A large gathering of over 17,000 spectators witnessed one of the finest fillies to grace the Calcutta turf as she pocketed the Eveready Calcutta Derby Stakes and a tidy sum of Rs 80 lakh with ridiculous ease, and in the process relegated the local champion Dandified to second-best status. Padmanabhan-trained In The Spotlight was the second choice of the partisan punters who backed down Dandified to half-money, and was available at 5/2. However, the property of Captain Jamshed J Appoo gave no anxious moments to either jockey Martin Dwyer or her backers as she ran a regulation race and made the season’s piece de resistance look a pedestrian affair.

Permitting pacemaker Danube Valley a free rein from the 2,000 to the 800 marker, jockey Dwyer literally eased the daughter of Alnasr Alwasheek out of Radiate into the lead and the filly did the rest. Christopher Alford for his part rode a copybook race but found one better in the filly. He improved Dandified from the fifth slot to three lengths behind the filly at the bend but that’s where his story ended. It would not be fair to state that “Dandified did not stay”. Rather, he met a tartar in the winner – a champion filly by all rights whose next target will be the Indian Derby in the first week of February.

The supporting event, The Romantic Dancer Trophy, saw Darius Byramji-trained Araceli (Chineur-Rippling) lap up the mile trip after several unsuccessful attempts over seven furlongs. The chestnut was available at 4/1 as money poured in on Star Of Roses. However, the latter ended up an unimpressive fifth. Sexy Eyes called the early shots before Secret Reward took over. Neeraj Rawal set his mount alight near the distance post and she kicked clear to win by over five lengths.

Trainer Vinayak and rider Aadesh Kumar completed a lucrative trophy-double for their patrons (Mr RK Wadhwan and Mr Waryam Singh) with Sea Shower and Whispering Hills. The former won an absolute thriller o bag The Xisca Trophy as Aadesh had to ride his mount flat out to edge past Il Bronzino and then stave off a strong challenge from Devil In Disguise who looked menacing. The 2000 metres trip suited Sea Shower who is by Ikhtyar out of Maman Zimbie. His earlier “track trial” with the cream of milers in The Calcutta Gold Cup gave him the edge.

The lack of form of her rivals, who were backed in the ring, resulted in the filly Whispering Hills (Placerville-Maevella) make the upper division of the Abs Fabs Trophy a start-to-finish affair. Blazing Spectacle and God’s Creation were never in it while Headliner came with a late charge but fell short by three-parts of a length.

The lower division of The Abs Fabs Trophy saw Ashwa Prabir (Royal Kingdom-Fly The Fury) put his early morning work to good use as Imran Chisty had to ride him flat out to peg back the handicap-horse Divine Splendor. The favourite Heer Saleti faded out after showing some early speed.

The day started ominously for punters as all three backed runners (Ardent N Graceful, Alienation and Whistling Strait) were overhauled by Vikash Jaiswal’s Alacrity (Diffident-Aureus) who was piloted by leap-year rider Salim Khan. The favourite Ardent N Graceful has been unfortunate enough to be the victim of two poor rides by Dashrath Singh and Shailesh Shinde and deserves better.

The 10-to-4-on public choice Abubble (China Visit-Deserving Lady) was the only winner for Christopher Alford during the long-drawn afternoon. The Vijay Singh colt won untroubled from First Colours to lift The Brave Dancer Trophy.

Sunny Sue was yet another favourite to oblige. The Bharath Singh-trained filly by Ajaad out of Diamond Caves made every post of The Chianti Trophy a winning one in the hands of Shinde.

The curtain came down with Imtiaz Sait-trained Oriental Diana obliging her backers and notching up her fourth straight victory. The filly by Black Cash out of Revived Up made up a lot of ground after a tardy beginning to give jockey Parmar a win on D-day. The ante-post favourite Mesmerizer was withdrawn on veterinary grounds.