The Hyderabad Race Club staged the seventh day of the Hyderabad Monsoon Races 2026 on Monday, August 17, with an eight-race programme running from 12:45pm to 4:45pm. The afternoon belonged to a mixture of determined front-runners, close finishes and, above all, Prokofiev, who produced the day’s feature performance in The Nizam’s Gold Cup (Grade II) over 2000 metres.
For those following the Hyderabad races results 17 August, the eight-race card provided a full afternoon of competitive racing, with winners emerging across sprinting and staying distances and several contests decided by narrow margins.
The meeting opened with The Himayat Sagar Trophy Div II, a Class IV handicap for horses aged three years and upward rated 20 to 45, over 1100 metres. FLYING FURY set the tone for the day, completing the race in 1:06.908 under G Naresh for trainer Robin Reddy Kondakalla, with owner Mr Hoosain Sultanali Nensey. EK, ridden by Afroz Khan and trained by Magan Singh Parmar, finished second in 1:07.473, while HER LADYSHIP, with Mukesh Kumar for trainer D. Netto, was third in 1:07.952. Flying Fury had enough in reserve to keep the chasing pair at bay.
The second race, The Doncaster Plate, was a 1200-metre maiden contest for three-year-old fillies. LOVE IN PARIS prevailed in 1:13.856, with Jodha R S in the saddle and K Satheesh training for M/s Gava Racing Syndicate LLP rep by Mr M Raghunath & Mr P Amarender Reddy. QUEEN ETERNAL, ridden by A. Ashhad Asbar and trained by R H Sequeira, was second in 1:14.145. CLASSY TOUCH, partnered by Neeraj Rawal for trainer Neelesh Rawal, took third in 1:14.418. The winner maintained the advantage through the closing stages.
In The B. Marideshwara Rao Memorial Trophy Div II, a 1200-metre Class III handicap for three-year-olds rated 40 to 65, GLORIA produced a solid winning performance. Ridden by Akshay Kumar and trained by L V R Deshmukh, Gloria stopped the clock at 1:14.268 for owners Mr Aditya P Thackersey & Col S B Nair. FORTIS, with P. Trevor riding for trainer S.S. Attaollahi, was second in 1:14.843, while DUBAI TOUCH, ridden by M. S. Deora for Neelesh Rawal, finished third in 1:15.028.
The fourth race returned to 1100 metres for The Himayat Sagar Trophy Div I, another Class IV handicap for horses aged three years and upward rated 20 to 45. OJAS MAXIMUS proved strongest in 1:07.828 under A. A. Vikrant, giving trainer S. Sreekanth and owner Mr Vijay Anand Jangiti a winner. LINDA, ridden by Akshay Kumar for L V R Deshmukh, finished second in 1:08.772, just ahead of BOLD BEAUTY, who was third in 1:08.802 under Santosh Raj N R for trainer Neelesh Rawal.
The fifth race, The B. Marideshwara Rao Memorial Trophy Div I, provided one of the closest finishes of the afternoon over 1200 metres. EMERALD TOUCH got the verdict in 1:13.813, with Neeraj Rawal riding for trainer Neelesh Rawal and owner Mr N Shyam Sunder. WARWICK, partnered by P Ajeeth Kumar and trained by Ananta Vatsalya, was a mere 0.021 seconds behind in 1:13.834. FOXY GIRL, ridden by Kuldeep Singh (Jr) for trainer M Srinivas Reddy, completed the first three in 1:14.059.
The principal event of the meeting, The Nizam’s Gold Cup (Grade II), brought the strongest staying field of the afternoon together over 2000 metres. PROKOFIEV delivered the standout performance, finishing in 2:03.418 under Antony Raj S. for trainer Prasanna Kumar P. and owners M/s Poonawalla Racing & Breeding Private Limited.
Prokofiev held the advantage when it mattered most, finishing narrowly ahead of VYASA, who recorded 2:03.559 under A. Ashhad Asbar for trainer G Sandeep. RED BISHOP was close behind in third in 2:03.632, with Vivek G. riding for trainer P. Shroff. The margins reflected a competitive finish, but Prokofiev’s time of 2:03.418 ensured the Grade II feature belonged to the Prasanna Kumar-trained runner.
The seventh race, The Royal Windsor Plate, was contested over 1400 metres for horses aged four years and upward. ASHOKA came through in 1:25.788 under Akshay Kumar, giving trainer D. Netto and owners Dr Prabhakar Chowdary Tripuraneni, M/s Rama Seshu Eyunni, Donald Anthony Netto & DrTripuranenivenkata Aditya Chowdary another notable success. BLACK ONYX, ridden by Dhanu Singh Deora for trainer Magan Singh Parmar, finished second in 1:26.080, while LUX AETERNA, with P. Trevor for trainer S S Attaollahi, was third in 1:26.152.
The closing event, The Brown Jack Plate, was a 1400-metre Class V handicap for horses aged five years and upward rated up to 25. RANI RUCKUS finished the card on a winning note, clocking 1:28.987 under G Naresh for trainer Robin Reddy Kondakalla and owner Mr Rakesh Reddy Kondakalla. HOPING HIGH, ridden by Mohit Singh and trained by Jasbir Singh, was second in 1:29.632, with AOS SI third in 1:29.708 under Antony Raj S. for trainer A. Imran Khan.
The seventh day of the Hyderabad Monsoon Races 2026 therefore closed with eight winners across a varied card, with Prokofiev’s Grade II success providing the central achievement. The competitive finishes throughout the programme added further momentum to the Hyderabad season, with RaceBuzz continuing to follow the results, performances and major races as the Monsoon Races progress.
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