|
First things first, let’s start from the very beginning and work through the season chronologically. Though Javed Khan had a relatively lean season, it was his Diomedes who bagged the first Cup of the meet on the opening day. The sprinter showed that he has lost none of his zest for racing when on the penultimate day he finished a good second to Sparta in the Unknown Warrior Cup.
Though rated highly, the failure of the filly Snowberry at the hands of top-weighted Zafir shocked all and sundry. Her scoresheet remained blank throughout the season even though she continued to place. Trainer John Stephens always has an ace up his sleeve and the second win of Blood Rayne over the three-year-old Apyrous was one such ace. On the same day, Samarkhand won the Bhishma Cup from Piato, only to be disqualified later for doping. His trainer Patrick Quinn was subsequently suspended.
Speedy filly She’s Superb notched up her second win of the season on the fourth day in the hands of Srinivas Rao. She never succeeded in occupying the winner’s enclosure thereafter though she seems to have the potential.
Srinivas Rao continued his success with the Alford family when he piloted Rutherford-schooled Vignet to three hard fought victories. The gelding’s never-say-die attitude even when he is drifting to the outer rails is remarkable.
An import from western India, Imtiaz Sait trained Fire Within showed his class when he notched up the first of his two wins in early August. He would have had a hattrick had not the speedy Queen Of Hearts sent him packing in early October.
Credit Squeeze showed his sprinting prowess when he won the season’s first major event, The Usha Stud Calcutta Juvenile Sprint, in great style. The Bharath Singh-trained colt cantered home and then went on to win the Colts Trial before succumbing to the brilliant filly Gloriosa in the Derby.
Another runner from Bharath’s yard who was the punters’ favourite was Colourful Lady. She sorely disappointed as she failed to place in the Monsoon Cup despite a fly-weight on her back. Earlier in the season, she had won the Stoney Valley Cup comfortably.
Despite a basically lean season, Daniel David enjoyed one piece of fine success when his Bountiful Talent lifted the Glotik Cup by a neck from Colourful Lady. Form went for a toss when the same two met in the Monsoon Cup won brilliantly by Arktouros and Christopher Alford. In spite of a 12kg pull in weights, Colourful Lady finished well behind Bountiful Talent. Something was obviously amiss somewhere. Trainer Pesi Shroff had two promising runners in the Fillies Trial Stakes. They were Adriana and Anastasia. While the latter failed miserably, the former produced a great run to peg back Gloriosa who came into the race without a race-gallop. On the same day, Vijay Singh-trained Validate completed a hattrick of wins by lifting the Mandolin Cup. The surprise was the unpredictable six-year-old Art Of War getting the better of three-year-old Murano in the Gumaan Handicap.
Gloriosa won the Derby in great style and pocketed a whopping Rs. 25 lakh for her effort. There was nothing ‘tarnished’ about the daughter of American mare Tarnished Lady as she produced a scintillating run in the straight. So much so, that it even took experienced jockey Christopher Alford by surprise and he eased his mount a long way from home.
Among the lesser names, Deepak Karki shared a success story with Sangoma who notched up a lucrative hattrick. The most impressive was his triumph over Bourbon Queen in the Annhilator Handicap. Borboun Queen was also heading for her third triumph. Like Karki, Jasbir Singh has done a good job with Quaoar who is back to his forward self. This fetched him two wins.
There has been a feedback from other centres that racing this season at Calcutta has been disappointing at times – especially when under prepared three-year-olds have fallen to aged runners. One hopes that the winter meet commencing on November 1 will witness an elevated standard. Perhaps, the whip needs to be cracked a little more often on any form of dishonesty. It will benefit racing at this age old prestigious racecourse immensely.
There is no doubt that the RCTC management team led by dynamic chairman Cyrus Madan will ensure a good response during the winter meet. Racing manager Amit Chaturvedi has been doing a fine all-round job - doubling as stipe as well. The handicapping has been predictable but steady. There were quite a few close finishes during the season. As expected, the champion trainer was Vijay Singh, the champion jockey Christopher Alford and the leading owner Deepak Khaitan. The leading tipster was the Times of India.
