Surprisingly neglected in the ring and available at 5/1, nine-year-old Arktouros and his long time ‘friend’ Christopher Alford showed that in a terms race over a mile, they are still a formidable pair. The duo surprised spectators in the Super Mile last year and on Saturday pulled off a magnificent triumph in the Elusive Pimpernel Cup. First to jump out, the Vijay Singh ward was held in check by Alford while stablemate Andreus was permitted to go on a start-to-finish jaunt.

The course favourite Malpensa was travelling well in the fourth slot, perhaps waiting for the Khaitan duo to either fizzle out or wear each other out. In actual fact, it was neither of these scenarios after the turning for home. Alford asked his mount for an effort and he stretched out well to edge past the front-runner. Though the grey Malpensa was seen making his move on the outside, he was heavily under Dashrath’s whip and not making sufficient impression. When Alford realised the race was in the bag 50 metres from home, he had already eased up his mount and patting him on the crest. Well done my boy, indeed ! The notable runner was Andreus who was obviously running according to a stable strategy and will be worth keeping an eye on for the future.

Apprentice Azharuddin has been going from strength to strength but pocketing a cup-double in the first two races of the day may have been a trifle difficult to foresee even for his band of followers. But the youngster did extremely well to successfully guide both his mounts to victory. In the curtain-raiser, The INS Hooghly Cup, the withdrawal of Cee Four did not leave Brangelina much of an opposition. The on-money favourite Carnival Point is over-rated and needs more time. The Bath-trained filly was taken on a start-to-finish mission by the young apprentice and given a free rein in the straight. She did not disappoint as she pulled away from the field after only a single reminder in the straight while the others were heavily under the whip.

In the very next event, Azharuddin rode a grand finish atop Grande Dame as he chose the shortest route home while the course favourite Wild Card was making his move on the outside of front-running Monsieur Strauss. A good jockey must not only know the strength of his own mount but also be able to assess how the race might be run. The front-runner is known to veer away from the rails in the straight and though jockey Ashish did a good job of trying to hold on to as straight a path as possible, Azharuddin was obviously aware a gap would materialise along the rails and though it was not very wide, it was sufficient to squeeze through for his mount. He used the whalebole successfully in the left hand to ward off a persistent Wild Card in the final furlong.

After repeated failures over all kinds of distances with all kinds of riders, Vikash Jaiswal-trained Dance In China was finally placed over his correct distance of a mile in the hands of a good rider – D. Ashish, and he did not disappoint. Ashish had him in check in third slot while Promissory Note  and My Boy Lollipop raced ahead. As they came into the straight, Dance His China responded to his rider’s call and went ahead for a comfortable victory from late finishing course favourite Saddle Chief.

Trainer Bharath Singh and jockey Dashrath Singh combined well to pull off a double for owner Dilip Thomas with Arbroath and Sage Valley. While the former had to stave off a strong challenge from Burst Of Stardust in The Mauritius Belle Handicap to win by a whisker, the latter won The Little Lady Handicap effortlessly from second favourite Primrose to bring the curtain down.