Monday’s racing at the Malakpet racecourse was the kind which punters dread when wagering on the horse they feel has the potential to succeed. Love All, the three-year-old filly trained by K. Satheesh, was bidding for a hat-trick in the Dr Harish Chandra Memorial Trophy and the bookmakers’ odds suggested that her victory was a foregone conclusion. But that was not to be. The mile event for Class III horses was contested by a field of six runners of which three belonged to KSV Prasad Raju’s stables, two came from Satheesh’s yard and one was saddled by Laxman Singh. When the field took off from the barriers, Prasad Raju’s troika headed by Special Star raced in the front, followed by Authoritarian, Love All, and White Pearl. Love All was given a long rein by Akshay as Special Star set the pace over the mile trip and brought the field into the straight. Kuldeep Singh (Sr.)-ridden Racing Ruler was the first one to make a forward move before turning for home, while Akshay was yet to launch his assault with Love All, who later entered wide into the straight. Meanwhile, top-weighted Racing Ruler pounced upon his stable-mate Special Star to take a narrow lead at the two-furlong marker. Kuldeep used his whip freely to keep Racing Ruler ahead and so did Akshay as Love All started to bridge the leeway with an effort which appeared promising at that stage. However, Racing Ruler (Leitir Mor – Qawaafy) staved off Love All’s threat and held on gallantly to win by a neck. Authoritarian edged out Special Star to claim the third slot.
 
Interestingly, on conclusion of Monday’s races, the Stewards of the Hyderabad Race Club (HRC) reportedly imposed a monetary fine of Rs. 20,000/- on Akshay and Rs. 25,000/- on Satheesh. The “unsatisfactory running and riding of Love All” was the reason given by the Stewards for their action against the two professionals. The punters were left wondering what exactly the stewards meant by alluding that Love All’s debacle was the result of “unsatisfactory running and riding of Love All.” If the Stewards thought that their action would pacify the racegoers, they were wrong.
 
Although Akshay was successful with two out of the six assignments he had during the day, he ended up being the destroyer-in-chief of the punters’ investments as he lost on three well-fancied horses apart from Love All, which included NRI High Power. Prasad Raju-schooled three-year-old filly Evansville proved too good for her rivals in the Twin Cities Plate, a nine-furlong handicap event. Aakarshaka dictated the terms to the eight-horse field and led till about a furlong and a half from the winning line and surrendered to Evansville. The on-money favourite bided his time in the mid-bunch until Akshay released his grip, allowing Evansville (Plumatic – Romantique) to raise a fluent gallop and sail clear after forcing Aakarshaka into submission. Silver Arrow was a distant third ahead of Hoping High.
 
Goddess of Light was backed enthusiastically so much so that she shared favouritism with Wildstar in the Nalgonda Plate (Div-II), a sprint event for maiden juveniles. However, she went down tamely to NRI Royal Power, who made every post a winning one in the hands of Afroz Khan. Akshay-piloted Goddess of Light went in pursuit of the winner all the way, but it was in vain as NRI Royal Power (Portamento – Aahaygran) stretched out well in the closing stages to post an upset win. Goddess of Light retained the second place narrowly from Sara and My Day, who started galloping when the race was all but over.
 
Torchbearer was another longshot to score ahead of the last-start winner Clefairy, who caused more heartburn to the followers of Akshay. Shoolin shot into the lead when the gates flew open and had apprentice Kuldeep Singh-ridden Torchbearer on her heels. LVR Deshmukh-nurtured Torchbearer (Chinese Whisper – Evelyn May) seized the initiative just after reaching the two-furlong post and kicked on gamely to survive the late onslaught of Clefairy, who lacked initial speed, finished on strongly with a late burst only to find the winning post coming to the winner’s rescue. Clefairy fell short by half a length and identical distance further was Shoolin, while Romantic Grey ran a length behind in fourth.
 
NRI High Power was another expensive failure partnered during the day by Akshay. Backed to the exclusion of her seven rivals in the Noble Quest Plate, a six-furlong event in which the jockeys were not permitted to carry the whip. Donald Netto-schooled NRI High Power, curiously, failed to take a level jump from the gates and lost considerable ground at the start. Walking Thunder and Knight Regent disputed the early lead with Md. Ismail-piloted Reigning Beauty racing a close fourth. Driven strongly by Afroz Khan, Knight Regent slipped into the lead shortly after entering the straight and almost made it before Neelesh Rawal-nursed Reigning Beauty (Pinson – Beau Ideal) got him on the post to win by a head. After recovering from a bad start, Akshay brought NRI High Power into the reckoning in the final furlong but the 10 to 4 on favourite lost steam close home and could only finish third, a neck in front of Walking Thunder. Noble Heart, who ran fifth, was denied a clear run in the final stages of the race when trying to take the gap between NRI High Power and Walking Thunder. He should be a force to reckon with when racing in his own age group.
 
Prasad Raju achieved a treble when La Quinta was taken on a successful pillar-to-post mission by Akshay in the Nagarkurnool Plate run over seven-furlongs. La Quinta, who was second in demand in the betting arena, raced keenly in front of favourite Konaseema, who stayed in close attendance of the leader from the word go. Ekram Alam-ridden Konaseema came menacingly close to toppling the leader inside the last two furlongs, however, Akshay dug into the reserves of La Quinta (Well Done Fox – Xtreme), who extended his lead in response and wrapped the race without any hitch thereafter. Farsiris raced thereabouts in third, while Dream To Fly ran fourth.
 
Raza Shehzad-schooled Lion’s Pride, who had a forward run in both her previous runs over seven-furlongs, went out as the clear favourite to claim the Nalgonda Plate (Div-I). No-hopers Svalpaviryasaktih, Ashwa Vivegam and First Kiss raced ahead in the initial stages of the race, while jockey RN Darshan kept Lion’s Pride in a handy position behind them. As the front-runners started to recede, Lion’s Pride (Sanus Per Aquam – Sans Pareil) stepped up the pace to head the field and strode clear under the whip for her maiden win. Mantle Plume, Menlo Park, and Night Whisper, all improved late when finishing in that order behind the winner.
 
Arthisha from Magan Singh Parmar’s string was heavily backed in the last race of the day and those punters who thought it was a recovery bet were left ruing their decision. MF Ali Khan-groomed Dyanoosh raced close on the haunches of leader Lucky Zone, who showed the way to the field and brought them into the home stretch. Dyanoosh was ridden vigorously by apprentice Sonu Kumar to gain a slender advantage over Lucky Zone, but he drifted out under pressure when trying to consolidate his lead. However, Sonu Kumar succeeded in getting Dyanoosh (Declaration of War – Bunga Bunga) to race on an even keel following which the gelding lengthened his stride and pulled away from the pack for an easy victory. Warwick gathered momentum late when finishing second, while Lucky Zone held on to be third ahead of Mix The Magic. Favourite Arthisha ran far below expectations, never managing to raise the hopes of her supporters and ended sixth behind Basilica, who also ran a lacklustre race.