Laxman Singh trained Saffron Art justified the strong support in the betting ring with a powerful performance which had her opponents floored in the 2000 metres G Sudhakar Reddy Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 40 to 65, the feature event of races held on Monday at Malakpet. Saffron Art had strong racing form and readily won in the hands of jockey Ajith Singh.

Saffron Art had got the better of Scramjet in her last outing and the latter had gone on to win in the next outing, flanking the form of the favourite. Besides, Saffron Art had also won over the trip of mile and quarter. She was taking on horses who had moved up in the handicap scales rapidly and hence were bound to be out of depth as these horses were not improving three-year-olds. Ajith Singh rode a confident race, getting busy approaching the final bend. Saffron Art showed good speed to have the race sewn up a long way from home. Just Incredible who was essaying a longer trip after winning over a shorter distance, ran on well to take the second spot ahead of Lamha. The latter nosed out Mark My Word to get the third position but her winning sequence was broken.

Vittal Deshmukh trained Thanks has been an enigmatic performer and does not live up to the promise of each of his runs. Backed strongly to win on the basis of the eye-catching last run, Thanks once again faltered in the 1200 metres Nearco Plate (Div I), a race for maiden three-year-olds. Thanks led in earnest deep into the final furlong but when the well-backed Cosmico came charging in the final furlong, the daughter of Ampere could not quicken and was well beaten. Hot Seat ran on to take the third position. Mir Faiyaz Ali Khan trained Unsung Hero benefitted by the eye-catching second to City of Blessing and won the lower division of the race in the hands of jockey Mukesh Kumar, swamping the opposition in tremendous fashion. Unsung Hero produced a brilliant burst of speed in the stretch and was hailed a winner all the way in the final furlong. Morior Invictus nosed out on money favourite Visionary who was a big disappointment despite the hype that the one-eyed filly enjoyed.


The horses from the yard of Satheesh haven`t been running consistently. However, Blissful was an exception in the 1200 metres Alijah Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Having had a forward run when finishing second behind Beauty On Parade in her last run, Blissful was not hard-pressed to keep the challenge of stablemate Mind Reader at bay. NRI Magic who was well supported in the betting ring could only finish a tame second. He reportedly came back lame after the race. Vittal Deshmukh trained Proud looked a cut above the rest though the favourite for the race was Stunning Force who bolted riderless when being led to the starting gate and was subsequently withdrawn from the fray. Proud toyed with the opposition when gaining control of the race in the final furlong winning as he pleased from late rallying Brilliant View who was running after a longish gap of 333 days. Aibak edged out Curcumin to save place money.

The 1600 metres Beloved Prince Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated up to 25, had worthy contenders in Sputnic and Cephalonia who had good racing form to back their claims. There was one-sided support for Sputnic who was backed down to strong favouritism. Sputnic hit the front inside the final two furlongs and stormed clear and had enough legs to sail past the post before Cephalonia`s late charge could have the desired effect. Wot`s Up Jay was a close third. Long shot Gurbaaz from the stables of Leo D`Silva gained the initiative with a ground-saving effort along the rails and necked out Royal Girl to win the lower division of the race. NRI City was third while favourite Solo Winner was flat-footed.

Donald Netto trained Icicle recorded an encore, storming clear in the final furlong to oblige big expectations in the 1600 metres Loyal Manzar Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Show Me Your Walk ran on to take the second position ahead of Cheltenham. NRI Sun who had good support coming his way ran below par when finishing fourth. When the horses run too often, such below efforts are only to be expected.