Calcutta: It was a thrilling penultimate afternoon of racing at RCTC grounds on Thursday, in the main event, the 1,400m Bangalore Turf Club Cup, witnessed Aashay Doctor’s seasoned seven-year-old Raffaello scoring an encore under a clinical ride by Ashhad Asbar. Favourite Flying Scotsman despite a rough passage finished an impressive second.
The win pushed Aashay to the top of the trainers’ championship table, edging out Rajesh Narredu by virtue of more runner-up finishes.
The day began with Shyam Habbu-trained Oishika, a 6/1 chance, scoring in the Theogundi Handicap, R Vaibhav had an armchair ride as Aashay Doctor’s favourite Sabar failed to deliver.
P Trevor then enjoyed a smooth ride aboard Patrick Quinn trained Madras Cheque in the 1,400m Aayush Handicap, living up to the expectations of her followers.
The Network Handicap saw a stunning upset as All Time Legend (10/1), trained by Rutherford Alford and ridden brilliantly by Imran Chisty, outshone heavily backed rivals Aabushan and Aeropoli, keeping both trainer and jockey in the hunt for championship titles.
Champion jockey Suraj Narredu, currently leading the jockeys’ table, notched up a fine double during the day. He first rode Asagiri (7/1) to a commanding three-length win over Patrick Quinn trained Booster Shot for his brother Rajesh, maintaining the latter’s title hopes alive.
He then ended the day with a gripping victory aboard Vikash Jaiswal-trained Dancing Queen in the 1,600m Succeeding Star Handicap, narrowly beating Chisty’s ridden Made In Heaven in a thrilling finish.