On a hot, humid, sweltering afternoon at the Calcutta races, trainer Daniel David came up trumps with a superb treble. Vikash Jaiswal continued his good work with another double while apprentice Mohit Singh ended up with a solitary winner, two runner-up berths and third placed Magical Star. Rather unfortunately, Mohit’s well-backed mount Rithambhra jumped out awkwardly and graced the wrong end of the field before bursting her blood vessels. The heat obviously took its toll on the once-speedy mare and made holes in punters’ pockets. She has to be discarded for the rest of the season. Even if fancied heavily by her connections, such unsound horses cannot be backed. It’s asking for trouble!

The seven-furlong race for The Great Tribute Trophy was an open betting affair with horses like Caravaggio and Work Force closing as 3/1 favourites. Arbroath was available at 5/1 while David’s Regal Classic (Inner City-Royal Rex) closed at 6/1. Here it must be mentioned that had the inconspicuous (cannot find an alternative adjective) I. Khan not been astride this property of Dr. MAM Ramaswamy, he would have undoubtedly closed as the favourite (had either M. Ali Khan or Mohit Singh been astride). But then, the baron of South India has been known to produce his ace when least expected and he did so on this Tuesday afternoon. As one fellow correspondent commented “The horse would have won even if I had ridden him.” How right, the winter-wonder who recorded an incredible time in the Aureole Time Handicap, simply tore the 11-horse field to shreds. One has no option but doff one’s hat to Daniel and his patron-in-chief. David’s other runner Swahili was running after a long lay-off and used the race for a race-gallop.

Two races earlier, David enjoyed another high-priced success with Apyrous. It was creditable that both his runners Apyrous (Excalibur’s Lake-Anatolia) and Tintoretto fought out the final furlong of the Turf Hawk Handicap tooth and nail and the former prevailed. Jockey M. Ali Khan took the shortest route home and Apyrous showed that he still possesses a touch of class. Tintoretto drifted out under Mohit’s whip. Much touted Alpine Count, who closed as the 5/2 favourite, finished on fourth from the rear, prompting a Stewards Enquiry. Trainer Patrick Quinn was warned and apprentice Vikash Tamang was handed out a three race-day suspension (August 13-23, both days inclusive). In his defence, it may be mentioned that Alpine Count has not beaten anything of note except the non-winner Sugar N Salt. However, this run is bound to bring him on.

David completed his treble when apprentice Mohit Singh guided the 10-to-8-on public choice Brief Encounter (Ikhtyar – Kia Ora) to a fluent victory in the afternoon’s final event, The Nero Handicap. Permitting stablemate Mumtaz to call the shots till the distance post, Brief Encounter sailed away for an easy triumph.

Like Apyrous, Vikash Jaiswal’s Swiss King (Diffident-Cyclonic) showed once again that he was a cut above the rest in The Metallic Handicap. Md. Sameer made it a start-to-finish affair without any trouble at all. While Ocean Dancer plodded on to be the runner-up, the bottom-weighted All Time High was being pushed by Shailesh Shinde from the mid-way mark and finished an unimpressive fourth. The zero-rated horse won two races last year and has been on the decline ever since. Unfortunately for trainer Gowli, there are no ‘minus’ ratings. He could do with a few tips on training ‘handicap horses’ from the wily Vikash Jaiswal.

Equally pathetic was the showing of unsound mare Rithambhra. Eight-year-old Flying Jaguar (Diffident-Free Thinker) from Vikash’s yard maintained his form to come out and strike. This horse is turning out be another El Cid who kept winning under Vikash till the age of 12 years. The filly My Fair Lady, whose odds drifted out to 15/1, was totally disinterested in the race and yet finished a good second despite shouldering a heavy impost. The rider, however, lost his left stirrup iron briefly after the jump-out.

In a youngsters maidens’ race, if you ignore a highly pedigreed horse, you do so at your own risk. That was exactly the case with Romantic Sunset (Razeen-Ocean Sunset). This chestnut filly is a full sister to Class I runners Sea Princess and Friendly Fire. The sharp sprint was not to her liking but she still got up to collar runaway Magical Star in the Retort Handicap. It was jockey Neeraj Rawal and trainer Vijay Singh’s sole winner of the day and was available at 4/1. Quentin Derward closed as the favourite but failed to maintain a straight course in the home stretch other than which he would have been nearer at the finish.

The biggest shocker of the day came from the Bharath Singh stable in the form of Satsuma Star (Placerville-Imperial Satsuma). The five-year-old mare won the sprint for the Flower Dust Handicap after keeping at bay the hot favourite and stablemate Smokin Aces – a recent import from the west.