Calcutta: Trainer Adhirajsingh Jodha’s Arrived (S. Antony Raj-up) lived up to his reputation, by winning the Calcutta Derby Stakes (Grade-I) in a heart-stopping finish that brought the packed RCTC stands to their feet on a sun-drenched winter afternoon.
The big, imposing chestnut colt by Deauville out of Transformation looked every inch a champion in the parade ring and raced with equal authority. Settled perfectly behind the early pacesetter Eleanora, Arrived unleashed a powerful burst rounding the final bend.
He swept to the front and then dug deep, engaging in a thrilling duel with Pesi Shroff-trained Superstar (A. Prakash) all the way down the straight, showing tremendous courage to prevail by a narrow margin. Superstar was gallant in defeat and lost nothing in stature.
The Derby drama was heightened further by a storming late run by Rajesh Narredu’s ward Gold Empire (Hindu Singh) who flew home from the rear to finish just a length adrift, ensuring the Derby will be remembered as one of the most gripping finishes in recent memory.
The supporting event, the Perin Dalal Alokananda Stakes for three-year-old fillies, was neatly wrapped up by Vijay Singh-trained Silver Dream who made every post a winning one under Suraj Narredu.
Suraj went on to complete a stylish brace with a masterly ride on Deepesh Narredu-trained Glorious King in the 1,400m Hyderabad Race Club Cup.
The six-year-old stormed past the battling trio of Clifford and Knotty Blush Raffaello in the final furlong after racing in midfield for most part of the journey.
Favourites fared poorly early in the afternoon. In the 1,400m Alvarada Cup, a quietly fancied Divine Run (A.Vikrant), trained by Deepesh Narredu, overcame an extreme outside draw to spring a surprise, while the rank outsider, Banduk Wali (Arman Khan), finished an impressive second.
The 2,400m Desert God Cup, over a mile, saw B R Reddy’s Multiverse (Nikhil Naidu) outstay favourite Vivaldi (Suraj Narredu), to score going away.
Another upset followed in the 1,600m Aslam Kader Memorial Cup, where Patrick Quinn trained Aabhushan (Hindu Singh) produced a scintillating burst to nab Aeropoli (Mukesh Kumar) on the line.
The two divisions of the 1,200m Hall Of Famer Cup went as expected. In the upper division, favourite Aperol (Gaurav Singh) scored another impressive pillar to post victory.Thus giving young trainer B.R.Reddy a double for the day. The lower division was picked up by Shyam Habbu trained consistent runner Oishika (A.Prakash) who justified his top billing while recording another easy victory.
However, favourites stumbled again in both divisions of the Black Pearl Cup, as Shyam Hubbu trained Amaze And Inspire (A.Prakash) upset the applecart of the favourite Contessina.The afternoon concluded with Sabeel Shariff trained long shot Cashmere Silk (Vishal Bunde-up) scoring a fighting win over stablemate Jimmy Bee.
The RCTC earned full marks for staging competitive and well filled cards on the Derby and the New Year’s days, with healthy crowds providing the much needed boost in these testing times.