Hilton Sequeira-groomed NRI Superpower produced an electrifying run in the final stages of the mile journey to upset the applecart of favourite Get Lucky close home to claim the Hyderabad Plate, Monday’s feature event. Celestial was taken to the front by Yash Narredu while favourite Get Lucky chased him and had Shadow of the Moon and Reigning Beauty tracking him. Get Lucky, with Akshay Kumar up, made his bid in the straight to snatch the lead from Celestial inside the last two furlongs. Meanwhile, Ajay Kumar-ridden NRI Superpower, who raced last but one in the seven-horse field, started to close the gap after being switched on the outside. As Get Lucky approached the winning post, NRI Superpower creeped closer to join the favourite about a hundred and fifty metres from home and then fought the pitched battle. NRI Superpower (Win Legend – One Life To Love) emerged the stronger of the two as he beat Get Lucky by a head. Reigning Beauty held on to be third, a neck in front of Black Onyx.
 
Another close finish was witnessed in the S. Rangarajan Memorial Trophy, where Andre prevailed over One Nation and Racing Ruler in a three-way finish. Federer went ahead briefly after early leader Bholi Punjaban called it a day when the field took the final turn but was soon overtaken by P. Sai Kumar-piloted Racing Ruler. Having done with his waiting game, Antony brought on-money favourite Andre into the fray and joined the issue with Racing Ruler, who refused to surrender till the former gained the upper hand in the final hundred metres. Bharath Singh-saddled Andre (Multitude – Fontainebleau) still had to be ridden hard to stay clear of One Nation, who gathered momentum a bit late and finished runner-up while Racing Ruler ended half a length away in third. China Town progressed late to run fourth.
 
Vinfast came well from the outside draw to take charge of the running from My Day and Aakarshaka shortly after the start and stayed in the front till LVR Deshmukh-trained Excalibur came with a sustained run. With a little over a furlong left to go, Excalibur (Top Class – Spyglass Hill) assumed command and drew away for a fluent win, beating runner-up You Tuber and Vinfast by more than five lengths. Favourite Pedal To The Metal ran far below expectations, never raising any hope during the race and could only finish fourth.
 
Deshmukh achieved a double with Madante, who was the shortest priced runner of the day. Akshay kept Madante within striking distance of Surrealist, who surrendered meekly after showing the way to the field till the two-furlong post. Madante (Zoustar – Deep Sea) then cantered away and was eased up well before the winning post to record her second win at Malakpet. Cosmic Gift, Photograph and Surrealist followed the winner home in that order.
 
Living Legend tried runaway tactics in the Hyderabad Race Club Plate (Div-II), the day’s curtain raiser and led by a good margin till Double Bubble cut down her lead in the final furlong. Double Bubble flattered for a while until G. Naresh-partnered Stars Envied came with a sparkling run to range alongside. Robin Reddy-schooled Stars Envied (Dreamfield – Ohyouprettything) was simply unstoppable as she breezed past Double Bubble in the last hundred metres and went on to win comfortably. Double Bubble was second, way ahead of Tiger Ruby and Living Legend.
 
Despite carrying an imposing 61kgs on her back, favourite Diligence from Laxman Singh’s yard treated her rivals with disdain in the Rachakonda Trophy. Yash kept Diligence in close attendance behind leader Una Paloma Blanca and second favourite Dino, who grabbed the lead soon after crossing the two-furlong post. Diligence (Excellent Art – Devoted Eyes) was then produced on the outside by Yash and the filly asserted her superiority by pulling away for an easy victory. Dino retained the second spot, well clear of Exclusive Luck and Pranava.
 
D. Netto’s ward Fox Worth, though ridden by lesser-known rider Shivam, was installed as the firm favourite to win the day’s concluding event, the Hyderabad Race Club Plate (Div-I). Fox Worth, who was carrying two kilos less than what he carried during his success over a similar six-furlong trip, justified the support he received in the betting. Swiss Girl took the customary front-running role while Fox Worth raced well up in fourth behind Linda and Inderdhanush. Even as Linda was disputing the issue with Swiss Girl, Fox Worth had gathered momentum and swooped down on the leaders about a furlong away from home. Shivam then confidently steered Fox Worth (Well Done Fox – Buredyma) to secure a two-length victory over American Affair, flashed on to the scene quite late and finished a noteworthy second. Linda ended third ahead of Mix The Magic.