Malakpet delivered a run-of-the-mill fare on a six-race card where excitement was in rather short supply. Favourites generally went about their business without too much fuss, and even when they stumbled, the winners were seldom complete strangers to the betting ring. Clefairy and Bold Beauty provided the few deviations from the script, while Tiger Ruby repeated her whisker-thin verdict. For the punters, it was an afternoon that offered little reason for raised eyebrows.

The one genuine interruption to the script came in the feature event, the 1400 metres K Srinivas Reddy Memorial Trophy (Div I), where Imran Khan-trained Clefairy produced the only real surprise of the afternoon. Noble Heart, sent out as the firm favourite, spent most of the race at the rear and never really raised the fluent gallop required to bridge the deficit. Second favourite Krystallos appeared to have matters under control when leading into the final furlong, but Clefairy suddenly found another gear and finished strongly to win by two lengths. Noble Heart arrived rather late for the party and just managed to snatch third from Vital Sign. Akshay Kumar, who had the misfortune of being aboard the beaten favourite, nevertheless enjoyed a useful day with a double.

The lower division of the K Srinivas Reddy Memorial Trophy provided a curious replay of the previous clash between Tiger Ruby and First Lady, with the betting merely changing sides. Tiger Ruby had been available at nourishing odds last time, while First Lady, beaten by a whisker on that occasion, was now installed as the strong favourite.

First Lady led from the start and appeared to have the race safely tucked away when she turned for home with a healthy advantage. Tiger Ruby had plenty of ground to make up, and for a moment it looked as though the earlier result would be reversed. But First Lady apparently had other plans. She faltered yet again, allowing Tiger Ruby to produce her familiar late flourish and get past the post by another whisker. Akshay Kumar tried everything on First Lady but the elusive nose remained elusive. R N Darshan rode the winner, while Armstrong, who raced up with the field, finished third. The camera, as usual, had the final word and confirmed the wafer-thin margin.

Vittal Deshmukh-trained Modin, the heavily supported runner, taking the role of favourite in the 1100 metres Nearco Plate (Div I), a race for maiden three-year-olds. Modin was made to work considerably harder than the odds suggested. Long shot My Touch threatened to turn the proceedings upside down after holding the lead deep into the straight, but Ajeeth Kumar drove Modin out and the favourite finally got the better of the front-runner close home. Costa Mesa was third.

There was also inspired support for first-timer War Captain from the Raza Shehzad stable. Unfortunately for his supporters, the youngster looked as though he had been invited to the race without being told whathe was supposed to do. He ran green throughout and, despite the jockey making liberal use of the whip, finished a distance behind in fourth.

The lower division of the Nearco Plate was considerably less dramatic. Vinfast, from the Nilesh Rawal stable, was the strongly fancied runner and proceeded to justify the confidence without causing anyone unnecessary heart palpitations. Trend Setter, who had gone down by a whisker last time out, attempted another start-to-finish mission and led well into the straight. But the petrol apparently ran out in the final furlong. Vinfast, ridden by Akshay Kumar, swept past with ease and went on to score comfortably over debutant Divine Strides. Trend Setter weakened to finish third.

Akshay Kumar then completed his double aboard the favourite Mx The Magic in the 1200 metres Makalu Plate (Div I), for horses rated 20 to 45. Golden Corn had established a useful lead into the final furlong, while Mx The Magic found herself looking for a way through on the inside. Kumar switched the mare out, found daylight and then pressed the accelerator. Mx The Magic responded smartly, devouring the deficit to win with a measure of comfort. Golden Unicorn held second ahead of the late-finishing Aashritha Pet. Winning Attitude briefly raised hopes before discovering that the final 100 metres were not included in the optimistic calculations.

The lower division of the Makalu Plate finally supplied another winner from outside the strongest betting bracket, with Bold Beauty getting the better of Hurricane Wave. Hurricane Wave led into the final furlong, but Sai Kumar had been biding his time on Bold Beauty. Once a passage along the rails opened, he pressed the button and Bold Beauty swept past to win. Dhanadeepa nosed out Sargent to collect the place money.

The heavily backed Una Paloma Blanca, meanwhile, decided that running in a straight line was an unnecessarily conventional approach. She raced wide from the start, continued her wanderings and eventually finished well down the field, leaving her enthusiastic supporters wondering whether they had backed a racehorse or a sightseeing expedition. Emperors Charm, another fancied runner, did not even make it to the starting line, being withdrawn at the gates.