The Calcutta Monsoon racing season which concluded last week, turned out to be one of the most memorable ones in recent times. A string of winners which toppled public fancies left, right and centre may have left followers of money in a daze but in most cases the form-workers came out on top. The five-year-old chestnut mare Attention Seeker from Harvinder Singh Bath's yard showed the way with an incredibly facile hattrick despite incurring stiff penalties on a couple of occasions. Jockey Afzal Khan rode the mare on all three occasions. Brilliant Victory put an end to the mare's quest for a fourth triumph in spite of having the services of western India's ace rider C. Rajendra in the saddle. This only went to prove the age old adage that a rider is only as good as his horse.

The second in the series of 'amazing winners' was the six-year-old gelding Smarty Pant, trained by Arti Doctor, who notched up a smart double early in the season, the second of his wins coming in the highest class (The Tribute Cup).

Compared to other years, the presence of outstation trainers and jockeys was more evident this season. Pesi Shroff made his intentions clear when he picked up the Supernova Cup with Councilofthegods. Comeback-kid J.Chinoy rode a fine race atop the sprinter who made every post a winning one. The more fancied runner from the same stable, Rockefeller, bit the dust on this occasion but produced a thunderous gallop in the Stewards Cup to peg back the challenge of the favourite Romantic Getaway.

Every now and then, trainer Bath produced an ace up his sleeve. The more notable ones were Secret Move and Midnight Coup. Both these horses were the mediums of a serious gambles, which went to show that the stable's assessment of their wards' chances was spot on. Secret Move got the race on objection after Shafiq Khan-trained Glory Of North had kept his nose ahead despite running all over the place. The victory of Midnight Coup (earlier known as Beckham) was a result of a brilliant piece of horsemanship by T.S. Jodha. From a seemingly hopeless position, Jodha squeezed through a passage between the rails and runaway Coco Chanel.

Trainer Darius Byramji too enjoyed selective success when his two four-year-old wards Conquering Love and Romantic Scene picked up a brace each in the second half of the season. Apprentice B.Mahesh rode the latter to a copybook style victory over 2000 metres and then rode a gem of a race in the seven-furlong event for the Predator Cup to bring home the bacon in dramatic style. The able apprentice is certain to mature into a reliable rider, especially now that he is being given rides by one of south India's leading trainers.

Enough has been said and written about the Derby-winner Ascriptive who won without being fully stretched. His powerful Irish dam line (Ivyanna) is certain to ensure that he can stay the mile-and-half trip. The horse which finished second in the Derby, Bountiful Talent, is the one that is likely to do very well in the future. Champion trainer Daniel David enjoyed a share of the success story with Steal The Glory (last year's Derby winner) and Star Team. Quite aptly, the owner (Deepak Khaitan) and jockey (Christopher Alford) of Ascriptive, ended the season as leading owner and champion jockey.

Talking of success stories, the man who took all and sundry by surprise was trainer John Stephens who picked up as many as 16 winners with an aged lot. Most of his horses won when neglected by the public and this meant high odds for those who rode the Stephens-crest. Horses such as Horse Raddish, Grand Pere, Secret Desire and Way To The Stars kept the meter ticking for the Stephens yard. What was more, was that he enjoyed a great strike rate which suggests that he knew exactly what he was doing unfortunately not something that can be said for all professionals. There was an outstation trainer who kept entering his wards over all sorts of distances every few days. That was pretty shocking.

That brings us to some of the horses which let down their backers on several occasions. Afforce, Agios Nikolaos and Lycia Falcon all ran below par and may be worth following in the winter which is scheduled to start on Sunday, November 9.