It was a New Year’s Day with a difference at RCTC as it was the first time in the history of this thrilling sport that on this auspicious day the lawns of the racecourse were totally void of spectators due to the covid curse. Normally, a large gathering of twenty thousand odd spectators would grace this grand occasion. 

The afternoon will also however go down into the annals of RCTC for a brighter reason. It was the third time that trainer Bharath Singh has led in a Calcutta Oaks winner during the past four seasons– all three winners being owned by Joideep Datta Gupta and his band of merry men who were simply over the moon when their fashionably bred filly Zoya (Multidimensional-Yana) made every post of the 2400 metres classic a winning one in the hands of crack rider Dashrath Singh.

“The credit goes to Bharath” said a delighted Joydeep Datta Gupta. “It was his Midas touch which did the trick. As there was no pacemaker in the field, Bharath had instructed Dashrath to hit the front from the inside draw and head the field at a moderate pace. We had no doubt whatsoever about Zoya’s staying ability but unsure about the staying ability about the more fancied runners like Violin and Priceless Silver. Kudos to Dashrath and the wonder filly for controlling the pace beautifully and finishing off in style – hands and heels.”

He added : “ Class always tells in a classic” – alluding to the fact that although Zoya was the lowest rated runner in the field of seven, it was her proven bloodline which stamped her class – not the handicap mark. How true!  

Indeed, Zoya has proved beyond an iota of doubt that she is an out and out stayer. She ran the first 1400 metres in just over 1min 36 secs but turned on the heat thereafter and left her rivals standing as she kicked away from them in the final 400 metres which she completed in 24 seconds flat! Her next target is obviously the Calcutta Derby on January 17 where she comes up against the unbeaten colt Black Pearl. There’s no doubt that the stable of the latter will provide the “Pearl” with a pacemaker in the Derby to try and throw this super filly out of her stride. That should be quite a battle! 

For his part, a jubilant trainer Bharath Singh said in his post-race comments: “ I knew this filly was craving for a mile-and-half so I was sure she would run a great race. She is a full sister to Sana who fetched me the first Oaks victory for the same owners. Then came Rosina (who also incidentally won start-to-finish) last year and now Zoya”.

The supporting event, The Indian Produce Stakes, saw champion trainer Vijay Singh seal his treble for the day with Jake. The youngster by Win Legend out of Aerona made every post of the six-furlong sprint a winning one and gave jockey Sandesh an armchair ride.  

All three of Vijay’s winners – Gaurish, Cliffhanger and Jake are owned by Subir Dasgupta and Cairnhill Stud. After placing twice earlier in the season, Gaurish (Top Class-Nano Belle) won the Andropov Handicap with apprentice Hasib Alam at the reins. A bold gamble on Kilkarry Bridge with leap-year-jockey BL Paswan in the saddle came unstuck thanks to Alam’s perseverance. Cliffhanger put paid to the pretensions of even-money favourite Devine Chakra when he moved with a sustained run in the straight after Hindu Singh gave the colt by Top Class out of Lady Escort a reminder at the distance post.

It was also a happy start to the New Year for James Mc Keown and his owners - the Pasaris. They led in two winners – Avellino and Inkonito – both at lucrative odds. Avellino made every post of the 2000 metres race of The Royal Mantle Handicap a winning one, staving off a strong challenge from the half-money favourite Ghost in the final hundred metres. Neeraj Rawal guided home the five-year-old gelding by Top Class out of Riverdown Empress. Inkonito (Win Legend – For An Angel) was ridden  judiciously by Sandesh to keep at bay stablemate Moresco who was a good runner-up in the mile race for the Retained Asset Handicap.

Christopher Alford-trained top-weight New Moon (Dean’s Kitten-Atmosphere) with Afzal Khan astride outclassed the field in the 2200 metres race for the RCTC Gold Vase. It was a splendid piece of horsemanship by Afzal which saw the six-year-old gelding win by over two lengths. He took the shortest route home while Jaivant and Sagittarius were battling for the lead. The curtain came down to a bright and sunny afternoon of racing with Shafiq Khan’s friendless Gentillesse (K Sai Kiran up) causing quite a stir as the seven-year-old mare won The LittleeBeautHandicap  by four long lengths!    

RCTC Secretary Kanchan Jana spoke to www.indiarace.com and mentioned that thanks to betindiaraces.com linking up with RCTC, punters were able to have a flutter on their fancies online. Jana was however apprehensive about the future of racing this season. “Howlong can the Club sustain itself without spectators, totalisators and bookmakers – there’s virtually no revenue. I feel we will have to take a call at the end of this month whether to shut shop or let spectators in.”