Racing at Hyderabad on Monday had all the excitement of a power cut during prime-time TV. The card was so flat it could`ve doubled up as a yoga mat, and none of the six races delivered anything even faintly resembling an adrenaline rush. Racegoers arrived craving thrills, but what they got instead was a clinical recital of “form prevails,” a truth already whispered loud and clear in the betting ring long before the gates even opened.

The rain gods finally decided Hyderabad needed drama, and they delivered it in the 1100 metres Taj Mahal Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds. Enter Mir Faiyaz Ali Khan`s Suryavanshi—a horse who, until now, had mastered the fine art of sightseeing from the rear (20 lengths adrift on his last outing, lest we forget). This time, though, he morphed into Usain Bolt on four legs. Backed down in a plunge that screamed “somebody`s uncle had advance notice,” he bolted to the front, splashed through the downpour, and disappeared like a ghost in the mist. The rest trailed so far behind you could be forgiven for thinking a second race was being run on another track.

In the scrap for minor placings, Ek somehow nosed ahead of Cypress and Smart Operator in a photo nobody really bothered to frame. Out of curiosity, one checked the media tips to see if even a single soul had dared predict Suryavanshi`s miracle act. Of course not. Once upon a time, race books were filled with tipsters bragging about strike rates that sounded like stock market scams—but Hyderabad racing has humbled them into silence, leaving their advertisements as extinct as payphones.

Satheesh`s ward Get Lucky, already a winner this season and a close second next time out, was backed as though punters were convinced the other horses had turned up only for a morning jog. Jockey Md Ekram Alam set out on his trademark “catch me if you can” mission, and under some enthusiastic encouragement from the whip, the progeny of Sedgefield responded, pulling clear in the final furlong. Stablemate Akido—that perennial moody genius who can`t decide if he`s Pegasus or a plough horse—finally deigned to show up late for second, snatching the spot from RNI Superpower, who probably thought the job was already done.

In the 1600 metres G Sudhakar Reddy Memorial Trophy, a race for horses rated 20 to 45, trainer Anant Vatsalya`s Sunny Day proved the weather report was accurate. Sent off a firm favourite, he started wide, switched lanes more often than a confused cab driver, and still found the daylight along the rails in the straight. Jockey Ajeeth Kumar urged him forward, and once Elegant Lady offered token resistance, Sunny Day brushed her aside to win by more than two lengths. The much-fancied Lego was third—perhaps busy assembling excuses rather than chasing glory.

The 1200 metres Nalagonda Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds (with whips politely left in the jockeys` room), saw a rare display of decisiveness. Emerald Touch, who had already run 10 times, finally discovered the taste of victory. State Man bounded away early, but Aashad Asbar roused Emerald Touch with some good old-fashioned body language, and she stormed past in the final 100 metres to win like a short-priced favourite should. Foxy Girl was third, while the rest were spread out so far back one needed binoculars—or maybe a drone—to confirm they`d actually started.

The 1100 metres Shiv Kumar Lal Memorial Cup (Div I), a race for horses rated 20 to 45, was a test of patience for favourite backers. Only The Brave cut out a strong pace, with NRI High Power in hot pursuit. For most of the straight it looked like the favourite was running in slow motion, but in the dying stages he finally clicked into gear and swept past to win comfortably. Mexican Wave was third, which was still more than five lengths away—practically a different zip code.

That lone bolt from the blue came in the opening act, where Magan Singh Parmar`s Shoolin crashed the party as an uninvited guest, thumping the odds board and winning at prices fat enough to make bookmakers temporarily religious. After that, it was back to business as usual, the rest of the script going strictly according to betting form.

Magan Singh Parmar`s Shoolin showing early speed and kept on resolutely, Shoolin made sure the day`s only true surprise came right at the start. For the rest, Hyderabad served up a menu of predictability, sprinkled with one audacious upset to keep punters both broke and hopeful, which is basically the definition of racing here.