Calcutta: Trainer Pesi Shroff’s Duke Of Tuscany (Suraj Narredu-up) stamped his class in emphatic fashion to lift the 2,000m Indian Champion Cup (Grade-I), the main attraction in Friday’s card at RCTC.
Suraj Narredu produced a tactically flawless ride, shadowing the runaway Golden Kingdom (M.S. Deora) well into the straight, before biding his time and unleashing a perfectly timed challenge. Duke of Tuscany surged forward opposite the grandstand, swept past the leader with disdain, and powered away to record a stylish and authoritative triumph.
Suraj once again dominated the afternoon with a sparkling treble, opening his account aboard Vijay Singh-trained Silver Dream, who made every post a winning one, to land the 1,100m Aggregated Plate in commanding fashion. The progressive filly notched up her second straight victory and looks poised for bigger honours, enabling the veteran trainer to register a double for the day.
The supporting event, the 2,000m Albert Piperno Memorial Cup, saw B. Rajender Reddy’s Ruling Star (Gaurav Singh) make light of his last-start penalty to outclass his three rivals. Favourite Whirlwind was beaten a long way from home.
Suraj then completed his treble with Deepesh Narredu-trained Mindful, who tracked Lucky Nine before quickening sharply in the straight to decisively keep Cigar Galaxy (Mukesh Kumar) at bay in the 1,600m Zelda Cup.
Earlier, in the opener, Vijay Singh-trained Blaze In Blue (Nikhil Naidu) just lasted out to lift the Ophion Handicap by the narrowest of margins from the fast-finishing Lahina (Md.Azharuddin) in a heart-stopping finish.
The two 'No Whips' events provided gripping finishes. In the Police Cup, Trevor Patel produced a masterclass in hands-and-heels riding to propel Neil Darashah trained favourite Brave Majesty to sail past Sky Hawk in the final 100 metres.
The afternoon concluded with the 1,400m Dancing Phoenix Handicap, in which Sabeel Shariff’s Jimmy Bee (Vishal Bunde) justified strong support to win decisively, after stalking pacemaker Cristaldo until the final turn.