Trainer Robert Gowli seems firmly riveted to the driver’s seat in the race for the Calcutta Trainers’ Championship as he followed up his quality quartet of Saturday with a fabulous five on Wednesday. His mid-week success was entirely due to the runners of the distinguished Khaitan family which are currently under his care. To his credit, all of them were turned out in the pink of health and at peak fitness level. Thus, the opposition were simply swept aside by the red-and-gold cascade. Two of the winners were piloted by Christopher Alford while Shailesh Shinde (who seems headed for the Jockeys’ Championship) booted home the other three.

The day’s main event, The Tangiers Cup, saw Evesham and Shailesh Shinde take the bend six wide and yet produce a scintillating gallop in the straight to sail past Santos who was the 5/2 closing favourite. Jockey Trevor Patel atop the latter rode a good race, in that he allowed King Kong to call the shots till just before the distance post and then took over the running smoothly. They obviously did not take into account the phenomenal acceleration of Evesham (Tariq-Everybody Counts/ Equus Stud) who thus notched up his third win of the season.

One race earlier, Christopher Alford rode a good tactical race astride Romantic Flow (Steinbeck-Romantic Liaison/ Usha Stud) to peg back the challenge of a fast finishing Shourisha in The Vagabond Cup. Alford took his mount to the front from the word go and kept him there all the way. After a breather before the turn, he gradually eased the throttle and put his foot on the pedal from the distance post to hold on by a neck.

Robert Gowli started the ball rolling with the filly Real Presence (China Visit- Real Excellence/ Usha Stud) who produced an encore in the hands of Shailesh to bag The mile race for The Wise Guy Handicap. She was available at cramped odds and justified the favouritism with a winning gallop down the straight after following Highly Explosive till the bend.

The next to go past the winning post was maiden winner Adzukis (Arazan-Aemilia/Poona) who too won as he liked from the top-weight Wahaca. C. Alford was in fact looking over his shoulder and easing his mount in the final 50 metres.

Late starter Arminius, now a four-year-old by Hard Spun out of Guy Grands Girl, made every post a winning one in the sprint for the Active Asset Handicap. The gelding reproduced his fabulous trackwork to get the better of on-money public choice Zacara (Trevor up) who was taken out a shade at the start by Kaartiken but was well positioned thereafter to strike, but the winner was travelling too well in the hands of Shailesh. The rest were never really in it.

Apprentice Hindu Singh has been doing well this season and it was good to see that he did not misuse his newly acquired tool – the whip (after completing 10 winners). He rode a very understanding race astride Soviet Dancer ( Burden Of Proof-Soviet Song/ Kunigal Stud) to overhaul Bournville in the straight after allowing him to lead till the distance post. His hands-and-heels riding style is one which other apprentices will do well to emulate.

The curtain came down with Arti Doctor’s Crixus (Gaswar-Shao/ Lingwood Stud) making the Arendal Handicap a start-to-finish affair effortlessly in the hands of B. Nikhil. Trevor Patel atop Cixi rode a hard race to finish runner-up over seven lengths behind. It was thus yet another win-less afternoon at Calcutta for one of the country’s top riders.