The opening day of the Calcutta Monsoon Meeting on Wednesday proved to be a highly fruitful one for champion trainer Vijay Singh and his retained rider Hindu Singh. The pair notched up a quadruple with Jake, Sitara, Galen and Cletus. Barring Sitara, the other three runners sported the green and gold colours of prominent owner Subir Dasgupta. The afternoon passed off smoothly without any hitches, with the monsoon track running true from the outset. That is indeed a feather in the cap for the clerk-of-the-course.

Available at 14/10, the five-year-old mare Sitara (Arazan-Flaming Glory) was the first to come out of the gates in the five-and-half furlong sprint for the Aerona Handicap and stayed there all the way, winning the race by over six lengths from stablemate Dandi March. The property of western India owner Ram Shroff looks good for another winin this brief season when placed judiciously. Jockey Hindu Singh had precious little to do on this front running speedster.

One race earlier, three-year-old colt Jake (Win Legend-Aerona), had bagged the Brown Wolf Handicap run over a similar distance in identical manner. The winner of the Calcutta Million thus showed that he is a cut above the rest of the field, sparing over five lengths to stablemate Dandi Satyagraha. He is a frontline contender for the classics, whether it be in the monsoon or winter seasons.

Three-year-old chestnut colt Galen (Win Legend-Sunshine Nell) won the Sreepriya Handicap run over six furlongs with a little help from the saddle. He was at the back of  the field till heads turned for home and moved with raking strides to take over the running from Atom inside the distance post. The colt seemed to be hanging out a trifle and is certain to improve further as the season progresses. He is after all under the care of the best in the business. He is another classic contender from the Vijay Singh yard.

Bay colt Cletus (David Livingstone – Fly Like The Wind) completed the day’s proceedings and the quadruple for the Vijay-Hindu combo. Lying a handy fourth till the turning for home, Cletus was urged by his rider to collar Rare Bird in the straight and he did not disappoint. He too is bound to improve as the season progresses.

The opening race of the season, The Reliable Handicap, saw young apprentice Prathvi Singh guide home Javed Khan-trained Zodiac Prince (Letir Mor-Perpetuate) to a comfortable victory over course favourite Shivalik Silk who appeared to be a shade lethargic in the early part of the race. All credit to Zodiac Prince for putting his best foot forward and giving his stable an auspicious start to the season.

The Thrifty Allan Handicap saw the neglected Eastside (Arabian Gulf-Khursanyah) from Daniel David’s yard come good in the hands of Azharuddin. The five-year-old mare had to be hard ridden to get the better of the favourite D Knight Mysore who wan trying to run away with the race.