Favourites took a back seat at RCTC on Saturday while the handicapper had reason to smile as there were four close finishes in the six-race card. The main event, The Police Commissioner’s Cup, saw a blanket finish involving The Protector, Nova and Mogul as they finished in that order. Jockey RS Bhati on the Faisal A Abbas trained winner took the shortest route home while both Mogul and Nova lost precious ground at the turning for home. The Protector (Excellent Art-Mauna Kea) - property of Ajay Jalan - was cleverly piloted by leading jockey RS Bhati. In the very next race, The Police Martyrs Cup, the favourite Devushka came unstuck in the very last stride as Christopher Alford-trained Mandolin (Animal Kingdom – Little Widow Maker) unleashed a mighty gallop midway up the straight. Once again, Bhati showed his penchant for the rails and tried to steal a march. Shezad Khan atop Mandolin resorted to the whip in the final furlong and it paid rich dividends. Whistle Blower with Suraj Narredu astride finished up a close third. Suraj drew a blank during the afternoon as did leading trainer Vijay Singh.

Trainer B Mahesh was the sole professional to notch up a brace. The first of his winners was The Flying Eagle (Planetaire-Simply Sweet) who won the Kolkata Mounted Police Cup with Neeraj Rawal in the saddle. Though Secret Pearl was a shade better placed at weights, he failed to make any impression on the winner while Senturion impressed while finishing runner-up. Tracking pace-setter Daring Heart till turning into the straight, The Flying Eagle smoothly took over the running and staved off his rivals.

Mahesh completed his double with Baaeed (Excellent Art-Flaming Glory) who made every post a winning one in the 1100 metres race for The Silver Balm Handicap.  The favourite Fuhrer ran lethargically to finish third behind Rare Bird.  The winner was piloted by Hyderabad-based jockey BR Kumar. The latter very nearly pulled it off while atop Mahesh-trained Essos in the last race of the day but had to be content with the runner-up berth as Vinay Jaiswal on Vikash Jaiswal-trained Mr Batolabaaz (Chevalier-Habituated) slipped through along the rails to register an opportunistic victory.

Trainer Patrick Quinn made a triumphant return to the track after serving out a lengthy three-year suspension when he bagged the curtain-raiser – The Maidan Handicap – by the proverbial whisker. His ward Juggaad (Whatsthescript-One Punch) with Afzal Khan astride got the better of Legend Returns. It was in fact the only totalisator favourite in the day to bring home the bacon. Fortune definitely smiled on Quinn and the punters on this occasion.