An incident-packed afternoon at the Calcutta racecourse saw Babu Rao-trained Fleet Indian (Tejano-Afrodita) carry a massive impost of 62.5 kg to victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup run over 2,800 metres and thereby become a live threat for the Stayers Cup to be run in Mumbai on Saturday. The victory of the second favourite in the feature event served a dual purpose for a large number of visitors to the Calcutta racecourse on Saturday. Apart from making them jump with joy, it also helped to erase to some extent the painful sight of the race before, The Acorn Stakes, where the top-weight filly Alayir broke a fetlock 100 metres from home and had to be put down as the limb was hanging.

The macabre sight apart, champion jockey Christopher Alford escaped serious injury and is under observation as he suffered a severe neck sprain. Thoroughbred racing is a wonderful sport but such sights can make any animal rights activist wonder whether it’s all worth it. The afternoon commenced with Richard Alford-trained Flaming Love (Don Micheletto-Flame Of Love) pocket her second race of the season in great style at odds of 6/1. The veteran trainer needs to be commended for the manner in which he has placed the mare over her right trip after a mile and seven-furlong race. Furthermore, he boldly declared Md Imran once again and the lad did not disappoint. The mare seems to go for this boy.

Good for him! Christopher Alford on Ballibay (Alnasr Alwasheek-Bay Of Angels) rode a superb race. No one could have blamed him had he lost the race after what transpired at the gates. Jockey Mahesh fell off Cameo at the jump-out and lay right in the path of Alford and Ballibay. He expertly avoided him and then gradually made up a good five lengths before taking the rails and pegging back a resolute Validate who refused to give up. One would have thought that the jinx of the afternoon would not have pursued Alford after that benevolent deed but alas, there’s just nobody who can escape what fate has in store for them. Thankfully, his injury to follow was not serious. A huge gamble on River Pride in The Portugal Cup came apart when Pesi Shroff-trained Il Bronzino made it a start-to-finish affair over the mile trip.

This full brother to Granados was judiciously handled by ‘sparingly raced’ C. Ruzaan who is indeed a man for the big occasion. He showed the whip to the Ikhtyar-Glensanda gelding a couple of times before the home turn and that was sufficient to keep him going before a couple of cracks in the straight ensured victory from a fast-finishing River Pride on whom Srinath did not spare the stick. Trainer Arti Doctor needs to be lauded for the excellent use of apprentice riders to reduce the handicap on Zillionaire (Senure-Zillion Figlia) and Torrential (Major Impact-Fleurissimo) and pull off a well-priced, well-calculated double.

Both runners won their races start-to-finish. Mohit Singh grabbed the rails with Zillionaire and egged her on in the straight when challenged by Fish Pilot. Babu Singh set Torrential alight from the word go and he opened a long gap of eight lengths. She finally won by over a length. The Germany Cup saw nine-year-old Samarkhand (Greensmith-Anthalia) put his best foot forward and win in a close finish from the favourite Record Breaker. Moon Flower was a creditable third. The disappointment was Credit Squeeze who showed plenty of early speed but then failed to match strides with Record Breaker. The

Patrick Quinn-trained winner was expertly handled by Srinath, who timed his run to perfection. Then came the afternoon’s tragedy in the Acorn Stakes. Front-running Whistling Straight was collared by favourite Amor Amor (Razeen-Grand Passion) in the straight. Manhattan Rain was not far behind, nor was Alayir. Just when it looked Amor Amor would cruise to an easy triumph, Christopher Alford set Alayir alight and the filly responded magnificently.

She was the fastest moving and looked a winner before she tripped and snapped her fetlock. Whether there was any unevenness on the track which led to her fall is difficult to say. But such incidents do happen all over the world – especially during the jump races such as the Grand National. Hence, such a hue and cry from animal rights activists to put an end to jump racing. But such a scenario is unlikely to occur in the UK where the racing lobby is very powerful. The feature event, The Queen Elizabeth II Cup, was an absolute treat to watch.

The favourite Cambiasso ran an excellent race in the hands of Ruzaan but met a tartar in Fleet Indian, ridden in calculated fashion by Srinath. One felt sorry for Hall Of Glory who was running his second mile-and-three-quarter race within a fortnight. One would have thought a good rest and a tilt at the Super Mile in Mumbai for which he was nominated would have been a better option. But the connections know best I suppose. Or do they.