Kangra bounced back to her winning form while claiming the Gr 2 Nizam`s Cup, a terms race for four-year-olds and over, the highlight of Sunday`s Hyderabad races. Local champion Lady In Lace who had a big reputation to protect on the home track flopped miserably. Lady In Lace was always suspect over a mile and quarter trip in a tough company but considering her Bangalore Summer Form and the fact that she had beaten Kangra convincingly when the two met last time out, she was not expected to suffer any reverse.

What was shocking was that Lady In Lace went down without a fight. Though she travelled well into the straight, the moment the pace picked up, she was falling behind. Her poor performance is put in perspective as she was only half a length ahead of local challenger Limitation.

Sandesh who has pulled off remarkable wins on Kangra including the Invitation Cup triumph at Kolkata took the progeny of Western Aristocrat on a start to finish mission. The filly enjoyed her foray in front as there was none in the fray who troubled her in dictating her own pace. Sandesh had Kangra quicken on turning for home and the filly responded gamely, having the race well sewn up a long way from home. Only Captain Morgan gave her a chase as Lady In Lace fell behind, unable to produce her burst of speed even for a while. One is not sure whether Lady In Lace had any niggles which could have affected her abject surrender. Lady In Lace just beat one home which was Limitation in the four-horse field.

Racing has gone on in a predictable way during the season. Rank outsiders have ruled on some days while the fancied ones have their way on other days. Sunday saw a lot of heavily supported horses winning bringing relief to those who chase favourites.

The 1400 metres Charminar Cup, a race for horses rated 42 to 62, looked to be at the mercy of Laxman Singh trained Southern Legacy who was the last start winner. Southern Legacy was not hard-pressed to score. Tanwar had Southern Legacy chase Barnabas well into the straight before overhauling the front-runner in the final furlong for a fluent win. Bayrd ran on to take the third position while the others were more than a second late at the finish.

Vittal Deshmukh trained Alexander The Great broke the maidens` rank in his fifth run as he got the distance needed to make his mark in the 1600 metres Deccan Queen Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds. There were two withdrawals in the race which made the passage to victory for Alexander The Great that much easier. Trevor Patel took Alexander The Great on a start to finish mission and the got abroad faced no challenge from any of the runners while checking in three lengths clear of Lockhart. Super Act was third.

Lesser fancied Shaquille from the stables of Donald Netto scored an easy win in the 1100 metres Astronomic Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 26 to 46. Trump Girl enjoyed a good lead going into the final furlong but it was of no use once Shaquille picked up steam. In the hands of jockey Suraj Narredu, Shaquille produced a scintillating burst of speed to storm clear and win easily from Trump Girl. Favourite Rahil looked beat as the filly was left stranded by the zest of the winner. Favourite Excellent Hope cut an erratic course and lost whatever chances she had in the lower division of the race. Lightning Fin who came home with a big rush won comfortably. Money Time nosed out the favourite to clinch the second place.

Laxman Singh trained Blue Empress quickly established a sizeable lead in the final furlong after overhauling the front-running Vashishta which held the favourite in good stead. She had enough cushion when Special One produced a powerful run in the final furlong. The favourite held on by half a length. Guiding Force edged out the long-time leader Vashishta to get the third place.

Leo D`Silva trained Carnival Express was promoted to the first position following a successful objection by apprentice jockey Kaushik in the 1600 metres Manchiryala Plate, a race for horses rated up to 30. My Windfall originally won the race but jockey Bopanna was unable to correct the outward drift which impeded the progress of Carnival Express. The objection by the losing jockey was upheld by the Stewards. Amaravathi made rapid progress along the rails to finish a suggestive third.

Alexanderthegreat (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Deccan Queen Plate