A short, insipid card it may have been – but boy was it ever ‘tall’ on thrills. Those who were present at the Calcutta racecourse on Wednesday were about to experience a once-in-a-lifetime sight – I have been in this game for 35 years and I have never seen anything like it. It was the running of the Wansfell Handicap over 2,000 metres and three of the runners were in the betting. These were Ashridge, Avon Creek and Credit Swap. Fresh from his success astride Glorious Knight, able apprentice Shezad Khan was full of confidence atop the top-weight Ashridge. Off he went on a start-to-finish mission as the gates opened.

The Bharath Singh-trained five-year-old loves to run in front and Shezad was very much on the right track.The horse was travelling so well at the bend that he was being spotted as winner even before the distance post. The mind-boggling incident took place just after as Shezad made the cardinal mistake of using his whip in the left hand when he was hugging the rails. He had acres of space on his left and just needed to switch his whip hand. Moreover, there was no cause for panic as he was well clear of his nearest rivals Credit Swap and Avon Creek. What happened next was unbelievable. Ashridge ducked in and scraped the rails. Shezad was thrown off the saddle but bounced back in – Roy Rogers style.

He is one of the best apprentices at this centre and his quick reflexes and presence of mind saved him from injury. Jockey coach Nicky Bird opined after the race that most of the apprentices misuse the whip and need to learn a lot. “Why go for the whip at all when the horse is travelling so well and nearly three lengths clear, hands and heels would have sufficed,” said Bird. A stunned Christopher Alford on Credit Swap watched Shezad’s acrobatics in awe as apprentice Babu Singh on Avon Creek (Itaquere Power-Cover Story) swept past the field to hoist the winning flag for the gelding’s new trainer Nana Raghunath. Talk about a slice of luck! One hell of a slice that must have been. The Multissimo Cup was a far more sober ride for Shezad. Keeping the on-money Glorious Knight (Glory Of Dancer-Juke Box) tucked in, in fourth position while front-runner Swiss King went along with his task, Shezad improved his mount’s position at the bend.

Though second favourite Brave Move was well positioned, he veered out leaving the path clear for the Bath-trained favourite owned by Mr Sol Noah. Desert Image was a fair second and needs to be followed. The afternoon commenced with the aged Art Of War (Diffident-Storm Dancer) making mincemeat of his rivals. The Javed Khan-trained horse showed that the lowest category is well below his league. The Robert Gowli-trained pair of Ebony Princess and All Time High were a disappointment Highland Magic left all his chances at the gates. The favourite Oriental Magic was the best of the rest. Fashionably bred Cool Mover (Razeen-Cool Ashlee) opened the scoring for Vijay Singh but suffered the consequences as he bled from the nose thereafter.

He had been meticulously brought to racing fitness after an outing at Bangalore during the summer and was hard-pressed to collar Ijlal and Aeropostale. It was C. Alford’s hard riding that did the trick. Speedy Goliath (Don Micheletto-Funny Girl), a full brother to Red River Rebel, gave Gowli and jockey M. Krishna a rare winner as he made every post of the Octogonal Plate a winning one at lucrative odds of 7/1. The on-money favourite Raffles chased him all the way. Another fancied runner, Supreme Summit, was withdrawn on veterinary grounds. The curtain came down with Highland Prince (Placerville-Si Senorita) producing an encore in the hands of NS Parmar. The Patrick Quinn-trained runner won in the last stride from Rebellious who was threatening to pull it off.