Contrary to expectations,  after a sedate start which saw Conquerable and C.Alford oblige their backers, it was thrills galore at the Calcutta mid-week races with three close finishes bringing punters to the edge of their seats and adding a feather to the new handicapper’s cap.

The Class II mile race for The Accuser Handicap saw an absolutely electrifying finish with heavy-weight jockey Mahesh riding a blinder of a race astride Manvendra Singh’s Smart Hunter to get the better of the favourite Kwan Yin and Chala Ja Bachha in the final stride. Pace-setting top-weight Vijay Monarch shot his bolt close to the distance post, which is where the public choice Kwan Yin took over, but his joy was short-lived as both Chala Ja Bachha and back-bencher Smart Hunter moved with raking strides on the wide outside, with the latter prevailing by the proverbial whisker. Wish our local lot would ride with such vigour and enthusiasm in all their races!

Visiting jockey Shrikant Kamble rode a lucrative double for trainer Arti Doctor. He opened his account with a clever ride on Queen Of The Winds in the Great Scot Plate but is certain to be hauled up by the stipes for excessive use of the crop. Kamble stuck with his mount along the rails while Treasure Island called the shots with Laverock in tow. However, after the home turn, the scenario changed considerably. Apprentice Azharuddin failed to maintain a straight course on the pace-setter and he gradually drifted out to the outer rails. Meanwhile, Kamble continued to urge his mount along the rails with the help of his whalebone and finally prevailed quite comfortably. The favourite Argalia was slow off the blocks and was never in the race. Javed Khan’s Warrior ended up a fairly good runner-up.

Kamble rode another well-judged race as he brought the curtain down with recent winner Primrose. Allowing runaway Astatki to dictate terms till the straight, Kamble and Primrose moved well at the distance post to collar the front-runner who was shortening her strides. Gorgeous finished on from the rear to fill the runner-up berth while the second favourite Sunshine Dancer finished in the ruck. He is a tough ride and the apprentice simply could not do justice to his mount in such a crowded field of eleven runners with false rails up. His run should be at best ignored.

Apprentice Azharuddin may have ridden an unenterprising race on Treasure Island, but he rode a flawless one astride Errol Bhungard-schooled Spartacus in the sole cup event of the afternoon – The Amberdue Cup. Money poured in on Massachusettes and the closing odds were Spartacus 14/10, Massachusettes 5/2. The apprentice settled his well-tuned mount in fourth slot while Stiling Veil led the six-horse field till the bend in the mile race, which is where Spartacus took over. He maintained a straight course and stretched out well to pull away from his closest rival who was heavily under pressure to finish runner-up.

Shyam Habbu served the day’s starter with Conquerable (C.Alford up). The backers of his ward were fortunate to get even-money as quite some betting came on Crafty Lady. Jockey Alford had no trouble whatsoever in picking up the opener as he followed the front-running Bilooo Badshah till the bend before running away from the field.

Alford however had to work for his rewards while astride Vijay Singh-schooled Romantic Flow in The Vanitas Handicap. Trevor Patel atop Pick Pocket tried to steal a march in the straight but Alford stuck to his task like glue and though Trevor’s  mount was drifting out in the straight, Romantic Flow was gaining on him all the time, albeit marginally. It’s a matter of conjecture whether the winner would have been awarded the race on objection had he gone down narrowly. The run of Climber was somewhat disappointing and ought to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Vikash Jaiswal’s Passionate had finished a good fourth in a race won by stablemate Eternal Instinct. He was fancied by the stable on this occasion and did not disappoint in the hands of Sandeep Rajput. Keeping a keen eye on Chhundu (who was running without blinkers), Rajput made his move as the latter went into top gear. In the final furlong, Passionate was travelling the best of all and looked a worthy winner. By riding Chhundu in check, the connections seem closer to the victory podium with their ward.