A recent import from the south – Psychic Force – made short work of the local opposition in the seven-furlong race for the Mayfowl Cup at RCTC on Saturday. Running under the care of trainer Aashay Doctor, the five-year-old by Multidimensional out of Psychic Light sailed past front running Amorous White in the straight after jockey Arshad Alam gave him a couple of reminders. The handsome bay may have taken his connections a little by surprise as his mentor had earlier opined that he might need the run. Trainer Vijay Singh’s fancied pair of Shivansh and Prince Satsuma ran prominently but failed to match strides with the winner when Alam turned on the heat near the distance post. Both runners are entered for the prestigious Calcutta Gold Cup, traditionally run before Christmas, and will be worth keeping an eye on. New England finished on well to be an impressive runner-up.

The rest of the afternoon belonged to Vijay and his trusted knight of pigskin Hindu Singh who recorded a treble on the trot with Dornish, Abhya Gama and Cliffhanger – all three running in the colours of premier owner Subir Dasgupta. The hat-trick was well deserved as Hindu pulled off the last of his three wins on the very last stride.

Dornish (Abbeyside-Let There Be Light) set the ball rolling for the professional pair as he landed the Relevance Handicap with a flourish after running in mid-division for most part. The jockey had to weave his way along the rails to get a clear run in the final furlong and leave the front-runners standing.

Next came Abhya Gama (Multidimensional-Violet Honey) whose victory was a trifle out of character as he is known to prefer a longer trip. However, he responded well to the stick over the five-and-half furlong scurry for the Noble View Handicap and pegged back the favourite Sullivan without much ado. Once again, Hindu opted for the rails and found what he was looking for.

The public choice Adornica appeared to have the seven furlong race for The Legal Steps Handicaps sewed up till Cliffhanger (Top Class-Lady Escort) flashed on the outside in the closing stages of the race. It was the difference in horsemanship between the pair of runners that gained the day for the eventual winner.

Trainer Aashay Doctor completed a double during the day as he had earlier led in Abelson (Surfrider-Arnatta) running in the Royal Double Handicap. Apprentice Tejeshwar made no mistake astride the sprinter as he responded well to his urgings in the straight and won by a good six lengths. The favourite Chiara may have needed the experience of a race-run which is so important for maidens, no matter how attractively they perform in their morning trials.

Earlier, the Doctor family had enjoyed another success when veteran schooler Arti Doctor led in Elusive Wave (Surfrider-Santarelle) in the curtain-raiser – The Beat The Distance Handicap. It was jockey Arshad Alam’s first success of the day and boy, did he have to earn it ! Heavily under the stick, front-running Elusive Wave had to stave off a strong challenge from The Hound in the final 100 metres.

The curtain came down on the day’s proceedings with Christopher Alford-trained Summer Air winning a nail-biting climax to grab the Punters Delight Handicap from front-running Louboutin. The colt by Phoenix Tower out of Musical Note covered considerable ground in the final furlong to edge out Louboutin at the wire. The favourite Excelsior failed to match strides with the front-runner and finished an unimpressive third.