The mid-week afternoon at the Calcutta racecourse started ominously for a couple of professionals but followers of Assassin (Juniper-Midsummer Romance/ Capricorn Stud) ended on a happy note as the big-boned bay colt from Patrick Quinn’s yard was given a flawless ride by visiting jockey PS Chouhan to lift The S Rahamathulla Memorial Cup effortlessly, without giving any jitters to his backers. He was available at 11/10. Tracking Alcander and Monsieur Strauss till the top of the straight, the top-weight had no trouble at all in collaring them in the straight.

Jockey Christopher Alford had the misfortune of being kicked on the foot by a horse in the morning and may have suffered a hairline fracture. Shailesh Shinde thus capitalised on a chance ride atop Spartacus. As for Md Javed, he suffered a fall in the opening race won by Temple Run. His mount Secret Blast clipped the heels of My Boy Lollipop and down came Javed near the railing side. He is currently in a leading city nursing home in critical condition.

The afternoon commenced with Oakwoods closing as the 6/4 favourite for the Green Sari Handicap. But it was Manvendra Singh’s Temple Run (Burden Of Proof – Cats Affair/ Kunigal Stud) which made every  post a winning one in the hands of top-weight jockey B Mahesh. Secret Blast dropped the apprentice rider. The favourite finished a faraway third.

Jockey Shailesh Shinde capitalised on a chance ride astride Errol Bhungard’s Spartacus (Danehill Star –Rivolitta/ Galloping Acres Stud) after C. Alford was declared unfit to ride. Following pacemaker Happy Prince till the turning for home, Spartacus sailed away for his third triumph of the season. The youngsters Queen Of The Winds and the favourite Sugar Sweet were both unimpressive.

Arti Doctor-trained Daddy Cool used apprentice Nikhil Bhujbal to good effect to pull off a narrow win in the upper division of the Dorania Handicap. The six-year-old by Dark Nile out of Everlasting Love staved off a strong challenge from Bond Girl while Skyway ended up a close third.

The lower division of the same race saw Jasbir Singh-trained Shivalik Shakti (Rebuttal – Sopran Cinni/ Hazara Stud) come up trumps while Bharath Singh’s Impression was a good runner-up. Tracking front-runners Silken Senorita and Snow Ball till well into the straight, Shivalik Shakti and Mohit Singh moved down the centre while Legends Order made his move on the wide outside and Impression along the inside. It was a closely contested affair.

Javed  Khan-trained Xipen (New Famous-Xray/ Yeravada Stud) was handled competently by apprentice Jrawar Singh to notch up a worthy maiden win. Lying a handy third while Argalia and Wonder Like You called the shots, Xipen quickly took up position on the outside after heads turned for home. A couple of cracks was all it took for the filly to sail ahead.

The curtain came down with the favourite Scartella taking a backseat. Gracing the wrong end of the field for most part while Goliath set a cracking pace, jockey Shailesh Shinde brought Javed Khan-trained Copernicus ( Mathematician – Heroine’s Beauty/ Sans Craintes Stud) with a thunderous gallop on the wide outside to win as he liked.