It was mixed fortunes for punters at the RCTC on Saturday as the first three races saw long shots occupy the winner’s berth while the rest of the afternoon witnessed fancied runners by and large.

The main event, The Mayor’s Cup, run over seven furlongs, saw Vijay Singh-trained Dandified backed to the exclusion of all others and close at 100-to-35-on. Supremely confident Christopher Alford permitted Crown Rule and Star Symphony to call the shots till well into the straight while he bided his time along the rails in fifth slot nearly eight lengths behind the front pair. At the turning for home, Alford improved the position of his mount slightly and made his move along the rails nearly six lengths behind. The matured six-year-old versatile sprinter knew exactly what was expected of him and at the distance post he had caught up with the front duo but the gap along the rails was fast closing. Alford remained calm and continued to ride the big fellow hands and heels, as he was well aware that his mighty mount was stronger than the two in front and would know how to make his own way. He did exactly that and was in front with 100 metres to go, and in fact eased up by Alford in the final 50 metres. Truly quite amazing!

Star Symphony, who was hanging in under the whip at 100 metres from home, would have bumped into the eventual winner had the rider not rectified his mount, but it is unlikely that the result would have been any different even if he had, as Dandified is a doughty customer with 480 kg of muscle and bone, and the man riding him knows his mount better than the back of his hand.

One race earlier, Bharath Singh-trained Shourisha (Declaration Of War-Minivet) stayed the mile trip for the Grand Annual Handicap and staved off a strong challenge from top-weight Mr Gorgeous. After collaring front runner No Looking Back, Dashrath went hell for leather and did what the latter name suggested. Dashrath rode another power-packed finish on second favourite Snow White in the last race of the day to get the better of half-money public choice Alondra. Both winners are owned by Mr Joydeep Datta Gupta.

Arti Doctor-trained Smooth As Silk won the HH Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur Memorial Cup without much fuss. The 6/4 public choice followed Super Hero till the bend before bidding adios. C.Alford on Adabella made a late attempt to get even but to no avail.

The handicapper had a field day as several of the races saw nailbiting close finishes. The opening race witnessed Sabeel Shariff-trained Rise Above get the better of Colourful Dreams with plenty of help from the saddle. Janardhan Paswan turned on the heat in the final 100 metres to prevail by half-a-length.

Totally friendless Happy Prince (Ace-Seriously Stunning) is bred to stay and he made every post of the 2000 metres race for the Astounding Handicap a winning one. At the wire however, it was a four-horse photo-finish involving True Blue, Highly Explosive and Conquerable in that order. The winner was aided by ultra-low-weight apprentice Ranidan Singh who claimed all of his 4kg allowance to ride at 46kg. It was a rare sight at this centre where most of the able apprentices are about 51kg. If he can maintain that weight, Ranidan is competent enough to pick up more winners at the lowest marks.

After running an eye-catching race in the upper category, Javed Khan-trained Grande Dame (French for Big Lady) used her size and longer strides to barge through the centre of the field and get the better of Flash and Gararo in the BK Poddar Cup. Apprentice Jorawar Singh is another lad with a bright future as he rides out his mounts hands-and-heels to the best of his ability. It would be fair to say that Grande Dame outclassed the field to fetch home the prize for owner Mr Vikram Bachawat.

Yet another close finish was witnessed in the lower division of the Work Force Handicap as Vikash JaiswaAl’s Modus Vivendi (Rajput up) edged out Manvendra’s hot favourite Astatki by the proverbial whisker. The latter will however be worth following.