It was mixed fortunes for punters at the Calcutta racecourse on Tuesday, but by and large, followers of money ended up on the plus side as barring the friendless Star Wager, well-backed horses (even if not favourites) were the order of the day.

The star of the afternoon as far as race goers were concerned was the indomitable Imran Chisty whose power-packed finishes resulted in both Amaretto and Passion N Flames seeing the winning post. The main event, The AQ Qidwai Memorial Cup, turned out to be a highly strategical race with a surprise package in the form of the top-weight River Star from Patrick Quinn’s yard. Shouldering a massive 65kg, the last named shot into an useful lead with Bangalore top-weight rider Harish astride. Meanwhile Chisty on Amaretto (drawn 2), ensured that Accurate (drawn 1) did not get the rails after the jump out. The latter dropped out to race dead last but finished on in the straight to be a fairly decent third.

Amaretto (major Impact-Romantic Heights)  was settled in mid-division by his experienced rider and made his run in the straight to edge out the front-runner. Thus, the Arti Docto ward completed a hat-trick at this centre. Though Poles Apart was a shade better at weights, the winner’s jockey was at least 10 kg superior. It is a well-known fact that poor horsemanship is the bane of this centre. The GM Racing laments the fact that despite the jockey coach having put in a lot of effort, the standard of horsemanship leaves a lot to be desired. But as they say – “one has to make do with whatever is available to them”.

Earlier, Chisty had piloted Patrick Quinn-trained Passion N Flames (Royal Kingdom-Tantalising) to a great victory in the Arendal Handicap. The favourably placed Melody Belle appeared to have the 1800 metres race in her sight at the top of the straight but Chisty’s relentless pressure on the top-weight gained the day.

Positioning is an integral part of good horsemanship and Shailesh Shinde on Hurricane Andrew was never in position to make his run despite having the chance to do so in the early part of the race. The odds of the ante-post favourite expanded to 5/2 as a lot of money came on Tin Tin (Noverre-Taniyana). Not surprisingly, despite a lethargic start in his maiden outing, it was Tin Tin (Parmar up) on the outside of Hurricane Andrew, who did not permit the latter a free run in the straight.

Shinde however did not let down his followers in the opening event astride Don Magnifico (Mull Of Kintyre – Mrs Mooney) whose odds rather surprisingly expanded to 4/1 as there was considerable betting on China Town and Break The Habit. The Daniel David ward won start-to-finish without much ado.

David completed his brace in the very next race when his Sea Of Kisses (China Visit-Stolen Kisses) was piloted with perfect timing by Sreekanth who had the six-year-old racing last till the turning for home. Stupid Cupid called the shots till the distance post and was challenged strongly by the course favourite Romantic Sunset who very nearly defied a 10 kg penalty. Sea Of Kisses had to battle it out with the duo up front till 50 metres from home before pulling away.

The afternoon’s biggest upset was Bharath Singh-trained Star Wager (Ikhtyar-House On The Hill) who pegged back ownermate Ocean Fairy (from the RKW yard), close home. The favourite Ocean Way failed to match strides with Ocean Fairy while the other fancied runner Petaloid was yet another case of poor jockeyship.

The curtain came down with Javed Khan-trained Stand Apart (Gaswar-Here She Comes) putting up a flawless performance and running away with the Wise Guy Handicap.