Giver could make up the ground he lost at the start and yet finish second speaks a lot about the mediocrity of the other contestants. Sargent ran third ahead of Sadiya with the rest finishing far behind.