The winter racing season, though kind of short and sweet in its truncated edition, finally took off at Malakpet racecourse on Monday. There was no doubt that the resumption of horseracing would benefit the owners and professionals alike. But the interests of the punters, the backbone of the sport, were dependent on whether the race results proved favourable for them. With the horses at Hyderabad Race Club sidelined for a considerable period due to the restrictions imposed in the glanders aftermath, racegoers lacked recent form or details of preparatory gallops to guide their betting plan. In the given scenario, punters had to rely on trainers’ and jockeys’ reputations in this initial phase of the season. Thankfully, on Monday, the results gave them no cause for heartburn.

The Attractress Plate, the day’s feature event, had several quality sprinters in the fray but the strong credentials of Donald Netto-trained Espionage fetched him majority support in the betting ring. Ridden by Kuldeep Singh (Sr.), Espionage overcame the wide draw to hit the front and the break he had in the straight proved to be a vital cushion when runner-up NRI Superpower came menacingly at him. Espionage (Gusto – Ainra) survived that scare and prevailed by a neck. Vivaldo ran third whilst Proud Mary finished fourth. The rest were outpaced throughout, giving the impression that they were far from fit for this contest.

Earlier in the day, Star of Opera was the first winner of the season saddled by Netto. Back to the exclusion of her rivals, Star of Opera lacked initial speed, but made steady progress from the rear to catch up with the front-runners though swinging wide into the straight. When asked for an effort by Akshay Kumar in the home stretch, Star of Opera picked up enough speed to collar Dashing Charm, who led all the way from the start till the last furlong. Once she assumed command, Star of Opera (Gusto – Philharmonic) won untroubled thereafter. Brilliant Lad improved late to finish second ahead of Foxy Girl, who was well clear of Dubai Touch.

The day started on a pleasing note for the racegoers as Turiya justified her favouritism to carve a narrow win over Equine Power. After settling her close behind the pack headed by Lights On, Antony Raj brought Turiya into contention inside the last furlong and a half and soon went surging past the leader. Bharath Singh-saddled Turiya (Top Class – Kabini) was ridden flat out in the final stages of the six-furlong event to evade the late onslaught of Yash Narredu-piloted Equine Power, who endured a rough passage in the last furlong, and Dream To Fly, who covered plenty of ground from the rear in the straight but found the winning post eluding her once again. The first three horses were separated by half a length and a head with Beverley finishing a game fourth. Both Equine Power and Beverley should improve after this outing.

Both Bharath and Antony were associated with the triumph of Andre, who upset the applecart of hot favourite Term Deposit in the last race. Ajeeth Kumar-partnered on-money favourite Term Deposit raced in a striking position behind Live Legend and took control of the running before approaching the final turn. Andre, who was lurking close behind, quickened well when nudged by Antony and soon had the measure of Term Deposit, who caved in meekly. Ajeeth for some odd reason pulled out his whip only when Andre (Multitude – Fontainebleau) had overtaken him and was eventually forced to play second fiddle. Kaizen ran a distant third ahead of One Nation.

An hour earlier, LVR Deshmukh-trained and Ajeeth-ridden colt Super Splash, racing in the same colours as Term Deposit, made a winning debut in the Zoom Zoom Plate. After tracking leader Yalli closely till the final turn, Ajeeth urged Super Splash towards the inner rails after the former shifted out. After a brief tussle with Antony-steered Yalli, Super Splash (Excellent Art – Splash) spurted ahead for a comfortable win. Quattro and Buddy ran third and fourth respectively.

Anantha Vatsalya-groomed Bhairava (formerly named Mighty Sparrow) unleashed a powerful run down the straight to upstage well-fancied Knight Crusader, who was being hailed as a winner close home in the Republic Plate. Favourite Lifes Journey dashed quickly to the front with Knight Crusader in hot pursuit but faded out in the final run-in. In the last furlong and half, BR Kumar-ridden Knight Crusader held a slender lead after tackling Lifes Journey and nearly had the race in his safe keeping. However, Bhairava produced an electrifying run when Ashad Asbar launched his assault from the outside in the final stages of the six-furlong endeavour. In a virtual leap, Bhairava (Multitude – Transformation) nailed Knight Crusader by a whisker in the last stride. Rival finished in the money ahead of First Lady.

The five-year-old mare Genie from K. Satheesh’s string gave a speedy display and swept her rivals off their feet in the Suryapet Plate, a seven-furlong race for horses in the lowest class. Jockey Ekram Alam held Genie on a leash after she seized the initiative in the early stages and increased the tempo only after turning for home. Genie (Net Whizz – Frizbee) then cantered away to leave her rivals stranded in the last hundred metres and returned a facile winner. City Cruise, Muaser and Golden Bourbon finished faraway in that order behind Genie.