Only a week after an easy outing in the Colts Championship Stakes, Leo D’Silva-trained Corte Madera exploited his handicap to the hilt when running away with the B. Malakonda Reddy Memorial Cup on Monday. Jockey Afroz Khan, who replaced Akshay Kumar in the saddle, had Corte Madera racing on the bit after Newfound Glory did the menial job of making the initial running with Dapper Look following her. Newfound Glory packed her wares well before the final turn and allowed Dapper Look to make his move. Top-weighted Dapper Look led for about a furlong and half before Corte Madera (Dreamfield – Paso Robles) loomed large on the outside and went sailing clear of him and the other contestants. Black Dust ended a tame third ahead of Krystallos.
 
Unlike Corte Madera, favourite Clara was hard ridden to escape the clutches of Calabasas in the Bhadrachalam Cup, the supporting event of the day. S. Sreekant-trained Clara stayed within striking distance of Her Ladyship, who slipped into the lead and had Rolls Royce on her haunches. Imran Chisty-aboard Clara launched his assault when the field had entered the straight and pounced upon the leaders in the last furlong and half. However, Clara was challenged strongly by K. Mukesh Kumar-piloted Calabasas, who made steady improvement after racing in the mid-bunch. Both Clara (Planetaire – Atmosphere) fought a pitched battle in the final furlong but the former eventually managed to prevail by a neck. Knight Crusader finished on well towards the end but had to settle for the third place whilst Rolls Royce faded out to be fourth.
 
Earlier, at the start of the day’s proceedings, Sreekant led in Dali’s Champion, who easily accounted for the mediocre opposition in the lowest class. Ridden by Kuldeep Singh (Sr.), Dali’s Champion (Dali – Lovely Senorita) tracked If You Like It from the word go and was ridden out to gain the upper hand a little over a furlong away from home. Deccan Ranger tried hard to catch Dali’s Champion, who did not succumb to his pressure and went on to win by a length and quarter. Fortune Art managed to take the third spot ahead of Muaser.
 
Kuldeep achieved a double when steering Espionage to a fluent victory in the first division of the Silver Jet Plate, the last race of the day. Donald Netto-schooled Espionage was off to a brilliant start and came from the outside draw to grab the lead. Espionage (Gusto – Ainra) then bowled along merrily in the front and left his rivals chasing his shadows all the way once the heads turned for home. She Can was in hot pursuit of Espionage throughout but the winner proved a hard nut to crack and she had to be content with the runner-up position. Brooklyn Beauty finished third, half a length in front of Star Forever. Dali’s Destiny, who ran fifth, was full of running towards the end and should do well over a longer trip.
 
The lower division of the Silver Jet Plate was claimed by Diablo, who has hit a purple patch since his success at Bangalore this summer. P. Sai Kumar skilfully steered Diablo from the innermost draw to seize the initiative and the KSV Prasad Raju trainee held on to the advantage as he went on to register his third success this season. Diablo (Roderic O’Connor – Devoted Eyes) drifted out in the last furlong but Sai Kumar controlled his drift soon following which the bay gelding surged clear of Ragnarok and Darling’s Boy, who sensed an opportunity which vanished as soon as it had appeared. Kalki ran far behind in the fourth spot.
 
My Challenge from Laxman Singh’s barns scored a long overdue victory in the race where Mountain Touch proved to be a big let-down for her supporters. G. Naresh had My Challenge in close attendance of leader Opera Queen and gave him his head inside the last two furlongs. My Challenge (Akeed Champion – La Prado) soon gathered momentum and breezed past the leader for an authoritative victory over Lego. Mountain Touch graced the wrong of the field till they entered the final run-in and showed rustiness as her apprentice rider found it hard to get her to stride fluently before ending third, beating Opera Queen by a neck.