It was an amazingly successful Saturday afternoon for visiting jockeys S John and Dashrath Singh as they grabbed all the opportunities that came their way. John scored a quadruple of wins while Dashrath notched up a treble in partnership with trainer Bharath Singh.

The half-money public choice Multitude (Multidimensional-Haedi/ Usha Stud) lifted the Mayfowl Cup with a degree of comfort at RCTC on Saturday. The Vijay Singh-trained winner was ridden flawlessly by top weight jockey S John. Permitting Shivalik Storm to call the shots till the distance post, John slipped his mount through along the rails to win easier than verdict.  Evesham made a late bid for honours as he is wont to do but Multitude was travelling smoothly by then. John’s other winners were Raqs Sharqi, Akshaya and I Am Legend.

The other visiting rider Dashrath Singh was not far behind as he notched up a treble. Brothers Bharath and Vijay Singh pocketed five of the eight races. Bharath’s treble comprised Simon Templar, Sangfroid and Rufus – all of whom were piloted by Dashrath. Rutherford Alford-trained Hartnell, with Ashad Asbar in the saddle, bagged the Rajcoomar Gujadhur Memorial Cup in a close contest from rank outsider Celtic King and much improved Half Volley. The three-year-old bay gelding by Western Aristocrat out of Mother’s Pride ( Yeravada Stud) was a creditable third to Sana and Daffodil in the Monsoon Derby and that form held good here as he seemed further improved.

The seven furlong race for The Cavalry Cup saw Rufus (Lord Admiral-You’re So Beautiful/ Sans Craintes Stud) land the spoils without much ado. For some reason or other, the colt remained un-penalised after his monsoon Colts Trial victory at the same rating of 61 and this obviously aided him in his quest. The filly Millenium Glory showed early speed and led all the way till buckling near the distance post.

The afternoon commenced with Javed Khan-trained Raqs Sharqi (Royal Gladiator – Safe Keeping/   Pratap Stud) winning the mile race for the Aayush Handicap in John’s hands after the chestnut colt’s odds had expanded to 3/1. Front-running Indus Prince was a good second after leading all the way till close home. Queen’s Kitten closed as the favourite but lacked acceleration after early positioning. It’s quite possible that the filly felt the heavy impost.

The upper division of the Miss X O Lence Handicap saw Simon Templar (Burden Of Proof-Chilli Girl/ Kunigal Stud) make it start-to-finish with Stellanova a poor second best. Once again, there was a wasted gamble on Queen’s Command who closed at 7/2.

Vijay Singh-trained Akshaya (Varenar-Spiffy/ Equus Stud ) was given a clever ride by John to get the better of surprise favourite Nobu who tried runaway tactics. The winner was quite obviously a cut abover her nearest adversary. Sanvi, who needed the run, finished third and is one for the notebook.

Another Varenar youngster – Sangfroid – was quite at home over a sharp sprint despite the outside draw of 14. She had to cut across the large field but was at the tail of the favourite Victoriana in a jiffy. The latter burst a blood vessel and had to call it a day in the straight while Sangfroid kept increasing her margin of victory. Rather sadly, it’s quite possible that Victoriana may never be quite the same speedster again.

The curtain came down with the day’s protagonist S John aptly doing the honours as he rode a power-packed finish atop Vikash Jaiswal-trained I Am Legend  (Rebuttal-Farha/ Hazara Stud) to a hard-fought victory over fast-finishing Sicario. Tsavo was forward and may prefer a six-furlong trip. Having finished third, Tsavo may be eligible to run in the lowest category after revised ratings, which may give her an edge over others if placed over an identical trip of 1400m. But as they say, the trainer knows best!