Crack sprinter Shershah (Epicentre-Achernar) continued to rule the Calcutta track as he completed a hat-trick of wins in great style on Friday. The property of Mr Rustom E Daroga jumped out clear as he is wont to do and led a merry chase despite not being on full throttle till after the bend. The miler Caravaggio ran on to finish second. It was such an impressive victory in the highest category that trainer Shafiq Khan and his patron have decided to make Shershah’s next target the North Indian Derby in Delhi. His sheer speed and class should be able to carry him that extra furlong without too much trouble.

Champion jockey Christopher Alford improved his position on the Jockeys’ Championship Table with a facile brace of victories. He thus narrowed the gap with Shailesh Shinde and Mohit Singh. While the latter notched up one win, the former returned a blank score sheet on this day. With four racing days still to go, it’s quite possible that Christopher may pip his rivals at the post and retain the champion’s mantle.

Alford’s first win was astride Darius Byramji-trained Asian Rocket (Tejano-Asian Lady). The connections changed their tactics with the chestnut and took him to the front of the field as the gates opened. The property of Mr Deepak Khaitan made every post a winning one in the 2000 metres race and pulled away in the straight from a field struggling to keep pace with him. The winner was the shortest priced favourite of the day at 55 paise.

Alford’s second winner was Rob N Rob (Ontario-Dellua) in the Argus Handicap. The Bath-trained four-year-old gave no anxious moments to his connections as he too made every post a winning one. Stormette and Ocean Clipper were both hard pressed to keep pace with him as he completed his third win of the season. Schooler Vikash Jaiswal established an useful lead on the Trainers’ Championship table with a lucrative double in the form of I’ve Done It and Royal County Down. I’ve Done It (Conquering Hero- Brave Ballerina) won the curtain-raiser after a brief tussle with stablemate Secret Hero who called the shots till the bend. The other fancied runner Evening Mist never appeared to be in it. Apprentice Mohit Singh failed to correct an outward drift of the public choice but nevertheless pocketed the race by a margin of over three lengths.

Royal County Down (Pennine Ridge-Royal Dornoch) was well and truly a ‘family affair’ as brothers Vikash and Vinay Jaiswal combined to land the spoils with this TN Jaiswal-owned eight-year-old. Though it was a clear-cut case of in-and-out running, the connections got away with it as jockey Gajender was fined for his misdeed when he rode the aged front-runner last time out. The favourite Emerald Queen displayed plenty of zest but found the experienced gelding too much to handle in the final furlong. The rest were unimpressive except for top-weight Silver Guest who finished on full of running.

The closest finish of the afternoon was witnessed in the Genesis Handicap as the fillies Lake Sunrise (Fasilyev-Elite Society) and Divine Symphony went past the winning post locked together. The camera gave the nod to favourite Lake Sunrise by the margin of a nose. Trevor Patel took the Bharath Singh-trained runner to the front and just held on by the skin of his teeth from Divine Symphony who was devouring ground. Fortunately, the winning post came to Trevor’s rescue.

The curtain came down with rank outsider Polariser (Black Cash-Slide By) from Deepak Karki’s yard being hard ridden by Mark to claim the Sir Aali Handicap from the favourite Xavier. The form horse Kingston was unimpressive as he found it difficult to hit the front in this class.