Calcutta: Trainer Bharath Singh’s Ramiel (G. Vivek-up) delivered a clinical performance, proving why it was the hot favorite in the prestigious 2,800m Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Cup, here on Saturday.
As the gates flew open, Amber Knight (Suraj Narredu) dictated the early pace in the four-horse field, while Ramiel, after a sluggish start, bided its time at the back. Improving gradually, thereafter and finding his rhythm, Ramiel surged forward, taking command as the race hit the 1000m mark.
From there, it was pure dominance — a one-horse spectacle as Ramiel left his rivals in the dust. Amber Knight fought valiantly but could only settle for second, finishing three lengths behind the undisputed winner.
Punters reveled in a dream afternoon as all six favorites made a clean sweep of the card. To their delight, every winner was at backable odds, barring Ramiel and Sky Force.
The afternoon kicked off with trainer Aashay Doctor and jockey R. Vaibhav making their presence felt, steering Macchiato to victory in the 1,600m,Oakmead Handicap. However, the eye-catcher of the race was Banduk Wali, who despite taking the turn six wide made a gallant effort.
There after it was Suraj Narredu’s brilliant hat trick of wins which proved yet again why he is the best in the business. In the 1,600m Philippines Cup, Suraj had the Patrick Quinn-trained Snowpiercer in front from the start, holding on the spirited challenge of Jahzara all down the straight.
The Caring Minds Cup witnessed Arti Doctor-trained Sky Force trouncing the opposition without raising a sweat. Suraj had an armchair ride astride the promising filly.
The 2,400m Flamenco Dancer Handicap saw a nail biter with Suraj astride Rajesh Narredu-trained Good Deeds scoring an encore, staving off a strong challenge of Rutherford Alford-trained No Worry (Imran Chisty), who literally flew in the last 100m to go down by a head.
Finally, in the concluding event, the Hall Of Famer Cup, the Sanjay Kolse-trained Earth (Neeraj Rawal-up) surged past the long time leader Salome (G. Vivek) in the final stages to score, despite drifting out in the straight.