The Calcutta Monsoon Derby was run according to the script without any untoward incidents. Malesh Narredu’s final entrant Whomakestherules (Multidimensional-Pricewise / Usha Stud) was in devastating form as he cut down the local opposition to size in no uncertain manner. However, the filly Dysnomia did bring some cheer into the Vijay Singh camp as she was easily the best of the rest. The Vijay Singh stable used two pacemakers in Fabienne and Sans Prix while Suraj Narredu and Whomakestherules sat in a box seat and waited patiently for the short straight to appear after the final hairpin. Once at the top of the straight, Suraj showed his mount daylight and he did the rest with a couple of reminders. S John atop Dysnomia waited for the favourite to make his move before setting off in hot pursuit but to no avail.

One race later, there was quite a bit of drama as Bath-trained Himalayan Queen (Captain Rio-Maid Of Artois) bagged the Silverina Cup in the Stewards Room. The filly was gracing the wrong end of the field for most part while Suzanna and Make Way For Me called the shots. After a brief struggle, the latter took over the running in the straight and appeared to be heading for a straightforward triumph. However, several cracks from Sandesh’s stick saw the chestnut running diagonally straight into the path of the fast finishing ‘Queen’. After a couple of cracks, Make Way For Me had already overhauled Suzanna and may have won had Sandesh ridden him out hands and heels. The last three cracks from his whip seemed superfluous and sent the horse sideways. It seemed that Sandesh was totally unaware that Himalayan Queen (Neeraj Rawal up)  was moving fast on the wide outside. The interference about 30 metres from the finish line was of a serious and dangerous nature and the Chief Stipendiary Steward had no option but to advise that the objection be upheld – which the Stewards rightfully did.

Equally thrilling was the race run before The Derby, The Tiger Tops Cup, where Romantic Flow (Steinbeck-Romantic Liaison/ Usha Stud) got the better of Torino by the proverbial whisker. The objection by Ashad Asbar, the rider of Torino, against Christopher Alford, the rider of Romantic Flow, was a valid one and had its pros and cons. Romantic Flow was running a forward race  while Torino was biding his time in the rear. Asbar switched into top gear along the rails once into the straight and would have sailed past the front-runner had Alford not narrowed the gap and caused him to check. Realising that any further closure of the space might cause him to lose the race in the Stewards Room, Alford promptly moved away and allowed Torino the passage. The latter shot ahead by half a length but Alford and his mount came back at him and won by a ‘nose’ at the wire. Alford’s argument in the Stewards Room, that the rails belong to the front-runner and that he won despite being collared, held water with the Stipes and the objection was rightly overruled. Had Torino taken the outside like Fibonacci Sequence, he may well have pulled it off. But such hypothetical statements can never be confirmed in the dicey world of horse racing. So, one has to accept the good with the bad. It’s part of the game.

Calcutta is fortunate to have two of the finest commentators in the country -  the very  well respected Cyrus Madan and the brilliant Anit Casyab. The duo has an inherent talent of making the races more interesting to the listener, and on such a big stage such as this day, it was a good thing that they shared the long card between them.

The opening sprint saw trainer Jasbir Singh and his jockey Rajinder bring home the bacon with the unfancied six-year-old Flash (Major Impact-Kiss Of Luck). He made it a start-to-finish affair of the 1100 metres race despite drifting out and taking the favourite Tangalooma with him. However, Rajinder rectified the drift in the straight and Dashrath Singh on the favourite rather sportingly refrained from objecting as he probably realised it would be fruitless and an exercise in time-wasting.

Trainer Daniel David notched up a brace with Auxilium and Kanya Kalyan. The former, a colt by Rebuttal out of Florida (Hazara Stud), won the seven-furlong race for the Amorina Handicap. Dashrath Singh rode a forward race and faced no difficulty in collaring the much fancied Yamazaki who had stolen a march over his rivals in the straight. Splash Proof moved from mid-division to occupy the runner-up berth. David and Dashrath completed their brace with Kanya Kalyan (Mull Of Kintyre-Fatat Alarab/ Sohna Stud) who brought the curtain down after collaring the favourite Mellow Fellow close home.

Apprentice jockey Akash Rajput was once again in the limelight in the first half of the afternoon as he piloted Javed Khan-trained Oath Of Allegiance (Oath –Berkeley Lodge/ Pratap Stud) to a popular triumph and then booted home Bath-trained Zena (Rebuttal-Mellow Jazz/ Hazara Stud) in the lower division of The Argiano Cup. The upper division of The Argiano Cup was picked up effortlessly by Vijay Singh-trained The Stradle (Dancing Forever-St Finan’s Bay) who looks set for bigger things to come.