Calcutta: It was a Sunday full of shocks at RCTC, with favourites tumbling in the early half of the seven-race card. And the biggest jolt came in the feature event — the Royal Western India Turf Club Cup — where public choice Misty was dramatically beaten in a pulsating ding-dong battle by B. Rajender Reddy’s 12/1 shot, King’s Retreat.
The five-year-old, produced with perfect timing as Vishal Bunde, swooped down on Misty (Trevor Patel) in the shadows of the post, just when she seemed to have sealed the deal.
The afternoon had kicked off in a similar fashion, with Bunde steering Sabeel Shariff trained Lineupandcollect to a smashing five-length victory in the 1,400m Bergamo Handicap — brushing aside Rutherford trained pair of Made In Heaven and favourite Hermes.
Patrick Quinn-trained Princess Peach (Mukesh Kumar) sparkled again in the upper division of the 1,200m Vibrant Handicap, recording an impressive encore. The runner-up Resplendence looks poised to lose his maiden tag soon.
The lower division saw the 8/1 shot Impressive Annie (R.S. Bhati), trained by Aashay Doctor, unleashed a devastating late surge to gun down favourite Most And More (Suraj Narredu), who too might have needed a run.
The excitement continued as Rajesh Narredu-trained Multi Success (Suraj Narredu) outgunned Laamika (S. Antony Raj) in a gripping finish in the 2,000m Dancing Colours Handicap, while Sanaya once again compromised her chances at the gates.
The two Classic hopefuls — Charismatic and Pantazi — then showcased their class in emphatic style. Charismatic (S. Antony Raj) toyed with his rivals to win the Own Opinion Handicap by eight widening lengths, before Pantazi (Trevor Patel) wrapped up the day with a flawless pillar-to-post performance under top weight, Abhicandra galloped late to finish second.
Trainer Aashay Doctor and jockey Vishal Bunde signed off with well-deserved doubles on a thrilling afternoon.