For once, Malakpet was a paradise for punters, as jockey Akshay Kumar’s determined ride on Nightmare in the feature event brought smiles all around, with the rest of the well-backed favourites obligingly following suit in the other races. In a nail-biting finish that left Brooklyn Beauty’s connections reeling, Nightmare snatched victory by the slimmest of margins in the 1600 metres Raja Mahboob Karan Memorial Cup—a race for horses rated 40 to 65, and the feature event of Monday’s races held at Malakpet.

The Sandeep-trained Nightmare had to dig deep and give it everything to overhaul Brooklyn Beauty, who, in a twist of tragic déjà vu, lost by a whisker for the second time running. Thankfully for punters, the day lived up to its billing, as most of the well-backed favourites came good, sparing them from the usual horrors.

Brooklyn Beauty, clearly fed up with her role as the bridesmaid, was sent on a mission by Ajay Kumar to lead from the front. She set a solid pace, and despite a spirited attempt from City of Blessing down the straight, she gamely held her ground. That is, until Nightmare arrived on the scene. Akshay, riding like a man on a mission, brought Nightmare from about fourth place at the final turn, surging forward with a determined run. Even as the favourite drifted out wide, practically trying to exit the track, Nightmare managed to stick his neck out just in time for the photo finish.

City of Blessing held on for third, showing plenty of grit but ultimately lacking the finishing touch, while Carnival Lady, another heavily fancied runner, could only manage fourth. But for once, it was all smiles in the betting ring, as the majority of races went the way of the punters. No nightmares here—well, except for Brooklyn Beauty, who might want to re-evaluate her timing.

The age-old story of odds and reality not quite seeing eye to eye. It's almost like those odds are written by someone who believes in fairy tales! Take the Hilton Sequeira-trained Arion One, for instance. After a sparkling win last time out, the poor beast was saddled with the label of 'sure thing' for the 1200 metres Play.Hyderabadraces.com Cup (Div I), a race for horses rated 20 to 45. The bookies were practically giving away pennies for every rupee bet on him—such was the confidence. But as we know, confidence in horse racing is about as reliable as a weather forecast. In the final furlong, Arion One had to be hustled and bustled by jockey Akshay Kumar, fending off High Heels and Dali’s Destiny, who were charging in like they had just remembered they were in a race. Despite all that, the “favourite” barely scraped past, winning by a measly length. Not exactly the walk in the park the odds suggested.

Now, as if that wasn’t enough drama, Akshay Kumar had another ride—Nonpareil—who was backed so heavily for the 1400 metres Nijinsky Plate, a race for horses rated 20 to 45, that you’d think punters had discovered some ancient secret formula guaranteeing success. Odds were plummeting faster than a horse in a mud pit. But then, Nonpareil had other ideas—none of which involved actually racing. The horse threw a tantrum at the gates and was unceremoniously scratched along with second favourite Blazing Saddle who probably saw the fiasco and thought, “I’m out too.” Suddenly, the race was up for grabs, and Gifted Girl, a runner that had been dabbling in the betting scene, found herself as the reluctant “favourite.”

And because the universe has a sense of humour, Gifted Girl practically napped at the start, giving everyone the impression she had absolutely no interest in running. She lost so much ground; you’d think she was doing a warm-up lap. But then, in a plot twist worthy of a soap opera, the field turned out to be so weak that even with her disastrous start, Gifted Girl caught up by the final bend. With the front-running Pinatubo going on an impromptu sightseeing tour of the wide outside, Gifted Girl slipped through the rails and powered home, winning by over eight lengths. Yes, you heard that right—eight lengths. It's like watching someone win a sprint after tying their shoelaces at the start. Even Anemoi managed to sneak past the wandering Pinatubo for second. It was quite the spectacle—a race so devoid of quality that even after losing all the favourites, the victor still won by daylight.

It was one of those rare days where the racing gods had a soft spot for the punters! For once, it looked like the bookies had taken pity, as most of the favourites decided to play ball, running true to their billing. Born Brave was the star of this charity event, his odds dropping faster than a punter’s hopes on a bad day—backed from a higher quote to even money before anyone could even blink. The Donald Netto trainee confidently strutted to the start for the 1200 metres Land of Glory Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 65.

Jockey Kuldeep Singh, oozing confidence, positioned the favourite in about fourth place as Pontefract took up pace-making duties. As the field turned for home, Kuldeep seized the moment, threading the needle between Glorious Power and Pontefract with the precision of a jockey who clearly had no plans to miss out on lunch money. He stormed ahead, riding with intensity. Assured Success put in a solid shift to take second, while Rival made a late rally but had to settle for third. Meanwhile, Pontefract, having used up all its energy showing off at the front, faded to fourth.

But of course, no race day can be entirely predictable. The one twist in the tale came in the first race, where Anant Vatsalya’s China Town was the hot favourite for the 2000 metres Sircilla Plate (a race for horses rated 20 to 45). With a stable full of runners, it looked like Federer was waiting for his cue to play understudy and let the star of the show take over. Except, China Town apparently missed the script and ran like it was just there for the scenery. Instead, Raza Shezad trained Caraxes grabbed the spotlight, speeding away for an easy win while the confused trio of Das, Federer, and China Town (all from the same stable) followed in that order, looking like they'd just figured out they were supposed to be in the same race.

Anant Vatsalya, who had to endure the agony of watching his heavily-backed China Town flop in the day's opener, finally got some relief when Reigning Queen delivered a hard-fought victory in the 1200 metres Hallmark Plate, a race for horses rated 0 to 25. Jockey Ajeeth Kumar gave a tenacious ride as Reigning Queen led the charge into the final furlong. With the well-backed Exponent breathing down her neck, it seemed she might fold, but the front-runner dug deep, refusing to surrender her throne.

Just when it looked like the race was sealed, Glimmer of Hope emerged along the rails, threatening to play party pooper. However, Reigning Queen clung to her lead, crossing the winning post with half a length to spare. Exponent, who couldn't quite find that extra gear, finished a neck behind in third.