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Trainer Malesh Narredu`s charge, Aggregated (Christopher Alford-up) – a long shot in the nine-horse field – scored an decisive victory over the hot favourite, Shaman (Trevor Patel), to claim the 1,600m Aakriti Art Gallery Calcutta 1000 Guineas, the main attraction in Wednesday`s card. The afternoon also witnessed jockey Dashrath Singh partnering trainer Bharath Singh`s baby, Coup de Grace, to victory in the 1,100m Chisel Crafts Calcutta Juvenile Stakes with an equal ease. Dashrath went on to notch up a treble in the eight-event card.
The Guineas` field, though was void of big names in the national circuit, the victory of Aggregated, a maiden till then, was gained in his career`s second start. More importantly, his victory is sure to give boost to the new sire, Dean`s Kitten.
Alford made his Guineas win quite simple. In hot pursuit of Simon Templar (Dashrath) till about the half way stage, Alford was quick to come abreast of the leader and kicked away 500m from home. Aggregated, though was slightly wobbling and lugging in-and-out but it was because of his inexperience. He is bound to be a more furnished horse by the Derby time.
Shaman, too, was a bit rusty as he chased the early leaders. However, the 17/20 hot favourite failed to quicken, though Burden of Proof son had ample scope to do so in the home stretch. In fact, the favourite had to fight a serious battle to keep the likes of Hartnell and Rufus at bay.
Dashrath made Coup de Grace`s victory look equally impressive. One wished Coup de Grace race was billed after the Guineas` event. The Arazan colt, a 5/2 favourite, had the benefit of a good mock race, in the company of Aggregator. Coup de Grace was quick to come to a favourable position from the wide-out draw. He allowed Snow Star (Trevor) to head the field till about the final turn but joined and passed the leader in a trice, 300m from home, for a facile victory.
In the same race Venezia (P.S. Chauhan) was seen covering plenty of ground on the wide out to finish a promising second, only two lengths behind the winner, who, however, was going handy. Alyssa (S. John), a fancied runner, on the other hand, fumbled at the start and lost all her winning chances. Yet, she placed a decent third.
Dashrath`s day started with the victory of trainer Javed Khan`s quietly fancied Sanvi in the 1,400m Bachawat Foundation Trophy. The bay filly was ridden well off the pace and Dashrath had to zigzag his way to an easy victory over El Cid, who was a front runner with Francina (Shezad), a stable-mate of the winner. In the same race, the 6/4 favourite, Mocha Loca (C. Alford) got a poor start. Yet, the filly finished a decent third.
Dashrath atop Bharath`s 9/4 favourite, Ayra`s Pet, made the victory look very easy, in the 1,100m Bachawat Farms Trophy. It was gained despite the wide out draw of the filly, though a fair amount of wagering was shared by her stable-mate, Gryffindor (Trevor). Both horses however, went all out but the colt`s run needs to be ignored as he is yet to recover fully from the fall, before the last run, he had in the saddling enclosure.
Trainer Raunak Banerji`s 5/1 chance, Stellanova C. Alford) claimed the day`s opener, the upper division of the Naktala Shilpi Astha Trophy. Trainer Patrick Quinn`s Lamrei (Y.S. Srinath) cornered most of the wagering in the race, and the filly also dictated the terms but only until 250m from the winning post. Stellanova, who was fourth at the that stage, was brought the shortest way home to score easily.
The lower division of the raced was picked by Javed`s Beatles Bible (A. Imran Khan), a 6/4 favourite who, however, had to fight a close battle with the long time leader Indus Prince (Akash Rajput), from trainer Vikash Jaiswal`s stable.
Vijay Singh, too, had his share of luck on the day when his last outing failed favourite, Volantis (Chauhan) raised a winning gallop to down Bharath`s aged runner, Shourisha (Dashrath) in the 2,000m Chisel Arts Trophy. In the same race it was Arti Doctor`s Washington (Trevor) who carried the public money but the nine-week long lay off may have taken the steam out of the filly who tried to win from the start. She is sure to make amends for her failure in the next outing.
Trainer Manvendra Singh`s 17/20 favourite, Fortune Express (Srinath) found the going easy in the 1,100m Konark Collectable Trophy. Ridden in a check, in the early half of the journey, the speedy son of Express Wish/Set The Mood, simply ruled supreme as Jaiswal`s One Man Army tried win from the start.
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Stellanova (C Alford up) winner of the Naktala Shilpi Astha Cup (Div-I)
Beatles Bible (A Imran Khan up) winner of the Naktala Shilpi Astha Cup (Div-II)
Volantis (P S Chouhan up) winner of the Chisel Arts Cup
Sanvi (Dashrath Singh up) winner of the Bachhawat Foundation Cup
Fortune Express (Y S Srinath up) winner of the Konark Collectables Cup
Coup De Grace (Dashrath Singh up) winner of the Chisel Crafts Calcutta Juvenile Stakes
Aggregated (C Alford up) winner of the Aakriti Art Gallery Calcutta 2000 Guineas (2017) (Gr.2)
Ayra`s Pet (Dashrath Singh up) winner of the Bachhawat Farms Cup
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