It was memorable afternoon for Bharath Singh-trained Silverina (China Visit-Silver Print) and her proud owner Mr Jaydeep Datta Gupta. Her paddock looks were far superior to her turn out in the Guineas a month earlier and she carried the confidence of her connections to glory on this afternoon. With experienced Suraj Narredu in the saddle, Silverina bagged the Calcutta Oaks in breathtaking style after brushing aside the outstation challengers with utter disdain.

The disappointment in the race was the total debacle of the joint favourite Angel Child, whose problem seems more psychological than physical. Apparently, she has a mental block at the 2200 metres marker as she is bent on returning to the stables. Well, after all, she is a female, and one just has to forgive her mood swings and tantrums. She refused to gallop after the 2200 marker and it was only Trevor’s whip which made her complete the course double-distance behind the others. The stable has decided to send her back to western India along with stablemate Koh Samui. The public choice Chase The Sun was a fairly good runner-up (though over five lengths behind) and will be better for this run.

The afternoon commenced with Patrick Quinn-trained Franenstein pulling off a fine maiden triumph over a mile-and-quarter in visiting jockey Dashrath Singh’s hands. Sired by Placerville, the three-year-old gelding is out of the dam Lecce who has a notable record in France over distances ranging from 2000 to 2600 metres. Quinn’s placement was spot on after a mile outing fourth and he quite easily accounted for Classical Romance.

There were several long shots during the afternoon, the first of them being Arti Doctor-trained Bayberry (Warrshan-Mulberry), who was expertly handled by Kamlesh. The mare has a certain style of running when she goes all out to win and Kamlesh followed instructions to a T to get the best out of her and sink the on-money public choice Secret Romance. The winner was 9.5 kg better than the favourite from their last clash where she had met with severe interference.

The withdrawal of ante-post favourite Audrick did not affect the odds of In The Twilight (Ivory Touch-Pelegrino) that much as she was still available at 2/1, thanks to money coming on Marina Bay and Grey Meteor. Both hopefuls ran forward races but were no match for the winner who was piloted flawlessly by Shailesh Shinde. After lying a handy third, the Richard Alford-trained filly was a given a free rein from the top of the straight and she romped home well clear of Marina Bay.

After running a couple of impressive races in the upper class, Errol Bhungard-trained Apical Finala (Kadam up) had no problem in picking up The Grand Madame Handicap in the lowest class despite an outside draw in a 14-horse field. The three-year-old by Crown Jewels out Justice For Al carried his top-weight to victory after a keen tussle with Piaffe, while Tennessee Waltz finished a flying third. The disappointment in the race was the favourite Avision who ran like a dud – yet another conspicuous failure from the Vijay Singh yard as C.Alford was declared to ride him.

Vijay Singh and Christopher Alford made amends for the debacle of the earlier favourite with a thumping victory in The TN Banerjea Cup. Their Abubble (China Visit-Deserving Lady) notched up his second victory of the season, quite easily accounting for the front-running on-money public choice Enchanted Forest  who dropped out to finish dead last. Schwarzenegger would have been nearer at the finish had he not lost about six lengths at the start.

Shafiq Khan-trained Arrow In Auto Mode (Razeen-Aglitter) lifted the RWITC Cup with a degree of comfort though the trip was a trifle sharp for him. With a host of speedy front-runners fighting for the lead, Parmar did well to sit tight atop the 20/1 shot till the turning for home. When he switched on the throttle, there was no stopping the ‘Arrow’. The favourite Sunday Storm was a tame second but not disgraced.

Arti Doctor-trained Divine Symphony (Major Impact-Sunsinar) brought the curtain down with the day’s last outsider. She won a nerve-wracking finish with Raffles while the even-money favourite Stuntacular was a fair third. As he has shown a penchant for a longer trip, he may be worth a wager when placed over an extended course.