It was mixed fortunes for punters at the Calcutta racecourse on Friday. The man who stole the thunder was trainer Vijay Singh with a calculated, even if somewhat fortunate treble. His three runners which hoisted the winning flag were Rocket Ball, Sabbath and Art Excellence. While Christopher Alford rode the first and last named, apprentice Shezad Khan sprung a surprise when he pulled it off with the three-year-old filly.In the seven-furlong race for the Senor Pele Handicap, the odds on the 10-to-7-on favourite Rocket Ball expanded as money came on the bottom-weight Queen Vic. Rocket Ball (Gaswar-Alannah) closed at 11/10. Queen Vic shot out like a scalded cat and was looking good in Imran Chisty’s hands.

Alford bided his time in the last berth for a major portion of the way and decided to bridge the gap just before the bend. He thereafter locked his mount in a do-or-die tussle for supremacy with the front-runner. With 100 metres to go, Rocket Ball had the measure of his opponent under Alford’s strong handling. The rest of the runners were never in it. The sprint for the Estocade Plate saw an open betting affair. Precious, Swarnlata and Supreme Conqueror were all in the betting. The odds of the last named drifted out while Precious became the firm 2/1 favourite. She graced the rear of the field for most part and finished a poor fifth. The other fancied runner Swarnlata also ran a poor race. The front-runners were Benjamin and Golden Saga.

Sabbath (Sunday Doubt-Wingaprayer) was running a good fourth and came with a fine run down the middle to make it Vijay’s winner number two. The leading trainer completed his treble when Art Excellence (Kheleyf-Starlight Venture) made the Spats Colombo Plate a start-to-finish affair. Other fancied runners like Debonaire Girl and Missoni failed to make much headway. The challenge came from unlikely quarters in the form of Impressive Wish. The afternoon commenced with a bang as Robert Gowli-trained Kamakazi (Dark Nile-Affiance) was ridden to perfection by apprentice nephew JS Gowli. The 2,000 metres trip suited the chestnut filly to the hilt. Tracking the favourite Innovator and Fit For Fray till the straight, Kamakazi shot ahead to win quite impressively. The disappointment in the race was India Jones while Farley Rodrigues-trained Patroclus found some of his lost sparkle to finish a good second. Apprentice Tamang was the luckiest rider on the day.

He did everything wrong in the upper division of the Romantic Eve Handicap while astride Highland Prince (Placerville- Si Senorita) and yet won in the last stride. Trainer Patrick Quinn and his connections must thank their lucky stars. The seven-year-old graced the rear of the field before taking the bend miles wide and picking up a late gallop to thwart Enzo and Best Bet who were battling it out. Rather surprisingly, though he had no current form to go by, Avalanche Star was backed down to favouritism. Daniel David-trained Opportunity (Hymn-Thundering Bay) won the lower division of the Romantic Eve Handicap impressively. Though she burst her blood vessels last time out, on this occasion she was untroubled as apprentice Arman Khan shot her into the lead and staved off a challenge from the favourite Apostrophe.

In the afternoon’s feature event, the Delhi Race Club Cup, the odds of Caravaggio (Razeen – Priceless) expanded to 3/1 as money came on Washington Irvine and Gershwin. Shailesh Shinde was always supremely confident atop the Bharath Singh-trained ward and maintained a box seat while Nitrous and Washington Irvine called the shots in the 2000 metres race. As heads turned for home, Shinde set his mount alight and the property of Dr Vijay Mallya responded magnificently. It was clear long before the winning post that the battle was for minor placings.