A summary of the just concluded Calcutta winter meeting immediately brings to mind the pair of protagonists who stole the thunder. They are the colt Quasar, who won the two major classics from as many starts and champion jockey Kamlesh who proved to be amazingly consistent throughout the five-month long season.

Mallesh Narredu-trained Quasar, a colt bred at Hazara Stud, by Seeking The Dia out of Belle Jour, came to this centre after his Pune Derby success and was installed as the firm favourite for the Calcutta 2000 Guineas. Jockey Suraj Narredu rode a calm and collected race as he allowed the colt to settle in fourth slot while Torch Bearer called the shots with Confidence and Acrider in close attendance. As the field swung into the straight, Suraj set his mount alight with a couple of cracks and then rode him out hands and heels to land the spoils easier than verdict.

 Trainer Mallesh Narredu was extremely happy with the colt’s performance as he had very little time to acclimatise himself to the local conditions and yet came out on top. Speaking to indiarace.com, Mallesh said confidently; “Quasar will relish the Derby distance at this centre and I can tell you now that none will touch him over a mile and half”. In retrospect, it would be fair to say that not only had Mallesh assessed the opposition well but also that his confidence in his colt has been vindicated.

About a month later, a colourful crowd of 17,000 plus spectators were witness to a thrilling finish in The Calcutta Eveready Derby Stakes on a cool and misty Sunday afternoon as Quasar  pipped the favourite Tiger Tops close home and pocketed the winner’s purse of nearly Rs 1.24 crore. Jockey Suraj Narredu timed his run to perfection in the straight as he kept his main rival in his sights throughout the mile-and-half classic before pouncing on his prey –- the tables were suddenly turned for this ‘Tiger’.

Romantic Flow set a scorching pace, followed by Torch Bearer and Tiger Tops who were keeping up with the pace about five lengths behind. A little further back were Acrider and Quasar, while the rest followed with Confidence bringing up the rear. The order remained more or less the same till David Allan decided to play catch-me-if-you-can and shot his mount Torch Bearer ahead at the 800 marker. Taking the cue Zervan too decided to make his move atop the ‘Tiger’. Perhaps, he did not reckon with the quickfire acceleration of Quasar who was at her flank in a trice just after the turning for home. Thereafter, the whips started to flash with the colt edging ahead slowly but surely. At the wire, he spared three-parts of a length to the filly. The property of Mr Jaidev Mody thus proved that his win in the Pune Derby was no flash in the pan and further corroborated the words of his mentor who was confident that the chestnut will lap up the extra 400 metres on D-Day.

There is an interesting anecdote about Quasar that not many may be aware of. He was in fact purchased by default as the connections had initially selected two other colts from Hazara, which were sold off elsewhere. Hence, they opted for Quasar and the rest as they say could very well turn out to be history in the making – The Pune Derby, Calcutta 2000 Guineas, The Calcutta Derby and Invitation Cup are already in his kitty.

Retained by the Arti Doctor stable which finished third with thirty odd winners, jockey Kamlesh did immensely well to get the better of former champ Christopher Alford on his own turf. By maintaining a body-weight of about 50kg, Kamlesh was able to get rides atop more potential winners than his nearest adversary. Some of his more memorable rides during the season were Smooth As Silk in The Metropolitan, Confidence in The Republic Cup and Beyond Expectation in The String Of Pearls Cup.

Trainer Vijay Singh was in his element right through the season and bagged the trainers’ championship by a street. While his filly Fly Like The Wind picked up two classics (The 1000 Guineas and St Leger), his best youngster was undoubtedly Multitude (Multidimensional-Haedi), who gave The Calcutta Million a bye to take a tilt at The Poonawalla Million. Vijay’s stable had the misfortune of suffering a major setback in the month of March when its chief patron Mr Deepak Khaitan passed away at an early age. Then came the rather timely retirement of his prized possession Dandified. However, Acrider provided him another notable success when he won the Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

The horse that took all and sundry by surprise was ofcourse the five-year-old mare Agatta. Her phenomenal improvement during the course of the season led to four triumphs (three of these in Class I), which fetched her ‘The Horse Of The Season’ tag. Her current trainer Farley Rodrigues arrived on the scene late as he was under suspension in the first half of the season. During his absence, she was under the care of Patrick Quinn. The mare by Ikhtyar out of Jalapeno appears to relish seven furlongs and a mile.

As far as the management is concerned, racing was conducted pretty smoothly throughout the length of the season, with the relatively new handicapper doing a steady and diligent job. He may have erred now and then but then which professional hasn’t. A thorough professional acknowledges his shortcomings and takes remedial measures. As there have been more than usual number of fallers this season, the clerk-of-the-course has been rather unhappy about the track and has promised to patch it and better it before the commencement of the next winter meet in November. The young Calcutta commentator, Anit Casyab, has been a livewire in the commentator’s box and his powerful commentary has drawn praise from all corners of the country where inter-venue races are conducted.