Intermittent drizzle and a gloomy sky could not deter jockey Christopher Alford from riding a copybook race atop the favourite Namid in the Malpensa Cup run over 2000m at RCTC on Tuesday. Placing him in a handy second position while Exodus called the shots till well past the half-way mark, Alford and Namid gave the field the slip and opened a good lead of three lengths once into the straight. Trainer Arti Doctor’s ward was travelling well from the outset and gave runner-up Multiglory too much to do in the home stretch. Jockey PS Chouhan atop the latter took the home turn six wide and made up a part of the leeway in the straight. But there’s no denying the fact that Alford had the race wrapped up well before the winning post.

It was an afternoon of mixed fortunes for the punters as four favourites fell by the wayside. Trainer Vikash Jaiswal and his trusted knight PS Chouhan were at the receiving end of the stipes ire for the inconsistent running pattern of recent winner Jordana. They were each fined Rs 15,000/- It is relevant to note that in the very race, The Safari Handicap, Manvendra Singh-trained Prince Of Heart (Afzal Khan up) was backed down from 6/1 to 18/10 and  spared over four lengths to Novikov. Rather surprisingly, the six-year-old by Dancing Forever out of Private Collection ran a forward race on this occasion.

One race later, trainer Arti Doctor led n the first of her two winners in the form of Flying Cloud. The well-prepared mare was piloted well by Hindu Singh who sat in a handy second position behind pacemaker Raqs Sharqi and moved into the lead at the top of the straight. The five-year-old mare by Stern Opinion out of Royal Assault was the outsider of six runners, being available at 12/1.

One of the well-backed favourites to oblige was James Mckeown-trained Monaco (Stern Opinion-Second Look) in the opener of the day. Mrs Willy Nilly was a decent runner-up while her stablemate Zena was a disappointing fourth. This run should bring her on. In the very next race, The Adriana Handicap, Advika was backed to the exclusion of all others. The filly however may have felt the impost and failed to accelerate at a crucial juncture. Seven-year-old Tibidabo (Phoenix Tower-Arnetta) from Vikash Jaiswal’s yard virtually made it a start-to-finish affair in brother Vinay’s hands.

Trainer Bharath Singh is a quiet, diligent worker who has been pulling off unexpected wins at regular intervals this season. His Oak Brook (Net Whizz-Oakdale) finally broke out of the maiden ranks with apprentice Vikram astride. The youngster had given the schooler a trying time prior to this thumping triumph but he looks good for more now despite the 6kg penalty he has incurred for his belated glory. The curtain came down with trainer Vijay Singh’s Smith and Wesson (Shezad Khan up) making the 1800m race for the Glotik Handicap his own without much ado. The facile victory seemed to vindicate his dam Bold Reply’s middle distance staying power. He is another runner who seems good for more when placed astutely by his vastly experienced mentor.

Trainer Quinn gets a lifeline: Trainer Patrick Quinn has been given a lifeline by the Board of Appeal at RCTC as his three-year-suspension has been put on hold with immediate effect. Speaking to www.indiarace.com, an elated and obviously happy Quinn said that barring the seven-year-old Magic In The Air, his entire stable was found to be clean as a whistle, which no doubt prompted the Board Of Appeal to grant him this reprieve. “I had absolutely nothing to gain by administering boldenone to a non-performing seven-year-old who had come to me not too long ago. As it’s a police case, I don’t want to say any further but it’s quite possible that someone with vested interest blew the whistle that eventually saw me sidelined. I am really grateful to the Board Of Appeal who have granted a stay till December 15, after which point I am hoping that I will get back my licence to train permanently,” concluded Quinn.