Suleiman Attollahi trained Acclaimed found a modest company in Hyderabad much to his liking as he held off the challenge of Found Money to win the 1400 metres Ghulam Ahmed Memorial Cup, a terms for three-year-olds and over, the feature event of Sunday’s races held at Malakpet. The change in policies of the club has allowed outstation horses to compete in ordinary terms races unlike in the past when there was restriction on the number of races that competition from elsewhere was allowed.

Acclaimed hadn’t won for quite some time as he had found the competition in Bangalore tough to beat. The miles of work that Acclaimed had logged and the fact that younger horses have stepped up their performance capability had made things difficult for this once versatile performer to win as often as his connections desired. It was a wise move to bring him to Hyderabad where the standard of competition is a notch below than that prevailing at Bangalore. Accordingly, Acclaimed stood head and shoulders above the rest notwithstanding his declining sharpness.

Trevor Patel kept Acclaimed in about the third or fourth position along the rails as Kolors made his bid in front along with The Healer for Company. Found Money was raced behind Acclaimed followed by the rest who were out of depth in this category. Well into the straight, Trevor managed to push Acclaimed to take charge. The progeny of Burden of Proof went ahead but could not break clear as Found Money came up with a powerful charge. However, Acclaimed had enough steam to last out to win by a shade less than a length from Found Money. Kolors was third some lengths behind.

Laxman Singh trained Top Contender proved superior to the opposition in the 1400 metres Andhra Sub Area Cup, a race for horses rated 46 to 70. Breezeofthesouth was extensively supported to land the spoils but Top Contender who too had enthusiastic supporters in the ring, had other ideas. Breezeofthesouth showed up prominently inside the final two furlongs but could not sustain his lead for long as Top Contender pounced on him before long and stormed clear to win with a degree of comfort. Breezeofthesouth stayed on to take the second spot ahead of Exclusive Wind who finished on well.

Favourite Mandy appeared to have saved the day for her supporters when she challenged the front-running Bharat Queen and put her head in front in the 1200 metres Bhongir Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 26 to 50. However, Bharat Queen fought back gallantly to win by a whisker in the end. Secret Art was third. Amazing Venus enjoyed a comfortable foray in front and shaped to win the lower division of the race but her hopes were put paid by the late flourish of Golden Image who managed to head her home at the all-important end. Favourite Manoveg failed to make any impression and was a poor third. Needless to say that Golden Image returned rich dividends on the tote.

Satheesh trained Handy Man fought a resolute battle in the 2000 metres Ch V Lakshmi Prasad Rao Sirdesai Sircilla Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 46 to 70 and prevailed in the end. Handy Man came into strong prominent with a furlong left in the race with the well-backed Naazaan threatening to spoil the party with a strong gallop. However, Handy Man dug out that bit extra to win with a measure of comfort in the end. Elysian had all the chances but the finishing spark was missing.

Vittal Deshmukh trained Time Is Luck recorded a smashing win in the 1400 metres Kuntala Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated up to 30. After chasing Enter Canter into the straight, Time Is Luck changed gears and went storming ahead to win by a widening margin of five lengths. Enter Canter held on to the second position by the skin of his teeth from late finishing Golden Xanthus. Favourite Sensational Girl was a beaten cause well before the race came on the boil. Shezad Abbas trained Man Of The Series had the best credentials to win the lower division of the race. Man Of The Series who raced up with the pace, burst clear of the rest with 300 metres left in the race and won by a big margin over Hal Chal and Kohinoor Love.

Favourite Ashwa Ashoka graced the wrong end of the field till the final turn but jockey Akshay Kumar could get all the gaps in the straight to bring his horse into strong contention in the final furlong of the 1600 metres Birthday Girl (Div I), a race for horses rated 26 to 50. Monte Rosa joined issue at this point of time and the two were engaged in a stiff battle for supremacy. However, Ashwa Ashoka had more reserves as he pulled away in the end, to win comfortably. Own Battle was third eight lengths behind. Another Deshmukh ward Torremolinos stormed clear of the pack with a furlong left in the race and recorded a win by a widening margin of four lengths over Dolce and Kohinoor Karishma in the lower division of the race.