Leo D`Silva trained Livermore swamped the opposition in the Gr 3 Y Shankar Rao Deccan Fillies Championship, the first classic of the season at Malakpet on Monday. Livermore, the least fancied of the six runners in the fray, simply proved too good, sweeping past the field in the final quarter mile in the hands of jockey Saqlain to record a thumping win. The beaten brigade was headed by West Brook, NRI Double Power and Ameerah.

The race was sponsored by Shankar Rao`s son Gopi. Shankar Rao was associated with the Hyderabad Race Club for a long time. He was the leading bookmaker of his times. Gopi who shares his father`s enthusiasm for the sport is sponsoring both the Fillies and Colts Championship races and wants to go a step further and sponsor the Deccan Derby. The Colts Championship has been christened Race 2 Bets Deccan Colts Championships which is scheduled for Sunday.

The daughter of Speaking of Which out of Oaks winning Sherman Oaks, Livermore had shown vast improvement after summering at Bangalore as evidenced by her runaway win in the mile earlier in the season. However, the betting was focused mostly on Bangalore challenger West Brook who carried more hype and just one victory to her credit. NRI Double Power who had fared better than Livermore in the Fillies Championship at Bangalore and another Bangalore challenger August were considered to have better chances than the eventual winner.

Seminole Wind did the pace setting followed by August, West Brook, Livermore, Ameerah and NRI Doublepower. The last named was slowly off and had conceded a break of 10 lengths midway through the race which went against the prospects of the horse as the filly had to not only cover plenty of leeway but had an inexperienced jockey in B R Kumar in the saddle. Though Kumar has won a significant number of races, he was a novice as far as the classics were concerned. It was a surprise to see the connections opt for Kumar especially since the jockey had been laid low by an injury and has only been seen in action recently. Though NRI Doublepower moved up to stay in touch with the leaders, Kumar waited for longer than he should have so much so that by the time he made his move, he had already lost the race.

Coming back to the race, Seminole Wind weakened after bringing the field into view giving way for West Brook to briefly enjoy the foray in front. When Saqlain brought Livermore with a big effort on the wide outside, the race was as good as over by the final furlong as the least fancied runner had swept past the others and had gone beyond the reach of the rest. West Brook battled on to take the second position ahead of late rallying NRI Double Power. Ameerah and August finished behind in the order mentioned. While Livermore was far superior to the rest, the rest of the runners finished in close order barring the pace setter Seminole Wind who finished down the field.

After two successive wins, Laxman Singh trained Enabling was being asked to go further and was pitched in the fray for the 1600 metres S Rangarajan Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 40 to 65. Mumbai import Kings Best who had the benefit of a forward run had maximum supporters, with Enabling being available at nourishing odds. Jockey Akshay Kumar brought Enabling with a smooth run from way off the pace. The progeny of Roderic O`Connor covered the leeway on the front runners easily and overhauled the front-running Kings Best with the jockey hardly having to move a muscle. Enabling stormed clear in a trice and won by a widening margin of six lengths over Painted Apache who came from the rear of the field to edge out Kings Best for the runner-up berth spot.

The 1100 metres Kakatiya Cup, a race for horses rated 20 to 45, had three contestants who were well-backed to land the spoils. Happy Go Lucky and Alexia enjoyed more support than Adbhut who had lost last time out by a whisker thanks to a weak handling by a raw apprentice jockey. Afroz Khan brought Adbhut with a well-timed run in the stretch from about the fourth position at the final bend. The progeny of Dali picked up speed with great alacrity and sped past Life`s Living in the final furlong to record an impressive win. The well-backed Happy Go Lucky found her rhythm when the cause had been lost but nevertheless was an impressive second ahead of Life`s Living. Alexina who was in serious betting was out sprinted and ran on to finish a tame fourth.

The day`s proceedings started with the running of the 1400-metre Governor`s Cup, a race for horses rated 80 and above. Vittal Deshmukh trained Mysterious Angel had recorded an impressive win last time out. Mysterious Angel who had won the South India Oaks earlier this year, was obviously superior to the field she was tackling. Ajeeth Kumar kept Mysterious Angel in about the fourth or fifth position till turning for home. The daughter of Smuggler`s Cover showed good acceleration in the stretch to have the race well sewn up a long way from home. Watch My Stride ran on from behind to edge out the long-time pace-setter City of Bliss to pinch the runner-up berth.

Prasad Raju trained Sangreal had two outings at Bangalore during the summer season and both these were basically meant to give the filly the experience and get her fit for the monsoon season. Though the filly had finished about 16 lengths behind the winner at Bangalore, it was clear that the connections knew more about the capability of the filly as money came confidently in the ring. Sai Kumar drove out Sangreal to take charge in the final furlong and had a good break of lead when Realeza began to make her bid with a strong effort. The front runner reached the safety of the post with a measure of comfort as Realeza couldn`t accomplish the task, coming back lame from the race. Assured Success ran on to take the third position.

Robin Reddy trained Exclusive Luck was pretty consistent but had not found the winning mark. He appeared to have the ability to have a decisive say in the 1200 metres Grand Parade Plate (Div I), a race for four-year-old maidens, rated 20 to 45. The money came pouring in close to race time with the odds on the favourite Classical Music drifting out. Classical Music led from the start but closer home was overwhelmed by Pancho. However, Exclusive Luck who charged home on the wide outside in the hands of jockey Md Ismail had the last laugh. The short-priced favourite Nucleus from the stables of trainer Jasbir Singh had no problem in trouncing the field in the lower division of the race. Silver Lining was second while Jack Daniel was third.

Two horses namely Divine Destiny and Mandela cornered equal betting in the 1800 metres Karimnagar Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45. Ashhad Asbar who is having a poor run, took Mandela to open up a runaway lead which was the undoing of the four-year-old colt who ran out of steam in the stretch when Vittal Deshmukh trained Divine Destiny unleashed a powerful run in the hands of jockey Akshay Kumar. Divine Destiny stormed clear in the final furlong to win the race easily from Exclusive Spark and Voice of a Dream. Mandela weakened to finish a tame fourth.