The Bangalore-based filly Abs Fabs made a complete mockery of the Derby field at the Calcutta racecourse on Saturday. Trainer Arjun Mangalorkar’s decision to make a late entry with fees of Rs 9 lakh was well worth it as the filly took home a handsome packet of Rs 68 lakh. Owner Pritham Basappa was pleasantly surprised by the stupendous performance put in by his filly. She stopped the clock at 2min 28.789sec for the mile-and-half classic, which was just outside the record set by Southern Empire during the Invitation Cup of 2007. Britisher Francis Norton kept the powerfully built bay in a handy second slot behind the pacemaker from the MAM-stable, Bountiful Talent. Nearing the 800m marker, he decided to loosen the reins of his mount. Thereafter, she galloped to a memorable victory by a widening margin of seven-and-half lengths from Raghuvansh who was easily the best of the rest.

The trainer-jockey combination of Arjun and Francis had several years ago won the Bangalore Derby with a horse called Royal Russian. Arjun incidentally has a horse running in the Delhi Derby on Monday. If he can achieve two derbys within a space of 48 hours, it will be a great boost for the young trainer.

The colourful afternoon which witnessed a large gathering, was ruled by fancied runners. The opening event, The Madras Race Club Cup, saw Vijay Singh-trained Regal Connection give Christopher Alford an armchair ride. The second favourite Badge of Gold appeared never to be in the hunt.

Jockey A. Imran Khan seems to have taken an affinity for the Calcutta track. He scored an easy victory atop High Regard even as the favourite She’s Bak On Track limped home last in the Azhar Cup. Trainer Daniel David needs to be lauded for fine tuning High Regard into an extremely reliable sort. Daniel Grant on Eternal Spirit did try to steal a march at the top of the straight but found High Regard travelling a little too well.

Agios Nikolaos was extremely fortunate to bag the MEOW 104.8 FM Cup. This Pesi Shroff ward is a sluggish sort and Christopher Alford had to maintain immense pressure on the gelding to keep at bay Italian Star who was moving well along the rails. Power Punch was a creditable third and may prefer a longer trip.

Jockey B. Prakash was confidence personified atop Bhungard-trained Island Warrior in the race for the Tug of War Cup. The favourite Temptation left all his chances at the gates. The best of the beaten brigade was Hymn Star.

Maintaining his Bangalore form, Darius Byramji-trained Axiology won the Telegraph Cup from a fast-finishing Impressive Wish. Had Ashish positioned his mount earlier, he would have been closer at the finish. Some outstation riders never seem to get used to the brevity of the Calcutta straight.

Neeraj Rawal is however one rider who is well aware of this problem. Even from the 13th draw, he had Gilded Romance racing a handy second behind Sea Legend at the top of the straight. The mare took over the running smoothly but had to stave off a strong challenge from Certain Smile in the final furlong.

Jockey Prakash rode a clever race on cascades to bag the Alokananda Stakes. He permitted Diyena and Bid For Gold to fight out the early battle but turned on the pressure when the heat was on. The filly by Royal Gladiator out of Loud water seems to be a sturdy sort and has more races in store for her.

Trainer Arti Doctor drew a blank for the day as her Algorithms was witdrawn along with two other runners (Areology and Secret Move) in the race for the upper division of the Zarashah Cup, the afternoon’s final event. It was left to Piato (the favourite by default) to complete the formalities.