Saturday, by and large, proved to be a fruitful afternoon for punters at RCTC as several well-backed runners found the winner’s enclosure. It was also a happy day for followers and fans of Christopher Alford as he notched up a well-deserved treble. But perhaps, the afternoon will be most memorable for an apprentice named Md Javed who scored a back-to-back double with two neglected runners in both divisions of The Tubal Cain Handicap. The other notable happening of the afternoon was the thunderous return to form of the Calcutta Million winner Captain Courageous.

But first things first, let us discuss the win of the indomitable Dandified in the Mayfowl Cup, run over seven furlongs. The Vijay Singh ward was undoubtedly in a favourable position by the terms of the race and his win in the hands of his trusted knight Christopher Alford was far easier than verdict. Stablemate Aerator set a good pace with Star Empire and Malpensa in tow. Dandified was tucked in along the rails, a close last in a field of five. As the heads turned for home, Christopher Alford found a dream opening between the stablemate and Star Empire with Malpensa making his run on the outside. Though the final verdict was only three-parts of a length, it would be fair to state that Alford never really needed to go flat out with his wonder-horse who thus notched up his fifth win on the trot.

Far more spectacular was the victory of Daniel David’s Captain Courageous (Captain Marvelous-Vade Retro) who had a dismal monsoon where he went down to Argiano twice. After his gross debacle in the Colts Trial, much maligned jockey Franco Da Silva had suggested the use of a tongue strap, and the use of that very equipment on this occasion, may have in fact lent a helping hand to the dark bay in recovering his lost form. The colt was a transformed runner on the winter track as he displayed a wonderful turn of foot between the 400 marker and distance post to sail past the field in a trice. After timing 11 seconds flat over that furlong, he was simply cruising. He won by a widening margin of over eight lengths and threw down the gauntlet once again to outstation challengers for the local classics.

A knowledgeable owner and punter asked this correspondent after that awesome display whether he would get the Derby trip. While his mentor would undoubtedly be the best man to answer that question, in the humble opinion of this correspondent, it would be fair to state that after this superb show, a mile-and-quarter would be very much within his compass while a mile-and-half may depend on the quality of opposition pitted against him and his improvement in stamina between now and then (Derby Day). All said and done, the handsome colt will undoubtedly be a force to reckon with in the classics to follow.

C.Alford’s first winner of the long afternoon was a hard-fought victory atop top-weight Ace Of Base in the curtain-raiser. B. Sreekanth astride Phy’eau Liang did his best to switch tracks to the inside after his mount had lost position mid-way through the race, but alas, he fell short by a wee bit. The public fancy La Dominique showed early speed and may need to drop a little in handicap to pull it off. Shafiq Khan’s Pretty Woman was Alford’s next winner of the day in the season’s first race for two-year-olds. She won the Dark Legend Plate start-to-finish quite easily.

Apprentice Md Javed caused quite a sensation with front-running Isle Of Capri and drove the nail in for followers of money when he used his 4kg allowance to great effect atop In The Twilight. The filly drifted to the outer rails but the apprentice did the smart thing by letting her take her course and riding her flat out. The Richard Alford filly eventually spared a neck to Alarbus. Richard completed a brace when Shailesh Shinde guided heavily gambled Gentle Knowledge to a facile victory in the last race of the day, the lower division of the Belligerent Handicap. It was reduced to a one-horse race in the straight. The upper division of the same race saw Arti Doctor’s Gallop To Glory given a flawless ride by PS Chouhan to get the better of Sokudo. Much fancied Macedonian may have fared better with an apprentice who has the use of a whalebone though Munna Alam did his best by opting for the shortest route home.

The upper division of the Rimpuche Handicap witnessed the closest finish of the day as Bharath Singh-trained Flying Boy and Impressive Glory crossed the wire locked together. The former got the nod by a nose much to the delight of jockey MF Ali Khan. The lower division of the same race saw Bharath’s Astaire (Burden Of Proof-Rhapsody In Blue) win as he like in the hands of Sandesh. Best of the rest was Self Directed.