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The feature event of Monday`s Hyderabad races, the 1200 metres Ch V Lakshmi Prasad Rao Sirdesai Sircilla Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 58 to 78, saw a sensational finish, with four runners finishing in a line. Second favourite Fashion High and rank outsider Scooby Dooby Do dead-heated for the first place with Palace on Wheels a head behind these two horses and O Miss Akilah half a length behind in the fourth position. Favourite Classic Remark faltered after enjoying a big lead till the final furlong.
Classic Remark who had reeled off three wins in a row was the favourite to claim the feature event. There was some question mark about the three-year-old handling the seasoned horses over an extended trip. Jockey Ashaad Asbar took Classic Mark to the front in customary fashion and the favourite had a big break over the rest going to the final furlong. However, he began to send distress signals and began to falter. Fashion High covered more than six lengths leeway and charged ahead. There was a flurry of horses flying at the finish, with Scooby Dooby Do who was at the tail end at the final turn finishing the fastest. Both Fashion High and Scooby Dooby Do went past the post locked together. Palace on Heels was third another head behind the dead-heated pair while O Miss Akilah was another half a length behind. Classic Remark packed up too abruptly for comfort to finish dismally. This was the second dead-heat of the season and incidentally, Sequeira and Akshay Kumar were also part of that dead-heat.
Vittal Deshmukh trained Sitara was well prepared to make a winning debut in the 1200 metres Crack Regiment Plate, a race for maiden two-year-olds. Sitara and Star Racer were the ones to attract maximum betting. Jockey Neeraj Rawal kept Sitara a handy second behind Mind Reader before releasing the breaks in the stretch. The progeny of Arazan overhauled the front-runner with a minimum of fuss and increased the lead to more than six lengths when passing the post ahead of Private Empire and Star Racer. The last named who had the benefit of a race run did not show much improvement and barely managed to keep the third place from fast-finishing Explosive.
Donald Netto trained Shaquille whose exploits were restricted to shorter sprints, had the performance to get the support to win the 1400 metres Galactica Plate, a race for horses rated 42 to 62 but the extra trip could be the reason why the progeny of Oath could run at odds of over 6 to 1. The betting was concentrated around Proclamation and The Special One. Jockey Kiran Naidu had Shaquille leading all the way and the three-year-old had a good cushion going into the final furlong. Though under pressure to retain the lead from Semper Fidelis, Shaquille managed to pull out all the reserves and lasted out to win by a neck. Proclamation who had all the chances did not quicken when the race came to a boil and ended up a tame third.
The 1600 metres Zurbaran Plate, a race for horses rated 42 to 62, saw Ravinder Singh trained Vijays Empire pull it off at lucrative odds. The betting was mainly confined to Miracle King who was backed to the exclusion of the rest. Vijays Empire made the move after entering the stretch after being a handy third and opened a big lead. Miracle King was in a spot of bother before extricating himself to get a clear run with a furlong left in the race. However, his task was a hopeless one as Vijays Empire had a good lead and he was not showing any signs of tiring. Miracle King had to be satisfied with the second place. Avantika finished on well to take the third position.
Laxman Singh trained Lazer Beam overcame a wide outside draw and managed to edge out Rapid Fire in the final moments of the race to land the spoils in the 1200 metres Original Vel V Balasubramani Memorial Cup (Div I), a race for horses rated 26 to 46. Lazer Beam jumped outwards and could not take a forward position. Jockey Deep Shankar did not panic and settled the favourite in the sixth position as Baywatch Babe held fort in the front. Inside the final 200 metres, Rapid Fire managed to storm ahead with Lazer Beam in hot pursuit. After an engaging tussle, Lazer Beam managed to put his head in front at the post. Dancing Doll ran on to get past Baywatch Babe to save place money. Max recorded an encore in thrilling fashion in the lower division of the race. The Leo D`Silva trainee was available at lucrative odds as Robin Reddy trained Farmville came in for big betting to eventually close as an even-money favourite. Southern State who led from the start shaped to win the race as she had a good cushion going into the final furlong. Max finished with a rush in the hands of apprentice jockey R Ajay Kumar and in the bobbing of heads, the lesser fancied runner had prevailed by a whisker. Mr Bruss was a close third. Farmville did not figure at the finish and the filly reportedly came back lame.
Prasad Raju trained Reach The Heights was the betting rage in the 1200 metres Zoom Zoom Plate, a race for horses rated up to 30. Red Bullet perhaps spoiled the chances of the favourite by setting a scorching pace in front which saw Reach The Heights trail behind. Red Bullet expended his energy by running freely in front and packed up in the final furlong. Ispahan who was in the second position, easily overhauled the front-runner to win at nourishing odds. Reach The Heights covered more than 10 lengths on the front-runners in the final furlong to come with a striking reach of the first two-placed horses.
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Sitara (Neeraj Rawal up) winner of the CRACK REGIMENT PLATE
Max (R Ajay Kumar up) winner of the ORIGINAL VEL V.BALASUBRAMANI MEMORIAL CUP (DIV-II)
Shaquille (Kiran Naidu up) winner of the GALACTICA PLATE
Vijay`s Empire (Ajit Singh up) winner of the ZURBARAN PLATE
Lazer Beam (Deep Shanker up) winner of the ORIGINAL VEL V.BALASUBRAMANI MEMORIAL CUP (DIV-I)
Scooby Dooby Doo (Ajit Singh up) & Fashion High (Akshay Kumar up) winner of the CH.V.LAKSHMI PRASAD RAO `SIRDESAI` SIRCILLA MEMORIAL CUP
Ispahan (Praveen Gaddam up) winner of the ZOOM ZOOM PLATE
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