The RCTC Calcutta Cold Weather Season which ended on Saturday proved to be a highly successful one in every-which way you look at it – quality racing wise or financially for the Club. While the classics and ‘terms’ races did provide some spectacular results, the handicap events saw a spate of close finishes, thanks partly to the outgoing handicapper HA Virani whose professional exploits will undoubtedly be missed by the local turfites.

New Year’s Day and Derby Day have always played a pivotal role during the Calcutta Cold Weather Season and this year was no different. The Eveready Calcutta Derby Stakes has been a high profile ‘must attend’ event for socialites of this city for some time now. With the current cold weather playing its part, this year’s Derby witnessed one of the largest gatherings seen at the Kolkata racecourse.

There was a gradual build-up of nerve-tingling excitement in the air at the racecourse as the ‘moment of reckoning’ drew closer. Whether they were veterans of the sport or first-time visitors, the thought of witnessing thoroughbred history being made right in front of their eyes had the adrenalin flowing.  Novices were desperate to get the ‘right tip’ for the big race, while ‘oldtimers’ were wise to the fact that Derbies are best only for observing and not wagering.

As the ten Derby contenders paraded with their jockeys in colourful silks, visitors jostled for a better view of the mile-and-half classic. Though looking an absolute picture in the paddock, Snowdrift was third in demand in the ring, after the pair of Dr Vijay Mallya runners – Charlatan and Arabian Warrior. The sight of the liquor baron with his entourage at the RCTC paddock after several years, sent punters in a tizzy, as their confidence was bolstered by his larger-than-life presence. They were weighing which of his two runners to try their luck on. However, Snowdrift’s incredible stretch run that fetched him a place in history, had all and sundry applauding even before the winning post. His build-up to the Derby had been a little unconventional with the gelding finishing third in the 2000 Guineas before lifting the prestigious Calcutta Gold Cup.

The  winner’s purse of Rs 1.12 crore, was pocketed by the 5/1 shot Snowdrift (Multidimensional-Snow Tiger) in no uncertain manner as this half-brother to the late Snowscape brought back memories of last year’s Derby. With five of the ten runners, the Khaitan stable was expected to provide the pacemakers and that is exactly what happened, as first Exclusive Colours and then Argiano set a scorching pace with the Bangalore challenger Arabian Warrior (Louis Beuzelin up) lying fifth. The eventual winner Snowdrift was lying behind the Bangalore challenger, while the favourite Charlatan (Trevor up) was in the second last slot. Things hotted up near the 600 marker as the wily Christopher Alford went past Arabian Warrior and then squeezed a passage near the rails to be at the heels of Argiano. Meanwhile Trevor had taken Charlatan to the wide outside while Beuzelin was pushing his mount to stay with the pace along the rails.

As heads turned for home, the script changed drastically as Snowdrift appeared to have found a ‘supercharger’ switch while the others were all struggling. The gelding by Multidimensional out of Snow Tiger simply floored the opposition and drew away from the field. ‘Toying with the opposition’ was the phrase used by the centre’s upcoming star commentator Anit Casyab whose flawless calling of this blue riband of the turf, despite five red-and-golds in the field,  made it even more exciting.

Christopher Alford shot up from the saddle and gestured triumphantly to those in the member’s stand as he crossed the winning line atop Snowdrift, a good six-and-half lengths clear of the runner-up. It was yet another fairy-tale ending for the Vijay Singh stable after their success story with his half-brother Snowscape last year. Both colts are out of the dam Snow Tiger.

Snowdrift stopped the clock at a smart timing of 2min 29.454 sec. Oaks winner Artesia was a poor second 6.5 lengths behind with Arabian Warrior a further 1.75 lengths adrift. The accolades came aplenty and the rest was history. That the champion youngster of this centre finished well off the board at the weather-disrupted Invitation Cup at Hyderabad is another story altogether.

Derby Day well and truly belonged to the red-and-gold brigade of Mr Deepak Khaitan (Chairman of RCTC) as he led in four winners – all trained by Vijay Singh. Three of these were piloted by  Christopher Alford and the other (Mr Gorgeous) by Sandesh.

For Jaggi Dhariwal, the trainer of Arabian Warrior, there was some consolation in store, as RCTC honoured him with a memento for his 2000^th winner during the last Bangalore Summer meet.

While Derby Day at this centre was indeed a memorable one, rather unfortunately, New Year’s Day may be recalled for all the wrong reasons this year. It is often said that New Year’s Day in the City Of Joy begins at the racecourse. It is the day when the who’s who of the city get together to exchange pleasantries and socialize in a relaxed atmosphere after late night parties. With about 20,000 people in attendance, it promised to be a grand show as the curtain went up for the opening event at noon.

What followed next was however totally outside the New Year’s Day script. As the field of nine turned the final hairpin bend into the home straight, about thirty odd people sprung up from nowhere and charged towards the galloping runners. As racegoers gasped in disbelief, the jockeys reacted with great alacrity to avoid what could have been a disaster. Fortunately, there were no apprentice riders in the field and senior pros like Chisty, Alford, Da Silva and Rawal had to bring all their experience into play to rein in their mounts and the field slowed down to a crawl. The irony of it was that the half-money public choice in the mile race was Aviette and she was badly slow off. But, and it’s a big but (with a single t), she went on to become the ‘Horse of the Season’ with subsequent five victories on the trot. Thus, showcasing once again the glorious uncertainties of this wonderful sport.

It was an unprecedented incident in the city’s long and rich horse-racing history and one shuddered to think what could have happened had any of the horses collided with the protesters who were mainly rebel syces instigated by an ‘outsider’ who is keen to form a ‘fourth’ union – RCTC already has three recognised unions.

Local police reinforcements were promptly called in, as well as military police, and several of the miscreants were arrested. It was business as usual thereafter. In fact, late newcomers were not even aware of the incident which delayed the start of the second race by a good 45 minutes.

The rest of the card turned out to be a boon for trainer Patrick Quinn and his brother-in-law Vijay Singh who notched up a brace each. Trainer Bharath Singh would have returned empty handed had Astaire not picked up the last race of the day.

The Kunigal Stud Indian Produce Stakes saw Patrick Quinn-trained Meet The Legend (Win Legend-Annakita) make every post a winning one in the hands of Suraj Narredu. Sage Valley was the rage of the ring but she failed to impress. In fact, it was Running Thunder who ran on to occupy the runner-up berth and caught the eye. Later in the season, the latter was to close as the favourite in the Calcutta Million, the flagship event of the season in so far as three-year-olds are concerned.

Sporting owner Joydeep Datta Gupta made his mark at this centre year before last when his filly Silverina won The Monsoon Derby at long odds. This season too, another Bharath Singh-trained filly (Sunshine Girl) shocked all and sundry when she won the Calcutta Million in a close finish from the course favourite Running Thunder.

It was yet another triumph for a Multidimensional progeny in a graded race. Sired by this freshman sire (who has already carved out a niche for himself) out of Prevalence, jockey Sandesh gave the filly plenty of extra ground to cover to avoid traffic problems. But the compactly built bay did not disappoint as she raised an astounding gallop once shown daylight, even after being taken eight wide from an inside draw. Incidentally, Prevalence had been known to stay well and Ave Maria, a progeny of her who raced at Hyderabad was comfortable over 2200 metres. So, the connections of Sunshine Girl can definitely hope for greater things from her.

On the negative side of the long season, we witnessed the suspensions of top-category trainers Javed Khan and Daniel David for using banned substances. Khan’s suspension period was subsequently curtailed by the Appeals Board and we saw him in action in the last two months of the season.

While champion jockey Christopher Alford was well clear of his rivals in the jockeys’ table, some of the other riders who impressed were Shailesh Shinde and apprentices Azharuddin and Md Javed. But jockey coach Philip Alford was not one to get carried away as he commented matter-of-factly ; ‘One can only judge how good these apprentices are after they shed their allowances’. Well, one can only wait and see.

The winter track ran true and fast throughout the five-month season it was evident that some of the more regular visiting riders like Trevor and Sandesh were getting accustomed to the notorious final hairpin bend as well.

Thus, at the end of the day, it can be summed up in a nutshell that the season was a highly successful one for all concerned, especially those professionals who were focussed on their job and loathe to using any unfair means. Kudos to all those who kept the RCTC flag flying high!