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ARTESIA, C.ALFORD CASH IN ON TREVOR’S ERROR

By Epsom Ace | 21 Dec 2013 | KOLKATA


Mr D Khaitan & trainer Manvendra Singh leading Artesia (C Alford Up), winner of The Calcutta Oaks (Gr.3)

He obviously knows the Calcutta hairpin better than any of his rivals and on this occasion had done his homework well too. Given half-a-chance, he delivers on the local track if the stage is otherwise level. We are ofcourse talking of Christopher Alford, the retained rider of the red-and-gold stable of Mr Deepak Khaitan.

The Calcutta Oaks, run on Saturday, saw Christopher at his opportunistic best as he brought the filly Artesia (Multidimensional-Trois Etoiles) with a thunderous rails run after Trevor Patel on the favourite made the cardinal mistake of shifting away from the rails at a crucial juncture and Alford grabbed the opening gleefully. What was amazing was Alford’s presence of mind and brilliant anticipation. It was almost as if he ‘knew’ that Trevor’s inexperience will weigh on him and make him opt for the safer outside route. More so, since he was carrying the public purse.

Trevor would have yet gained the day, had not Lantana Lady cut him off near the distance post, which left the lad no option but to make his home run five wide. By then C.Alford had already stolen a march and despite Striking moving up with raking strides in the final furlong, the short Calcutta straight ensured victory for Manvendra Singh’s ward - this being the promising trainer’s first classic.

None of this however takes away anything from the superb performance of the winner Artesia who had finished two lengths behind Striking in the 1000 Guineas. On this day, owner-mate Fervent Quest set the pace till about the 600 marker before the drama described above unfolded.

Trainer Jasbir Singh and his retained rider Mohit Singh started the afternoon with a bang as their 5/1 shot Songstress met the demoted class with utter disdain despite her crushing impost. Dance In China and Grey Meteor occupied the minor berths. Mohit had the five-year-old mare racing along the rails till the bend while Ambicka called the shots and then slipped her through along the rails before drawing away.

Vijay Singh-trained Ademaro gave Christopher Alford an armchair ride in the San Pareil Handicap. The three-year-old colt by Ace out of Lady One stayed the mile-and-quarter trip rather well and won by a distance after collaring owner-mate and pace-setter Ace Elegance. The performance of second favourite Chalaque was below par.

Like Ademaro, Vijay’s preparation of Clear Opportunity (Opportunist-Sparkling Clear) was impeccable and she won effortlessly from end to end in C.Alford’s hands. Stablemate Mr Gorgeous and Shourisha were both impressive as well.

Trainer Patrick Quinn lifted the TN Banerjea Cup with his on-money public choice Assassin without much ado. The colt collared the top-weight Hurricane Star without raising a sweat and pulled away from Sunny Sue who will be better off after this prominent outing.

The most impressive winner of the afternoon was Arti Doctor’s Antara who shouldered a bone-crushing 61kg to victory from an outside draw over a mile race for the Classic Sky Handicap.  Jockey Sandesh rode an absolute peach of a race as he nursed his mount in mid-division while Marauder set a good pace with the favourite Exclusive Colours in the box seat. Just as the latter was making his move at the top of the straight, Sandesh brought his mount with quickfire acceleration to make it a one-horse race. The filly is likely to win again in the near future.

The seven-furlong race for the RWITC Cup saw Kishore Kadam at his best as he pulled off an unlikely victory with Su Chaliyo, slipping his mount through along the rails after Sandesh and Batista had threatened to steal a march. The winner was with suspended trainer Javed Khan and is currently under the care of Deepak Karki. The favourite for the race, River Blitz, was never in it.

Bharath Singh-trained Snow White (Gaswar-Dancing Flame) brought the curtain down with an easier-than-verdict win over Essenza in the sprint for the Miss X O Lence Handicap.  It was visiting jockey Dasrath Singh’s sole winner of the day.