It was another memorable day for punters at the Calcutta racecourse. Four favourites, one second favourite and two rank outsiders completed the scenario on a cloudy afternoon, further dampened by a light intermittent drizzle. The main event, The BOL Publication Cup, a six-furlong sprint, saw apprentice Shezad Khan give a superb ride to the favourite Ming (Binkhaldoun-Cat’s Concert). The youngster kept the Sanjay Kolse-trained six-year-old covered up till the top of the straight where he had to force a passage between the front-running pair of Burst Of Speed and Pocket Rocket.

Asiatic Star was on his outside while the close second favourite Credit Squeeze was gaining ground menacingly. Once his mount saw daylight, he went hell for leather and was pulled up by the Stipes for the excessive use of the whip. One can understand his urgency as Christopher Alford on Credit Squeeze never eased the pressure. At the wire however, Ming won quite comfortably. The winner was available at 18/10. The supporting event, The Announcer Plate for two-year-olds, was a one-horse race from the distance post. After her excellent second in The Hong Kong Jockey Club Trophy, there was no stopping the filly Optimum Pride (Tirol-Stratospheric) who is a full sister to crack sprinter Atmosphere.

All jockey A Imran Khan had to do was loosen the reins at the top of the straight. The Daniel David-trained filly left the field cold. The afternoon commenced with the David-Imran combo striking pay dirt astride Mohabbi (Diffident-Canadian Fame). The top-weight won The Voluntary Handicap in fine fashion. After Gordian Knot and River Warrior had called the shots till the home turn, they were overhauled by the eventual winner in great style.

The disappointment in the upper division of The Quincy Handicap was the poor run of Bankable. Though fancied by the connections, she seemed to be running with shackles on her shins. Shafiq Khan-trained Badal (Storm Trooper-Stylish Beauty) produced an encore and made mincemeat of the opposition. The surprise favourite Generosity belied his name as far as punters were concerned but did manage to finish a faraway second. Recent migrant from western India, Fish Pilot (Brave Hunter-Love’s A Mirage), proved that he is from a superior category when he bagged the lower division of The Quincy Handicap.

The Nana Raghunath-trained four-year-old was given a perfect ride by Kishore Kadam. He went past fancied Explorer’s Quest near the half-way mark and extended his margin of victory in the straight. The Little Lady Handicap saw Jaiswal-trained Secret Hero (Excalibur’s Lake-Calendar Girl) provide the day’s biggest upset. The seven-year-old had crept down the handicap scale and with light-weight apprentice Vikash Tamang claiming an additional 4-kg allowance, the horse felt light on his back and raised a stupendous gallop in the straight to get the better of the favourite Strauss who was on a start-to-finish mission. The win dividend of Rs 953 is the highest this season and his win resulted in Jackpot punters taking a beating and the popular pool being carried forward after another upset in the form of Dynamic Move (Pennine Ridge-Cool Water) in the afternoon’s final event – The Star Flame Handicap. The going did not help front-runners like Best Bet, Rithambhra and Carmen.

Javed Khan-trained Dynamic Move fought out with Flying Jaguar in the final furlong to land the spoils close home. Recent import Mumtaz was given an airing and may fare better next time out.