It was vintage Christopher Alford at the Calcutta racecourse on Wednesday as he registered a superb hat-trick, commencing with Azorian  (9/4) and ending with Unleashed (12/10). In between, he piloted Aletris (7/1) to a three-length triumph over course favourite Head Hunter. All three winners were in the red-and-gold colours of Mr Deepak Khaitan.

The main event, The Alternator Cup, saw two horses in the betting – Bharath Singh’s Camacho and Darius Byramji’s Unleashed (Warrshan-Santarelle). But it was the surprise package Arktouros who led all the way till the last couple of strides. Camacho retired from the fray at the top of the  straight as he found the front-runner’s pace a little too scorching for his liking. C.Alford on the favourite had to pull out all stops in the final furlong to get the better of his owner-mate close home.

Alford’s first winner, Vijay Singh-trained Azorian (Cool Creek-Tololing), was a regulation victory. What was good news for his backers was that his odds expanded to 9/4 from 12/10 as money poured in on Do Your Best.

The Vijay-Christopher combo continued their good work into the next race,  The Alarico Handicap, as Aletris (Inhabitant-Green crystal) pulled off a great victory over three-year-old Head Hunter. The latter’s third in the Juvenile Sprint may have prompted the majority to back him but unfortunately, racing does not always work out so mechanically. After all, horses are flesh and blood with muscles – not to mention a heart and soul. Sometimes, a little courage can go a long way and that is what Aletris showed after being taken wide by the favourite. Head Hunter is still a maiden but his time has come to hoist a winning flag if placed judiciously. This run will bring him on considerably.

The Aazish Handicap had a story to tell. The colt Aaronic was being touted as a good thing based on nothing but stable information that leaks out at the morning trackwork. Such hype is nothing but tripe. There can be no substitute for a hard-working, meticulous form-worker. Money also came on Iconic, resulting in the odds of Royal Scots (Mull Of Kintyre-New Europe) expanding to 6/1. Vinay Jaiswal (on the last named) went all over the country with the Bharath Singh ward and took the bend seven wide, but yet spared almost five lengths to the runner-up Iconic. Ironically, both the winner and runner-up were having their first outing after being gelded and both finished ahead of the favourite. What does that prove? Nothing much except that one has to have a flexible outlook on ‘racing theories’ formulated over the years.

The Bharath Singh-Vinay Jaiswal combination proved to be a fruitful one as the well gambled Star Of Venus (Placerville-Free Radical) made every post of the Pendragon Handicap a winning one. The property of Mr Rakesh Kumar Wadhwan is a recent import from Mumbai and was backed down to 4/1 from 8/1 The other sprinters were no match for her. Stablemate Oakdale was a poor second while top-weight Batista plodded on to finish third.

Kishore Kadam on Deepak Karki-trained Thrice Blessed (Major Impact-Three For Fantasy) took a good jump-out to head the field and stayed there all the way. The filly’s class is a better than the lot that was pitted against her and the scurry proved to be within her ambit. Saddle Chief finished an unimpressive fourth and may have wanted a little more ground. The favourite Evening Mist may find it difficult to beat horses which have come down from a higher category.

Vikash Jaiswal’s Alicante (Senure-Red Alert)  notched up her second win of the season in the hands of A Imran Khan. Good One’s pull in weights was not sufficient to allow him to hit the front and he finished a tame second. Rithambhra’s  poor gate manners seems to have ended her career as far as punters are concerned. It’s a little too risky to take a chance on her.