Christopher Alford may have piloted many a Derby winner at this centre as a jockey but was nevertheless overjoyed to lead in his first Derby winner as a trainer on Saturday. Coming in the wake of his Oaks victory with Euphrates, the triumph of Eastwood (Phoenix Tower-Doe Ray Me) in the Calcutta Derby Stakes places Alford right up there with the ‘Master Class’. Jockey Neeraj Rawal rode a copy book race astride the joint property of Kunal Gupta and Manjri Stud. Lying a handy fourth while Galen called the shots, followed by Karanveer and Silvarius, Rawal gradually improved his position to smoothly take over the running at the top of the straight. He opened a gap of about two lengths. At that juncture, Akshay Kumar on Kamilah (Roderic O’connor-My Lakshmi) made a brilliant move. He switched the sole filly in the field to the inner rails and issued a strong challenge to Eastwood. The duo fought tooth and nail in the final furlong with Eastwood prevailing by a neck. The run of Sea Lion who ended up a good third left much to be desired. It will  forever be debated whether Suraj Narredu atop Sea Lion misjudged the pace of the race. The horse was slow to jump out but Suraj had ample time to improve his position in a mile-and-half race. Instead, he lay dead last till the final hairpin which he took ten wide to avoid traffic and finished the fastest within two lengths of the winner. This run of Sea Lion was in sharp contrast to his effort which fetched him the 2000 Guineas in December. Sometimes a regulation ride rather than a grand-stand finish gives the desired result. With this run, Sea Lion (Phoenix Tower – Tropical Blue) proved beyond doubt that he too gets the Derby distance. Like the winner, he too is sired by Phoenix Tower.

In his post-race comment, Christopher said that Eastwood is a moody customer but can beat the best when he decides to gallop. This triumph was as exciting as his win atop Aristotle – his first Derby winner as a jockey.

Now, here's a little anecdote for turfites who follow my column. Some of my readers may recall that Eastwood was my prime choice in the Monsoon Derby where he had to be withdrawn due to his poor gate manners. Here’s an excerpt form that selection piece:

“Eastwood looks attractive in wide open Monsoon Derby……… British broodmare Doe Ray Me – the dam of Eastwood – boasts of staying blood all the way to her ancestors. As Eastwood was seen finishing on strongly in the Colts Trial Stakes won by Agnostic, he becomes an automatic first choice in the hands of hard rider CS Jodha.”

After the monsoon Derby, I reminded Christopher that Eastwood had finished well ahead of monsoon Derby winner Oasis in the monsoon Colts trial. He had whatsapped to me a teardrop emoji, to which I replied “Better luck in winter”. 

But alas, I didn’t follow up my own conviction – that’s racing for you!

Neeraj Rawal’s other two winners of the day were Delphini in the SS Bala Memorial Cup and Awesome One in the Vivek Freight Calcutta Champions Sprint Trophy. He gradually improved Aashay Doctor-trained Delphini (Bated Breath-Performer) from an outside draw to be in striking distance of front-runner Indian Tiger and Nova at the top of the straight. Thereafter, the filly quite easily overhauled her rivals. Astride seven-year-old Awesome One (Dean’s Kitten-Aim To Achieve), also from the stable of Aashay Doctor, Neeraj waited in the rear of the field till well into the straight before moving into top gear and getting the better of Soaring High close home.

The Ebco Livesmart Indian Champagne Stakes saw Vijay Singh-trained Leonardo (Speaking Of Which-La Dona) put his best foot forward in the hands of Akshay Kumar. Lying second behind front-running favourite Raisina Star till the home stretch, Leonardo took over the running and won by over five lengths. Vijay had two other winners during the afternoon – Dornish in the curtain-raiser and rank outsider Wencheng in the final event of the day. Dornish (Abbeyside-Let There Be Light) won the 2000 metres race for the Hall Of Famer Cup quite easily from Magnite while the favourite Vanguard failed to make an impression. Jockey SA Gray rode a  waiting race and made his move in the straight. Second favourite Infinite N Beyond survived a heart attack thanks to the RCTC vet.  

Jockey RS Bhati rode a powerful finish atop Wencheng (Smugglers Cove-Born Royale)  to win the Quasar Cup from Castillo who may have pulled it off with a reliable apprentice after his eye-catching forward run in the upper class. But such hypothetical questions will always remain unanswered in this uncertain game of thoroughbred racing! Fancied runners Amazonia and Azai both needed the run. Bhati had earlier tasted success in the CROS Cup while astride Shyam Habbu-trained Tigrio (Phoenix Tower-Tigresse Noire) who defied the 7kg penalty for his earlier win quite easily. The Albert Piperno Memorial Cup was pocketed by Bharath Singh-trained Santana (Declaration of War-Gaslight) with Anthony Raj in the saddle. Tres Bien was a good second.