Though he is undoubtedly the trainer of the best colt at this centre (if not in the country) in the form of Dandified, schooler Vijay Singh can’t be too happy a man after his pedestrian performance in the recently concluded monsoon meet of 2011. The fact that some of the better youngsters (such as Abronia and Secret Visit) of his patron-in-chief have been entrusted to Darius Byramji may have contributed to his debacle. The champion trainer of 2010 was dethroned by young Vikash Jaiswal – and that too with a mediocre string. However, one can be rest assured that it will be a different story in the winter meeting which is only a week away. The failures of the monsoon season plus a host of others from Vijay’s exquisitely bred stable of horses may sing a totally different tune on the winter track.

Jaiswal’s strength lay in using his study of handicapping and assessment of his rivals’ potency. Further, his technique of using multiple entries played to his advantage and often fetched him mouth-watering odds. He was undoubtedly guilty of in-and-out running on more than one occasion – but then who isn’t? It’s become a part and parcel of the game at most centres. Punters just have to live with it and hope to spot the menace before the race instead of trying to stop it. Thus the keyword here is ‘spot’ and not ‘stop’.

Now that we have had a peep at the two leading trainers at this centre, let’s take a look at few of the horses who did their owners proud, before taking a look at some of the other professionals who set the local track ablaze, such as Bharath Singh, Daniel David, Shailesh Shinde, Christopher Alford and last but not the least – apprentice Mohit Singh.

Let’s do a little recap on Dandified’s performance in the Monsoon Derby on the first day of October. Running in the famous red-and-gold colours of Mr Deepak Khaitan, Dandified gave Christopher Alford the smoothest ride he could have ever dreamt of. His only dilemma was when to look back in the straight. He was turning back well before the distance post and continued to do so every 50 metres or so. Most amazingly though, he had completely eased up his mount in the straight but the victory margin continued to increase. The Calcutta Monsoon Derby probably saw its most facile winner since its inception.

The point to ponder after this race is ‘Will Dandified be another Elusive Pimpernel for the Khaitan clan?’. It’s probably too early to say but the colt’s stunning win has definitely given the cognoscenti food for thought and the owners of the Hazara Stud farm (where his sire Rebuttal stands) much to rave about. While the ‘Pimpernel’ didn’t lose a race till the fag end of his career, Dandified has already lost once in six starts but frankly that race must be ignored as the speedy filly Elena was receiving considerable weight from him, and that too over a scurry far too sharp for the champ.

Crack sprinter Shershah, a colt by Epicentre out of Achernar, turned out to be a revelation after being hacked out of sight by Mad About You. He completed a hat-trick of wins in great style by lifting the Mandolin Trophy. It was a pleasure to hear the voice of the former chairman of RCTC Cyrus Madan in the commentator’s box during this race and in quite a few others during the season.

Shershah, the property of Mr Rustom E Daroga, jumped out clear and led a merry chase despite not being on full throttle till after the bend. It was such an impressive victory in the highest category that it is reliably learnt 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.

Though Mumtaz shared the title of the ‘horse of the season’ with Shershah, the connections of the former would have to agree without reservations that the three-year-old on the upgrade was definitely the superior sprinter. Nevertheless, all credit goes to Daniel David for bringing Mumtaz to peak condition and picking up three races at lucrative odds – partnered by Mohit Singh on all three occasions. Jockey coach Nicky Bird has done a great job with this youngster who was finding it difficult to maintain a straight course and accelerating at the infamous hairpin of this centre.

The track was maintained well and pretty fast throughout the season. Thus, sprinters such as the above named duo, Abronia, Palazzio’s Sun, Royal Dance and Clear Mandate lapped it up. Another aspect which contributed to some thrilling finishes was the neatly measured handicapping. Other than that, aged horses such as Star Impact and Impressive Wish would not have seen the winning post. Decent handicapping is essential to the serious students of the game such as Vikash Jaiswal, John Stephens and Javed Khan. The last named ofcourse deserves credit for picking up the Fillies Trial with Two In One. Another three-year-old which showed immense improvement was the colt Welcome Smile from Arti Doctor’s yard. Jockey Shailesh Shinde piloted most of her winners and gave jockey Christopher Alford quite a scare in his bid to grab the jockeys’ championship.

Visiting riders like Srinath and Trevor Patel lit up the track with some brilliant pieces of horsemanship. Trevor in particular helped Bharath Singh give Jaiswal hot chase for the trainers’ championship and may have well succeeded had he not run out of time. But then the conditions are the same for everyone and the better man has undoubtedly come out on top on this occasion.