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PARISIAN MOCKS GRADE 1 FIELD

By Epsom Ace | 08 Feb 2022 | KOLKATA


Trainer Shyam S Habbu (deputizing for trainer P Shroff) leading Parisian (P S Chouhan Up), winner of The Indian Champion Cup (Gr.1)

The Calcutta racing season resumed on Tuesday after a hiatus of over a month and leading trainer Vijay Singh grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he led in an amazing six winners – an unprecedented feat at this track as per RCTC sources. Aiding him in his quest was ace horseman Suraj Narredu who piloted four of those winners. The main event, The Indian Champion Cup (Grade 1), however witnessed the western India pair of Parisian and Rambunctious from Pesi Shroff’s yard occupy the top two berths. The victory of Parisian (Champs Elysees-Anywaysmile) was truly remarkable as the six-year-old mare with PS Chouhan astride won by six long lengths without being stretched at any point in the race. Consigliori set a good pace, followed by Rambunctious, Rainbow Trout and Psychic Force. Parisian was a handy fifth while local challenger Shivansh was last of seven with Suraj Narredu astride. Nearing the 600 marker, Suraj made his move and Shivansh shot ahead – but not for long. Once Chouhan showed his mount daylight, she overhauled Shivansh in a trice while still on the bit. Thereafter, it was all Parisian with Chouhan looking over his shoulder on either side long before the winning post.The joint property of the Shirke family and KN Dhunjibhoy proved to be a class apart. 

Vijay Singh’s six winners were Discover, Cliffhanger, Mogul, Legendary Striker, Tuscany and Little Finger in that order. Barring the first and last winners, the other four were piloted by Suraj. Four of those six winners were at lucrative odds – Discover (5/1), Cliffhanger (6/1), Tuscany (18/10) and Little Finger (4/1).

Both Tuscany and Legendary Striker won by the skin of their teeth, thanks to Suraj’s unrelenting pressure from the saddle. In the six-furlong race for the Perin Dalal Alokananda Stakes, money poured in on Mount Etna and the odds of the favourite Tuscany increased to a healthy 18/10. The filly by Roderic O’connor out of Isn’t She Special was the first to shoot out of the gates and led all the way to the winning post – but not before staving off a strong challenge from stable mate Success, eventually winning  by the narrowest of margins. Mount Etna finished an unimpressive fourth while Mashobra was withdrawn once again for refusing to be stalled.

Legendary Striker (Be Safe-Striking View) was the shortest priced favourite of the day at ten-to-three-on. He won the sprint for the Rotary Club of Central Calcutta Cup in breath-taking manner as he graced the wrong end of the field for most part of the short journey of 1100m. Sheer Force had taken over the running from Indian Tiger and looked to have the winning post in his sights at the distance post with the favourite a good five lengths behind on the wide outside. However, Suraj got the best out of his mount in the final furlong to gain a narrow verdict at the wire.

Discover (Multidimensional-Auntie Kathryn) with Hindu Singh astride set the ball rolling for Vijay Singh as she won the mile race for the Rotary Club Royals Calcutta Cup at every post. The favourite Cape Tanaros was conceding a chunk of weight to his nearest rival and failed to match strides with her in the straight. The minor placings were occupied by stablemate of the winner Whistleblower and Wind Chaser.

Suraj Narredu opened his account for the day with a thumping victory atop Cliffhanger (Top Class-Lady Escort) who won the Poker Guru Cup run over a mile-and-half quite comfortably from the favourite Third Avenue who seemed to have reached his tether after scoring a fabulous hat-trick earlier this season. Despite his massive penalty after his earlier victory, Mogul (Excellent Art-Vittoria) won the Dist 3291 Cup quite comfortably from Senturion. Following the front-runner till the straight, Mogul slipped into the lead thereafter to register a regulation victory. The last, but not the least, of Vijay’s winners was Little Finger who won a No Whips race with apprentice Hasib Alam in the saddle. The five-year-old mare won start-to-finish, with the winning post coming to her rescue as top-weight Atom was gaining ground along the rails. He fell short by the proverbial whisker.

Trainer Christopher Alford opened the afternoon’s proceedings with Mandolin (Animal Kingdom-Little Widow Maker) picking up the Sippin Cup. Apprentice Tejeshwar was not cowed down by the large field and did well to position his mount early before making his run in the straight. Lady Laurane was a flying second despite facing traffic problems all through the journey after a slow jump-out from the gates. Trainer B Mahesh brought the curtain down with a measured gamble on western India import The Flying Eagle (Planetaire-Simply Sweet) with Neeraj Rawal astride in this No Whips sprint for the Maan Shakti TMT Cup.