Prokofiev wins Nizam’s Gold Cup in record time at Hyderabad
Hyderabad — Prokofiev, ridden by Antony Raj S and trained by Prasanna Kumar, won the Nizam’s Gold Cup (Gr.2) at Hyderabad on August 17, 2026, recording a race time of 2m, 3.41s.
The Nizam’s Gold Cup was the feature event on Monday’s card and Prokofiev’s victory was described in the report as an upset. The winner is owned by Mr. Zavaray S. Poonawalla, Mrs. Behroze Z. Poonawalla, Mr. Yohan Z. Poonawalla, Mrs. Michelle Y. Poonawalla, Ms. Delna Z. Poonawalla, Mrs. Simone Poonawalla Pandole & Mr. Rishad N. Pandole representing Poonawalla Racing & Breeding Pvt. Ltd. The official programme listed Mayne Magic as the race favourite.
In the Himayat Sagar Trophy (1,100m), Flying Fury (G. Naresh) finished first ahead of Ek (Afroz K), Her Ladyship (Mukesh K) and Inderdhasnush (A.A. Vikrant) with margins of 3-1/2, 3 and 2-1/4; the time was 1m, 6.90s. The winning return was ₹16 (w) with place returns 10, 13 and 24 and the race statistics showed SHP: 27, THP: 76, FP: 29, Q: 19, Tanala: 198; owner: Mr. Hussein Sultanali Nensey; trainer: Robin R. Kondakalla. In the Doncaster Plate (1,200m) Love In Paris (R.S. Jodha) won, with Queen Eternal (Ashad Asbar) second, Classy Touch (Neeraj) third and Gacchanmanasvin (M.S. Deora) fourth, margins 2, 2 and 2 and a time of 1m, 13.85s; returns were ₹37 (w), 12, 12 and 27 and the programme listed SHP: 39, THP: 71, FP: 58, Q: 24, Tanala: 316, owner: Mr. M. Raghunath rep. Gava Racing Syndicate LLP & Mr. P. Amarender Reddy; trainer: K. Satheesh.
The B. Marideshwara Rao Memorial Trophy (Div. II) (1,200m) was taken by Gloria (Akshay Kumar), Fortis (Trevor) was second, Dubai Touch (Trevor) third and Federer (P. Ajeeth K) fourth, winning margins 3-1/2, 1-1/4 and 4 and a time of 1m, 14.26s; the win paid ₹52 with place returns 15, 10 and 13 and the card recorded SHP: 47, THP: 30, FP: 190, Q: 32, Tanala: 731, owners Mr. Aditya P. Thackersey & Col. S.B. Nair, trainer L.V.R. Deshmukh. In the B. Marideshwara Rao Memorial Trophy (Div. I) (1,200m) Emerald Touch (Neeraj Rawal) won from Warwick (P. Ajeeth K), Foxy Girl (Kuldeep Jr.) and Strauss (D.S. Deora) with margins Head, 1-1/4 and 5-3/4 and time 1m, 13.81s; returns ₹16 (w), 10, 21 and 12, SHP: 53, THP: 27, FP: 88, Q: 79, Tanala: 310, owner Mr. N. Shyam Sunder, trainer Neelesh Rawal. Note: Zuza (Akshay K up) planted into the stalls and did not participate.
The Nizam’s Gold Cup (Gr.2) finishing order listed PROKOFIEV (Antony Raj S) first, Vyasa (Ashad Asbar) second, Red Bishop (Vivek G) third and Alfonsine (Trevor) fourth with margins 3/4, 1/2 and Neck. The official returns for the race were ₹94 (w), 22, 18 and 14 (p) and the programme published SHP: 103, THP: 36, FP: 1,975, Q: 1,214, Tanala: 17, 227; the published favourite for the race was Mayne Magic and the trainer for the winner was listed as Prasanna Kumar.
In the Royal Windsor Plate (1,400m) Ashoka (Akshay Kumar) won, Black Onyx (D.S. Deora) was second, Lux Aeterna (Trevor) third and Brilliant Lad (Neeraj) fourth with margins 2, 1/2 and 1/2 and a time of 1m, 25.78s; returns were ₹20 (w), 15, 22 and 10 and the programme recorded SHP: 55, THP: 42, FP: 123, Q: 96, Tanala: 312, owners M/s. Prabhakar Chowdary Tripuraneni, Rama Seshu Eyunni, Donald Anthony Netto & Tripuranenivenkata Aditya Chowdary, trainer D. Netto. The Brown Jack Plate (1,400m) saw Rani Ruckus (G. Naresh) prevail over Hoping High (Mohit), Aos Si (Antony Raj) and Fortune Art (Kuldeep Sr.) by margins 4, 1.2 and 8-1/4 in a time of 1m, 28.98s; returns were ₹52 (w), 16, 15 and 13 and the card listed SHP: 34, THP: 49, FP: 195, Q: 85, Tanala: 431, owner Mr. Rakesh Reddy Kondakalla, trainer Robin R. Kondakalla.
The day’s betting pools and jackpots published on the card were: Jackpot 70%: ₹7,828 (58 tkts.) & 30%: 325 (598 tkts.); Mini Jackpot: (i) 2,975 (24 tkts.), (ii) 5,154 (14 tkts.); Treble: (i) 1,300 (20 tkts.), 805 (30 tkts.), (iii) 1,703 (21 tkts.).