Thursday’s card at RCTC proved to favour punters as four out of six favourites obliged. The main event, The Hongkong Jockey Club Cup, turned out be an insipid affair as only four vied for the sprint after the withdrawal of Gael who was extremely fractious in the starting stalls and flipped over. Aashay Doctor’s La Dominate (Dali-Lucy In The Sky) made it a start-to-finish affair in the hands of Akshay Kumar. The other fancied runner Kind Of Magic may have been perturbed by the antics of her stablemate in the next stall. She jumped out sideways and lost precious ground. She caught up with La Dominate very quickly but was outpaced in the straight to finish a tame runner-up.

The supporting event, The Eastern Command Cup, was a competitive race over six furlongs. Vijay Singh-trained seven-year-old Monfortino pulled it off after a keen contest with another seven-year-old Hidden Gold. The aged son of Letir Mor out of  First and Only One was positioned very well by Imran Chisty behind front-runners Exotic Queen and Full Volume. In contrast, the favourite Hidden Gold was a little too far back. After Monfortino hit the front in the straight, Hidden Gold moved with telling strides but the leeway was a little too much for the aged sprinter to cover. Much talked about Dandi Satyagraha finished in the ruck.

This race completed a double for Imran Chisty as he had one race earlier guided home Rutherford Alford-trained Swift Lady (Be Safe – Lady College) to a clever victory over stablemate Jinsoku in the Cavalry Cup. A smart tactical move by the connections paid rich dividends for them as Imran Chisty made the light-framed front-running filly settle down in the back-stretch before making his move in the straight. It was a welcome triumph for Rutherford who was experiencing a lean spell thus far in the season.

Trainer Vijay Singh completed a treble as he combined with Suraj Narredu to pick up two more races during the afternoon. The speedy filly Yazh (Win Legend-Real Presence) made every post of the ‘No Whips’ race for Bengal Sub-Area Cup a winning one. The speedster has more races in store for her. Runner-up Yuvi seems to have come to hand and will be worth keeping an eye on. The curtain came down with Suraj Narredu guiding home Tycoonist ( Multidimensional-Victoria Falls) to a facile victory in the seven-furlong race for the Army Service Corps Cup. Top-weight Magnite was a notable third and seems fit for the fray.

Trainer Suraj Shaw’s Cold Pursuit (Excellent Art-Grey Allure) made amends for his earlier misfortune when he was demoted in the Stewards Room. Apprentice Alex Rozario rode a waiting race with the grey gelding, allowing the top-weight to settle down over the mile-and-quarter event while Creation Of God set a good pace. After the turning for home, there were four in a line including the favourite Arrow Point, but there was no doubt about the fact that the best moving horse was Cold Pursuit. This was his third victory this season and he looks good for more. Kudos to his mentor! Clever placements aided by able apprentices has done the trick for him.