Despite an early hiccup, the Calcutta cold weather season kicks off with renewed vigour on Sunday, with 34 race-days spread over five months. For the 250 odd races expected to be run during the long-drawn meet, the stake money up for grabs will touch a record high at Rs 11.2 crore, which is approximately Rs 2 crore more than what was on offer last year.

Once again, the Eveready Industries India Limited - sponsored Derby will be the season’s highlight on the second Sunday of January. The first Sunday happens to be New Year’s Day and needs no introduction to railbirds and socialites of this metropolis. The Kunigal Stud – sponsored Indian Produce Stakes will hold centre-stage on that day. This season’s Derby will have added stake money to the tune of Rs 1 crore. The cut-off date for final entries is January 3, and the total late entry fee including all forfeits will be a whopping Rs 9 lakh.

The date may be of particular importance to connections of horses who are willing to pit their wards against the local champion three-year-old Dandified. The latter is owned by chairman of RCTC Mr. Deepak Khaitan. On a scale of 1-to-10, “ If Elusive Pimpernel is 10, then right at this moment, Dandified may be classified at five or six”, said a cautious Mr Khaitan. Mr. Deepak Khaitan said that there is every possibility that turfites at this centre may witness ‘night racing’ on a trial basis towards the end of the season.

On the suggestion by a senior correspondent that the Indian Derby is at his mercy, Mr Khaitan merely smiled and quoted an old associate of his who had said that “ a brilliant horse cannot be bought but has to be destined for your stables. In that respect, Dandified was earmarked for me. The son of Rebuttal was among a lot of four youngsters who were a last-minute purchase on request”.

Only time will tell whether it will be brickbats or bouquets for Dandified but there is no doubt about the fact that his presence will add zing to the meet. Other local four-legged stars like Two In One, Shershah and Arktouros may expect stiff outstation challenge from the likes of In The Spotlight, Panamera, Cape Ferrat and Arts Successor.

Other than the Derby, some of the other graded races during the season are the Calcutta Gold Cup (Grade II) on December 17, Indian Champion Cup (Grade I) on January 23, Queen’s Cup (Grade III) on February 11 and Calcutta Million (Grade II) on February 18.

A total of about 600 horses are expected to participate during the meet. Of these, approximately 140 are two-year-olds. They will be under the care of 19 ‘A’ licensed trained (led by the Singh brothers Vijay and Bharath), and 10 ‘B’ licensed visiting trainers. The big names among the latter category are the father-son Byramji duo, Pesi Shroff, Padmanabhan and Imtiaz Sait.

Champion Jockey Christopher Alford will lead the local riding talent on view, while saddle artistes from around the globe are expected to be seen on the major race-days.

Mr. Deepak Khaitan said that there is every possibility that turfites at this centre may witness ‘night racing’ on a trial basis towards the end of the season. He feels that it is sure to woo the yuppies, Gen-X and Gen-Y – in short the generation of men and women who will decide the fate of racing at this centre. Should RCTC succeed in their endeavour, it will be a commendable move in the right direction.

RCTC is a sponsor of the 12th Congress of the World Equine Veterinary Association which will be hosted by the Indian Association of Equine Practitioners (IAEP) to be held at Hyderabad from November 2 for four days. A representative of the Club will chair the session on November 3 when the topics of discussion will be ‘equine bleeders’, ‘feeding of horses’ and ‘biomechanics in equine locomotor pathology’ which are all highly technical subjects.

General Manager and Senior Stipendiary Steward Robin Corner was of the opinion that for a stricter vigil by the stipes, the punishment doled out should be stiff irrespective of the connections of the penalized professionals. “There must be no untouchables in this game, to prop up fair stiping,” he added. How true! Punters will look forward to some form-oriented racing in the forthcoming season and hope to make their pockets jingle.