Last Wednesday’s Calcutta races saw  three runners coming good at high odds. These  were Italian Glory, Man About Town and Councilofthegods. The last named opened  trainer Pesi Shroff’s account at this centre with a bang  when he picked up the Supernova Cup without being fully stretched in the hands of ‘comeback-kid ‘ J. Chinoy. Pesi’s assistant Shyam and veteran trainer Bal Lagad (who is supervising the stable here) have obviously fulfilled their duties well.

What was disappointing from the Calcutta point of view was the fact that the top three spots went to recent imports from western India. Known for his ability to excel over sharp sprints, it came as quite a surprise for most as the five-year-old gelding kicked on merrily in the straight. The fancied runner from the stable (Rockefeller) finished a creditable third while Premier Star ended runner-up. The favourite Star Team continued his poor run of  winter form when he finished  in the ruck.

The afternoon started with the indomitable Pintu Das making ends with Italian Glory. The lad proved beyond doubt that his maiden triumph atop Vrikodara was no flash in the pan. He fearlessly took Italian Glory to the front and stayed there.

The Arti-Ashish combo took over from where they had left off the earlier day as their Excel staved off a strong challenge from Romanticity.

Apprentice Sameer produced a great win astride Man About Town. The Shafiq Khan ward raised a great winning gallop after running in mid-division for most part of the way.

Errol Bhungard’s Island Warrior was the gamble of the day. The even-money public choice was powered to a start to finish triumph by A. Imran Khan.

Despite being a trifle tardy at the start, Vijay Singh-trained Silver Fox picked up the La Gitana Cup without any trouble at all. When asked for an effort, he swept past Patroclus who was threatening to produce an encore.

That there can be no smoke without fire was evident in the day’s final event when Attention Seeker produced an encore (despite a penalty of 6kg), winning by a good eight lengths. There was some talk after her earlier triumph that she had been somewhat leniently treated.