Leo D`Silva-trained Reigning Beauty strutted her stuff in the 1600 metres Totaram Cup, a race for horses rated 40 to 65, making Saturday`s Hyderabad races all about her—and giving apprentice jockey Likith Appu his 40th career win. With this victory, Appu can now ditch his apprentice tag and become a fully-fledged jockey, though he might miss that handy allowance.

The race itself? Let`s just say Reigning Beauty had it in the bag the moment her supposed challengers decided to take an extended nap at the back of the field. By the time they realized they were in a race, Reigning Beauty had already thrown down the gauntlet, and at the top of the straight, the rest of the field might as well have been auditioning for a slow-motion scene.

Vittal Deshmukh-trained Terenga went off as the favourite, with True Icon not far behind, while Reigning Beauty could be picked up at generous odds—probably because none of these three had managed to win a race all season. But Reigning Beauty showed a rare sense of urgency, sitting comfortably in fourth before rocketing clear at the final turn.

Meanwhile, Terenga, clearly enjoying the scenic route, waited far too long to wake up, and even though jockey Akshay Kumar tried to work some magic along the rails, the favourite had no chance. Reigning Beauty romped home by more than five lengths, leaving Happy Soul—who briefly led until Reigning Beauty breezed by—hanging on for second. As for Terenga, he looked like he was racing in slow motion, finishing third after giving up what felt like half the track in distance.

Magan Singh Parmar-trained Amigo made it back-to-back wins in the 1600 metres Charminar Cup, a race for horses rated 20 to 45, and did so in style. Backed as if there were no other horses in the race, Amigo didn`t just justify the hype—he obliterated the competition, with jockey K Mukesh Kumar doing little more than pointing him in the right direction.

At first, it was Caraxes leading the charge, with China Town improving quickly to second, while Amigo seemed content to hang back a few lengths away, probably plotting his late takeover. Just as China Town looked poised to challenge the leader as they entered the homestretch, Amigo shifted into gear. Once alerted to the task, he came with such a forceful run that it was less a race and more a casual stroll for him—winning by a staggering eight lengths over See My Attitude. China Town managed to sneak past Caraxes for third. It was Amigo`s show from the moment he decided it was time to make his move.

The short-priced favourite, Annhilator, sure knew how to keep his supporters on the edge of their seats—taking what felt like an eternity to even look interested in the race. Meanwhile, Shooting Star, running like his tail was on fire, seemed poised to steal the show in the 1200 metres Beloved Prince Plate (Div I), a race for maiden three-year-olds.

But jockey Kuldeep Singh, armed with a whip and determination practically gave Annhilator a motivational speech on the way to the finish. Slowly but surely, Annhilator started reeling in the galloping Shooting Star and managed to pull off the win just in time. That`s My Vision, who had been loyally chasing the flying leader down the stretch, settled for a respectable third.

This was only Annhilators` second career run, and while his first wasn`t bad, his supporters must have seen something we all missed. The punters backing him were clearly seeing stars... just not the Shooting kind!

The Division II of the Beloved Prince Plate was more like a guessing game than a horse race, with none of the runners exactly oozing confidence. Iconic Star got a brief moment of attention in the betting ring but quickly stepped aside for Ashwa Yashvir, who somehow ended up as the favourite—because, you know, when in doubt, bet on... something.

And just as you`d expect when no one knows what`s going on, a long shot decided to take matters into its own hooves. Robin Reddy Kondakalla`s Exclusive Luck lived up to the name, shooting to the front under jockey Md Ismail and cruising home with zero threats in sight. Ashwa Yashvir gave a half-hearted chase, while Iconic Star, after initially teasing punters, was a distant third—probably thinking about what went wrong.

In a race that looked more like a single-file procession, the field politely stuck to their positions down the straight, leaving the bettors confused.

The Division III of the Beloved Prince Plate went, unsurprisingly, to the horse with the best credentials—Skywards—though you wouldn`t have guessed it from the betting action. The money poured in for Court Jester, the on-money favourite, followed by Linda, while Skywards was left to languish at long odds.

As if sensing it wasn`t going to be his day, Jolly Jester decided to throw a temper tantrum at the gates, bolting and earning himself an early exit from the race. With the supposed favourite out of the picture, the stage was set for a bit of a shake-up.

Linda seized the lead heading into the homestretch, but much like her betting support, it didn`t last long. Skywards, clearly unbothered by the long odds, breezed past Linda with minimal effort and galloped away for an easy win. Meanwhile, Bellingham decided to make an appearance late in the game, swooping in to steal second place from a fading Linda. Turns out, the real joke was on the Jolly Jester backers.

Only the bold or the wildly optimistic would`ve dared to place a bet on the 1200 metres Star of Gwalior Plate (Div I), a race for horses in the “we don`t win, we just participate” category. In this chaotic bunch, no horse stood out as a favourite, leaving bettors with the exhilarating feeling of tossing their money into a blender.

In the end, it was Sreekant-trained Star Cruise—a long shot at 8 to 1 and a horse whose résumé includes an impressive four wins from 58 attempts—who finally decided it was time to earn his keep. With Kuldeep Singh at the helm, Star Cruise led the way from the start and faced some serious heat from Tortilla Chip down the stretch. But Star Cruise, clearly not in the mood to let his 59th try go to waste, dug in and managed to cruise to the win.

Glimmer of Hope lived up to the name by holding off Protocol for second, while Deccan Ranger, the marginal favourite, ran as if he hadn`t read the part about "being favoured." He never threatened, leaving his backers with, well, no hope at all.

trainer Sreekant added another feather to his cap by saddling the winner of the lower division of the Beloved Prince Plate. Planet Super, who hadn`t seen the winner`s enclosure in over 400 days but had shown promise in a recent outing, went to post as the odds-on favourite.

Jockey Ajay Kumar wasted no time, confidently taking Planet Super straight to the front, where the favourite stayed comfortably, cruising to a win by over three lengths. Dali`s Champion secured second place, while Exponent, coming from way off the pace, finished a respectable third.