The first classic of the Hyderabad Monsoon Season was a treat to watch as four juvenile fillies made a beeline for the winning post on Sunday. The climax of the mile event saw the Sulaiman Attaollahi-schooled filly Moonveil prevailing over her three rivals and it was largely due to the judicious work in the saddle by Trevor Patel. Sprezzatura tried runaway tactics over the mile trip for the Coromandel Gromor Deccan Fillies Championship Stakes (Gr.3) while the three fancied fillies Moon Oracle, Moonveil, and Madante raced in close attendance. Vortex, the challenger from Western India, however, was ridden off the pace. Moon Oracle shrugged off Sprezzatura inside the last furlong and a half, only to find Moonveil coming at her with full force. However, earlier at the two-furlong marker, Trevor had skilfully closed the gap through which Akshay Kumar-astride Madante was seeking to bring the filly into contention. It was a setback for Madante from which she could not recover. Meanwhile, Moonveil fought a stirring duel with Antony Raj-partnered Moon Oracle before snuffing out his resistance in the last hundred metres. After being shunted towards the inner rails by Moonveil earlier, Madante failed to get a clear run once again which forced Akshay to switch his mount towards the outer lane. Madante came flying in the dying moments of the race, as did Vortex, but the winning post eluded them both. Eventually, Moonveil (Sanus Per Aquam – Electra) held on grimly to prevail by a head while Vortex finished just under a length in third, edging Moon Oracle on the post.
 
Another Bangalore challenger, Echoes of Time, struck gold earlier in the Bhagyanagar Million run over seven furlongs. Espionage took charge of the running when the gates flew open but was soon overtaken by favourite African Gold, while Ashoka and Echoes of Time bided their time just behind. When the heads turned for home, Ashhad Asbar set Arvind Ganapathy-groomed Echoes of Time alight, who ranged alongside African Gold and gained the upper hand after the latter started losing steam. Asbar then made free use of his whip to keep Echoes of Time (Planetaire – Alvarita) on course, staving off the threat posed by fast finishing Perception towards the end. Cherie Chevalier improved late and managed to beat African Gold for the third place.
 
At the start of the day’s proceedings, Attaollahi-saddled Theos, steered by Trevor, took the toll of the odds-on favourite Mandate in the Carter Princess Plate, a nine-furlong event. Trevor hit the front with Theos and had Sugriva and Lego in pursuit while Antony brought Mandate with a swift move at the halfway mark to join the front-running pack. Mandate took the shortest route home to challenge Theos (Roderic O’Connor – My Lakshmi), who was undaunted by the threat posed by his rival and kicked on gamely to win by a length and a half over Mandate. Sugriva was a distant third, half a length in front of Orionvale.
 
Antony made amends for his loss immediately in the next race when riding Darius Byramji-schooled filly Majestic Legacy in the Belmont Prince Plate, a nine-furlong contest for maiden juveniles. Akshay found himself in the front aboard Lysia while Antony eased off Majestic Legacy after jumping out smartly from the barriers and raced briefly in the mid-bunch. Lysia seemed to be in a spot of bother as Akshay peeped over his shoulder after travelling a couple of furlongs. Meanwhile, Antony showed some urgency when bringing Majestic Legacy to the fore and slipped into the lead as Lysia started to drop back after crossing the halfway mark. Weseethesamesun also made a forward move to match strides with Majestic Legacy but veered out in the straight, causing interference to favourite Tipped Off just as the colt was about to enter the fray. Amid this chaos, Majestic Legacy (Plumatic – Immortality) capitalized on the trouble-free passage she got towards the inner rails and then Antony went punching for home to score an upset win. Digital Empress was the runner-up while Tipped Off ended third, far ahead of the wayward Weseethesamesun. For the record, Lysia ended last after Akshay all but ceased riding, the reason for which remained unknown.
 
When a horse aged four years is making his debut under the care of a trainer like Mukesh Kumar B., is entrusted to a jockey of the calibre of Rafique Sk. and money starts pouring on her in the betting ring, it gives the impression that it is a coup in the making. Win Me Over (Ampere – Je Suis), who had the smart money riding on her chances, made a mockery of her rivals when she took charge shortly after entering the race and won unopposed by a street thereafter. Konaseema, Faizah, and Vidyutprabhava trailed behind to take the minor places.
 
G. Naresh-ridden Stars Envied ran true to form, registering an encore by getting the better of joint-favourite Solara and Basilica in a tight finish for the Director General of Police Trophy (Div-I). Her Ladyship sprinted ahead over the seven-furlong journey while Armstrong and Basilica raced close behind. Naresh had Stars Envied tucked in towards the rails though at the back end of the field along with Solara. Basilica swooped down on Her Ladyship to sneak ahead about hundred metres from the winning line in response to Trevor’s call and flattered momentarily. Robin Reddy’s ward Stars Envied soon started to devour ground when shown the daylight by Naresh, finishing on with a rattle to surge past Basilica and hold on gallantly from late finishing Solara, who ended runner-up. Leather Back ran on well to be fourth.
 
After Naresh it was Gaurav Singh’s turn to be in the spotlight and he did so by guiding Authoritarian, who had the benefit of two easy runs earlier this season, to a narrow victory over hot favourite Knight Regent in the Director General of Police Trophy (Div-II), the day’s concluding event. Coming Home took the lead after the ten-horse field had sorted itself out after the start was given while Torobravo and Knight Regent went in chase. Knight Regent made his bid in the straight to challenge the leader, in the meantime, after lying in the mid-bunch, Authoritarian steadily bridged the gap in the home stretch to join the issue with Knight Regent, who laboured hard to wrest the lead from Torobravo and Crimson Flame. Knight Regent gained the upper hand briefly but failed to contain Authoritarian (French Navy – Charging Tigress), who moved resolutely to secure a neck victory over Trevor-ridden Knight Regent. Disciple ended in the money while Feel The Magic finished fourth.