Trainer Vijay Singh may be indisposed but his prized colt Dandified and trusted knight Christopher Alford could not have given him a better Christmas present. They combined  splendidly once again to produce the most incredible run in the straight and lift the prestigious Nanoli Stud Calcutta Gold Cup in great style. Alford’s supreme confidence in his mount’s ability was evident the moment the 10-horse field left the starting gates for the mile trip. He dropped the bay off dead last while stablemate Hall Of Glory set a scorching pace. The fact that the on-money public choice was a good 15 lengths behind the pacemaker with a wall of horses in front did not bother Alford in the least.

At the top of the straight, Alford gradually guided the bay away from the rails and showed him daylight about eight wide. Owner-mate Unleashed was making his run too at about the same time. What happened next was truly a sight to behold for connoisseurs of the game. In fact, one had to blink twice to ensure one was not seeing things. The colt by Rebuttal out of Dandoona smoothly changed gears thrice within a space of 100 metres, and to top it all, he seemed to know to the ‘T’ what was expected of him. Alford still had both his hands on the reins and let the bay get the job done without much interference. It was owner-mate Unleashed who in fact may have got in the way a  little as he shifted off a straight course near the distance post but the courageous colt was unmoved as he maintained a dead straight course with his jockey looking back even before he had sailed past Unleashed. Alford once again eased his mount in the final fifty metres and stopped the clock at a sweet timing of 1min 36.8sec.

Owner and chairman of RCTC, Mr. Deepak Khaitan, was indeed a happy man. “Dandifed amazed me. Our next target is the Calcutta Derby,” said a beaming Mr. Khaitan.

Earlier C.Alford had piloted two other runners of the red-and-gold brigade to facile triumphs. Trainer HS Bath was deputizing for Vijay Singh during the afternoon. Atwater (Mr Mellon-Taj Mahal) won the Fame Star Plate effortlessly while Accrews (Oath-Acquest) was by far the best in the three horse field for the Juvenile Stakes. Both runners gave Alford armchair rides.

Trainer Arti Doctor completed a lucrative double with What A Feeling and Amouresque. The first named, a three-year-old gelding by Royal Kingdom out of Destiny Calling won his maiden start in brilliant style. Shinde rode a forward race on the 6/1 shot and sailed past pacemaker Whispering Hill in the straight. He finished over eight lengths ahead of Credit Ease and timed an excellent 1min 25.4 for the seven-furlong trip.

Amouresque (Mr. Mellon-Complimentary) was piloted in a no-nonsense manner by Sandesh as he stayed in sight of Tender Romance all the way before bidding adieu to the ante-post favourite and the field. Silver Sands was a bit of a disappointment as he graced the wrong end of the field for most part but nevertheless ended fourth.

Shinde gave a perfect ride to the Sait-trained course favourite Oriental Diana (Black Cash-Revived Up). He collared the top-weight Kinshasa near the distance post and showed a clean pair of heels to Catchphrase making his bid in the straight. The totalisator favourite Bavaria was a poor third.

Pesi Shroff-trained Crown Rule (Burden Of Proof-Crown Treasure) gave no anxious moments to Stephen Pasquier as he made every post a winning one in the seven-furlong race for the Chios Handicap. The crack sprinter seems destined for the highest class. Mad About You was a creditable runner-up.

Bharath Singh’s Lougherne (China Vist-Pitlochry) created quite a furore when he won the opening event from the two fancied runners – Oscar and Speed Angel.