An unheralded colt, named Rufus (Dashrath Singh-up), put his best foot forward to win the 1,400m Calcutta Colts Trial Stakes, Saturday`s feature event. The afternoon also witnessed trainer Vijay Singh`s Evesham (C.Alford) just about managing to beat James Mckeown-trained pair of Shivalik Showers (S. John) and Shivalik Storm (Hindu Singh) in the 1,200m Best Of All Cup.

Rufus, a Lord Admiral son, displayed good courage and grit as he went past trainer Vijay`s fashionably bred charge, Multiple (Suraj Narredu) who was in full control when in lead, inside the last furlong of the race. The long time leader, Gloaming (Neeraj Rawal), too, was impressive in defeat while finishing a close third.

For trainer Bharath Singh`s charge, it was his first major trophy after winning two lesser events between as many seasons. Trainer Patrick Quinn`s Bulgerian, who cornered most of the money in the betting ring, was found to be struggling for the un-remunerative berth. Another fancied runner, Fortune Express (C. Alford) lost all his chances at the gate, leaving him to do nothing worthwhile.

Vijay Evesham, a 9/4 favourite, had to fight a hard battle to beat the front running Mckeown-pair of Shivaliks – Showers and Storm. It was anybody`s race in the final 100m but Alford`s calculative move paid off in the end by the skin of the teeth.
Trainer Quinn`s must have been a disappointed man, because of a doleful performance of his Classic hope, Bulgerian, in the big event but his brace of wins in the day`s card must have brought back some smiles in the stable.

Quinn`s recently acquired Avrak (A. Sandesh) delivered the goods in the 1,400m Unknown Warrior Cup. A length and-a-half verdict recorded by the even-money favourite, over Theo (Hindu Singh), wasn`t the true index of the winner`s performance. The horse is yet to acclimatise fully and he may be heard of again, even if the Phoenix Tower son is trusted to win over a slightly extended trip.

Quinn`s another recently acquired colt, Apalachee (S. John), too, was far from a fluent winner in the 1,200m Helping Hand Handicap. The Serious Spender son took quite some time to pass a lowly rated but a speedster, Ivy (Mad Imran), before Mckeown`s Yamazaki (Hindu Singh) walked on the scene with a challenging run despite his nearly a year-long lay off.

The Defence Forces Cup brought about the true revelation of trainer Arti Doctor`s 7/2 chance, Washington, who simply cantered home with the trophy, also promising that the filly is going through a purple patch. Among her victim was the top-weighted 11/10 favourite Shohin (Dashrath) who, however, did not look to be very comfortable in his last win over a similar trip – going all over the course with an identical weight on his back.
Trainer Sarfraz Khan`s Power Of Freedom (app. Ranidan Singh) cashed in on his current form in the 1,400m Amar Jawan Handicap, scoring a back-to-back wins. The winner was brought with a late run to overhaul the long time leaders, Archivolt (Alford) and Artificial (R.S. Bhati), while Arti`s recent winner, Flying Cloud (Prashant Dhege), also came with a late run to place a good second.

The day started with another of less fancied runner, Sicario (Mohit Singh), scoring back-to-back wins – also coming with a late run – to beat Ahlan (Hindu) and the long time leaders Romancer and Desert Cat.