Wonder filly Adjudicate left not an iota of doubt in any sceptic’s mind about her staying ability as she trounced the opposition in the Calcutta Derby Stakes at RCTC on Sunday and pocketed a winner’s prize of Rs 65 lakh for her connections. Sired by Multidimensional out of Alvarita, the winner of three consecutive classics at this centre is bred at the Sohna Stud farm. Visiting jockey David Allan rode a well-planned race as he permitted the front-runners Advika, Angelino and Point To Prove to call the shots till the top of the straight before making his move. Such was his mount’s incredible turn of foot, that she was able to the head the pace-setters in a trice.  Thereafter, trainer James Mckeown’s ward was simply striding away from the others. David peeped over his shoulder about 100 metres from home. Seeing his mount well clear, he nonchalantly removed the left riding glove with his teeth well before the winning post and gave the filly a pat or two.  Barbaresco ran on to occupy the runner-up berthover nine lengths behind and incurred a whopping penalty of 40 points for his good effort. This means that the Pesi Shroff-trained gelding is well and truly in the top category of the handicap scale after winning a sole maiden’s race in his maiden start.Barbaresco was followed by Shivansh, who ran as good a race as can be expected of him and the none too impressive Angelino. The fillies Oriana and Aashna disappointed as well.

In his post-race comments, Mckeown said that he can only take a decision on whether to run Adjudicate in the Indian Derby at Mumbai next month after discussing with the owners (the well-known Khaitan family). However, her authoritative victory on Sunday suggests that her next stop will indeed be Mumbai. It has been a long time coming, but finally the once famous red-and-gold brigade of Calcutta is back in the limelight. Their prized possession will be sending warning bells across the country to her leading rivals who intend to participate in the Indian Derby next month. The last time one of their thoroughbreds won the Calcutta Derby before lifting the Indian Derby was Psychic Flame about a decade and half ago.  David Allan, for his part, said he only had to settle down the filly in the first two furlongs, after which it was smooth sailing.

Other than the Adjudicate entourage, the afternoon also belonged to champion trainer Vijay Singh whose amazing quadruple was overshadowed by the Derby-winning filly’s performance. Vijay’s quadruple comprised Magnificent Star, Angel Grace, Smith And Wesson and The Talisman. The first and last named ran in the colours of the late Dr MAM Ramaswamy. It seems that it was an afternoon of nostalgia for oldtimers from the seventies and eighties era whose eyes were used to witnessing these famous colours lead in winners.

The Pat Quinn Memorial Cup was rather aptly picked up by Magnificent Star (Win Legend-Native Princess) who made the five-and-half furlong sprint a start-to-finish affair in Nikhil Naidu’s hands. The late Pat Quinn, who happens to be Vijay’s father in law, had trained the MAM wards at this centre for a period. The speedster outpaced his seven rivals and has the potential to win again. The other fancied runner in the field – Prayer – may need a little time and a longer trip.

The leading stable’s next winner – Angel Grace (Speaking of Which – Another Title) won the Dashmesh Stud Alokananda Stakes quite easily, making every post a winning one. The favourite Aquaracer seemed to find the pace of the front-runner a little too hot to handle and never posed a threat to the eventual winner.

Though most of the punter’s money came on Darsh in the Telegraph Cup, it was hismore experienced stablemate Smith And Wesson (Abbeyside-Bold Reply) who seemed to stay better in the final furlong when jockey A Sandesh asked for an effort. The one for the notebook is the runner-up Sabrejet who found one better in the winner though it must be mentioned that he was conceding 5kg to him.

The last of the quadruple was quite a surprise as The Talisman (Noverre-Debinnair) had never won a mile race prior to this. To do so at the ripe old age of seven must have taken most of the form-workers by surprise. Another neglected runner-Sweet Music- was a worthy runner-up while none of the others are worth mentioning.

Three of the other four races saw favourites tumble.  The afternoon started with rank outsider Onderboy (Ravel-Thierry Girl) coming good in the upper division of The Azhar Handicap, despite losing considerable ground at the start. Ranidan Singh opted for a rails run and pulled off a difficult win with Fireburg finishing second. The lower division of the same race saw DS Deora at his powerful best as he got the better of course favourite Speed Force while astride Shafiq Khan-trained Respect (Multidimensional-Reflected Glory).

Shyam Habbu’s Flag Flying (Whatsthescript-Shockwave) made every post of the six furlong sprint for the Hall Of Famer Handicap a winning one in the hand of visiting jockey Leigh Roche. Nobu and Poet who occupied the minor placings are worth noting. A clever piece of horsemanship by Dashrath Singh saw Bharath Singh-trained Sereno (Pinson-Serenity) land the spoils despite finishing last in his previous outing.  Realising his mount has a short burst of speed, Dashrath had him covered up for most part before making hiss move in the final furlong. The fancied runners like Bergamot, Enchanted and Nembe Greek disappointed.