Calcutta: Rajender Reddy’s seasoned campaigner Black Eagle (Vishal Bunde-up) lit up the Calcutta track with a rousing pillar-to-post display to land the 1,200m Calcutta Champions’ Sprint Trophy at the RCTC on Saturday. Sent straight to the front in the four-horse field, the dark bay gelding set a scorching gallop and had his rivals in trouble well before turning for home, looking a winner a long way from home. The favourite Meropi failed to fire, finishing a laboured second. Post-race, it emerged that she had returned lame and was suffering from Grade-III EIPH.
All credit must go to young trainer B.R. Reddy for keeping the gallant seven-year-old in sparkling form.
The afternoon once again belonged to champion jockey Suraj Narredu, who produced a clinical treble. He opened his account aboard Neil Darashah-trained Victoria Cross, the top-weight favourite dictating terms throughout to score with ease. Resplendence (Vinay Jaiswal), who finished second and looks the one to watch.
Narredu struck again on Darashah’s Surprise Fantasy, with a pillar to post effort to lift the upper division of the Lt Gen Jameel Mahmood Memorial Cup, holding off a determined late challenge from Cashmere Silk and sealing a trainer-jockey double. Earlier, Suraj had displayed his trademark composure to steer Vijay Singh-trained Shine past favourite Pantazi in the Eastern Command Cup.
Trevor Patel,too,enjoyed a profitable afternoon, completing a smart double. He sent Arti Doctor-trained Righteous straight to the lead in the 2,000m Cavalry Cup and never looked back, before timing his run to perfection aboard Aashay Doctor-trained Fable to clinch the ASC Corps Cup with plenty in hand.
The curtain came down in dramatic fashion as Rajesh Narredu-trained Most And More, a twice-failed favourite, produced a storming late surge under Nikhil Naidu to snatch the lower division of the Lt Gen Jameel Mahmood Memorial Cup from long-time leader Winsangel in the final furlong.