The Vijay Singh juggernaut continued to roll at RCTC on Saturday as he led in three winners with his trusted ‘knight of pigskin’ Suraj Narredu in the saddle. The pair commenced their show in the opener with Huntsman who lapped up the extra distance in the mile race for The Desiree Handicap. Sired by Speaking of Which out of Amorina, Huntsman seems to be cut out to perform over middle distances, much like hishalf-brother Native Force who was by Razeen. Suraj rather aptly allowed him a free rein early in the race and the chestnut did not disappoint. The best of the rest was The Indicator.

The successful trainer-jockey pair next combined on Tudor Hall (Kingda Ka – Enaksi) who quite easily accounted for stablemate Silver Bracelet and Dancing Lord in the mile race for the Astre-D’Or Handicap. The recent import from western India was ridden off the pace as in his previous race. His blazing acceleration in the straight fetched him back-to-back victories. He has been penalised 7kg for his fluent victory and finds himself in the highest class.

Vijay and Suraj concluded their engagements for the afternoon on a winning note as the fashionably bred big boned bay colt Theon (Multidimensional – Fontainebleau) galloped to glory over the mile and half trip. His dam is a half-sister to the out and out stayer Point To Prove and the bloodline obviously proved effective. The reason he was neglected as a first choice by many form-workers is that his lung-opener was a horrendous detached run over a mile whereas Seasky was a good second to Resolute. The sudden transformation caught many (including yours truly) by surprise. It is to the trainer’s credit that he placed him over a mile-and-half in his very next outing. Don’t be too surprised if the colt takes a final entry for the St Leger on March 4. The 64-dollar question is does he have any worthy four-year-old competitor at all (for a 2800 metres race) from a rival stable? The answer to that question at this point of time seems to be an emphatic no. For his stunning effort, the handicapper has penalised him a mammoth 10.5 kg – which must be the highest so far this season. However, the jockey did declare a 2.5kg overweight which the ’capper must have taken note of.

Trainer Vikash Jaiswal did rather well to chip in with a double. His winners were sprinters Nandini’s Pet and Krishaa’s Choice – both owned by Kunal Gupta. The former (by New Famous out of Festival Night) bagged the 1200 metres sprint for The Another Time Handicap without much ado while the latter defied the handicapper’s 5kg penalty to lift the Wiseman Handicap. The New Famous-Striking Beauty filly outpaced both Ahnika and Essos.

Bharath Singh’s unfancied Senturion (Smuggler’s Cove-Rebecca)  won the Bergamo Plate for youngsters with Md Islam in the saddle while Raunak Banerji’s Big Star (Western Aristocrat – Knockenduff) was another neglected runner to come up trumps. With apprentice Rupal Singh in the saddle, he made every post a winning one in the 1400m sprint for the Silver Balm Handicap.

The Club is struggling to find a frontline commentator as it is not feasible for Stewards Enrico Piperno and Cyrus Madan to call races on a regular basis. It is a highly specialised vocation which needs quite a bit of acumen, practice and experience. Madan is considered to be one of the best callers in the country and he currently has three “trainees’ under his wing – Daniel David, Rutherford Alford and Arijit Das. One sincerely wishes them all the best!