Thunder of Hooves Return to RCTC

After a break of nearly two long months, during which time racing came to a standstill at this centre, the thunder of hooves return on New Year's Day -much to the delight of the local racing fraternity, and indeed elsewhere. More...

Nicola Brings The Curtain Down

Before our series on Super Dams draws to an end, it would be proper to make a few relevant and pertinent points about the breeding industry. More...

Calcutta Derby on March 1

The Royal Calcutta Turf Club confirmed that the Calcutta Winter Season will kick off on New Year's Day — traditionally the day when socialites of this metropolis make it a point to be present at the racecourse, adding glamour to the afternoon's proceedings. More...

Dusty Was A 'Champion' Dam

The late seventies saw the advent of a great broodmare Dusty. She won a race in England before going on to produce eight winners here. In conjunction with the sire Satinello, she formed a productive partnership. More...

Celandine Produced A Special Set of Siblings

We continue with our list of non-performing mares who went on to become superlative dams. Celandine was one such dam who did not even race but produced a long list of 10 winners led by the pair of siblings Camino and Camineto. More...

The Powerful Charenzaccio Line

The last few dams we have dealt with produced champions without themselves performing notably on the track. The two broodmares Charenzaccio and Schiaparelli (a mother and daughter duo) are no different. More...

Horses Looking Good at Kolkata

After two days of trotting and rolling their charges, most trainers and officials at this centre are hopeful that the winter meeting at Calcutta will commence on New Year's Day. More...

TBharath Singh To Return

It is reliably learnt that Robin Corner will be switching portfolios. After being a trainer here for more than three years, Corner will be acting as an advisor for RCTC from the forthcoming season. More...

Unraced Dam with 'Astonish-ing' Progeny

It is a fact that progeny and performance are two unrelated entities. We saw in the case of Purita and her dam Pashmina, that they were both non-winners, yet they produced champion stuff. More...

RCTC Remain Upbeat

Despite a delayed start to the Calcutta Winter Meeting due to over half the stable strength being affected by Pyrexia of an Unknown Origin (POU), the mood at the RCTC office .... More...

Purita Produced The Best

She was no great shakes herself but she produced a colt which shook the Indian turf like none before him. She came at a time when the Indian breeding industry was yet to find its footing and mares like Nicola and Rock Haven were calling the shots. More...

Hennessy produced a surprise package

The mare Hennessy will be remembered for two reasons. Firstly, because she produced a brilliant Indian Derby winner in the form of Sir Bruce and secondly, because she was the mount of the inimitable Aslam Kader when he broke out of the maiden ranks as a 5kg-allowance apprentice whose body-weight was 44kg. More...

Fire Haven was a beauty

The late seventies saw a flood of top-class fillies and mares. So much so that veteran trainer Uttam Singh of western India was branded as the 'Ladies Man'. More...

RCTC lends a Helping Hand to Owners

The Stewards of RCTC, in an effort to alleviate some of the difficulties being faced by owners having horses stationed in Calcutta, have decided to advance to them the maintenance costs for the months of November and December. More...

Some Mares and Dams Who Were the Joy of Punters

This is the first a series of articles by Epsom Ace to rekindle the good times of the eighties — a period termed by many as the renaissance of Indian racing. More...

Things are looking up at RCTC

The general health of the thoroughbreds stabled at the Royal Calcutta Turf Club seems to have improved marginally over the past week. More...

Stewards Optimistic for Mid December Start

Despite the Hastings stables being hard hit by a mysterious viral fever, the Stewards of RCTC are optimistic that they can get things in order and kick-off the winter meet by mid-December. More...

Winter meet may commence in mid-December

The Calcutta winter meeting has received a serious jolt as the season is likely to commence in mid-December, more than a month after the scheduled start on November 9. More...

Movement at Hastings Suspended

Official sources confirmed on Sunday after the emergency Stewards meeting, that the situation at RCTC is grim but not out of control. More...

Horses under 'EI' cloud

It is reliably learnt that several horses at Hastings Stables are suffering from high fever. They are being monitored round the clock to determine whether the deadly 'Equine Influenza' ... More...

Ascriptive Capped a Season of Amazing Winners

The Calcutta Monsoon racing season which concluded last week, turned out to be one of the most memorable ones in recent times. More...

Echoes of Light sends shockwaves

Darius Byramji-trained Echoes of Light was ridden to an effortless victory in the Monsoon Cup by champion jockey Christopher Alford on Saturday,.... More...

Alford Overshadowed by Apprentice Mahesh

Champion jockey Christopher Alford rode a brilliant finish atop Aromatique to land the spoils in the Retort Handicap on Wednesday while apprentice Mahesh ... More...

RCTC Decided to Cancel Saturday Races

The Stewards, Royal Calcutta Turf Club in exercise of their powers under the RCTC Rules of Racing have decided to cancel Nineteenth Day of the Calcutta Monsoon Meeting 2008, ... More...

'A Script (Ive)' That Went According to Plan

Vijay Singh-trained Ascriptive won the Calcutta Monsoon Derby on Sunday in great style, proving beyond doubt that he is a class unto himself. More...

Sieze The Night Halts Slide of Favs

Three favourites crashed in the first three races at the Calcutta racecourse on Wednesday and punters were left wondering whether they were in for a drubbing. More...

Fighting Star Toys With The Opposition

The Bangalore challenger Fighting Star made a complete mockery of the Prudential Cup field at the Calcutta races on Wednesday as he made every post of the six-furlong ... More...

Prakash's 'Bountiful Talent' ensures David double

Jockey B Prakash rode a gem of a race astride the grey Bountiful Talent to lift the Colts Trial Stakes from Lycia Falcon while the favourite Agios Nikolaos was a poor fifth. More...

Jodha Waves a Magic Wand as Midnight Coup Pegs Back Coco Chanel

With two-thirds of the Calcutta monsoon racing season behind us, it would be fair to say that the meet has well and truly warmed up to the punter. More...

Superb'Safari' mauls the opposition

In an amazing display of supremacy, Darius Byramji-trained Safari made a mockery of her seven rivals as she lifted the Calcutta Fillies Trial Stakes in inimitable fashion. More...

Prakash Completes the 'Star Team' Trio

It was an amazing performance by the trio of owner Dr M.A.M. Ramaswamy, his trainer Daniel David and their retained rider, B. Prakash. More...

Steal the Glory puts his best foot forward

Daniel David-trained Steal The Glory lived up to his name with an excellent display of sprinting ability when he lifted the Gamble For Love Cup at the Calcutta racecourse on Wednesday. More...

Apprentices Continue to Rule the Roost

A heavy downpour after the fifth race on Wednesday resulted in the last two races being considerably delayed. Adding to the unwanted ... More...

Shock Win for Storming Success

Thursday’s Kolkata races produced a couple of baffling results and a few good ones as well. The debacle of Earl of Warwick at the hands of Storming Success ... More...

Vijay Singh Had The Last Laugh

Trainer Vijay Singh had the last laugh when his Elusive Study won the Wiseman Cup in a dramatic three-horse finish that the colt could just as easily have lost. More...

Amandeep, Alford shared the riding honours

Heavy showers on Tuesday night left the monsson track on the heavier side. That did not however deter public choices from romping home in most of the seven events. More...

Apprentice Sameer Steals the Show as Appu’s Mounts Flop

An awe-inspiring performance by young Delhi-based apprentice Sameer Khan left punters in a trance at the Calcutta racecourse on Wednesday. More...

Pesi notches up his first win

Last Wednesday’s Calcutta races saw three runners coming good at high odds. These were Italian Glory, Man About Town and Councilofthegods. More...

It was 'A' for action on Saturday

Saturday belonged to trainer Arti Doctor and her retained rider Ashish. The duo notched up a popular treble at Calcutta racecourse. More...

Brace for trainer Bath and jockey Afzal Khan

The third day of the Calcutta Monsoon meet on Saturday turned out to be quite a thrilling one for punters and professionals alike. More...

Rajinder Steals the Show

With three firm favourites obliging in a card of seven events on Wednesday, punters by and large returned home a happy lot. More...

Class told on opening day

The opening day of the Calcutta Monsoon Racing season on Friday vindicated the age old adage that ‘class always tell’. Aided by a scale drop of 5kg, quite .... More...

Grey Gaston transformed the Indian breeding industry

That brings us to the last of the seven stallions which changed the face of the Indian racing industry in the eighties and nineties. More...

The Saga of the Magnificent Seven

A rare grey stallion, Sovereign Silver completed the Poonawalla trilogy. Sired by Sovereign Path out of Silver Talisman, Sovereign Silver was retired ... More...

RCTC Geared up for Monsoon Season

With the Monsoon Racing Season of 2008 scheduled to kick off on Thursday, July 10, the Stewards of RCTC have left no stone unturned in their quest for a trouble-free, lucrative... More...

Ilheus, the best of Dashmesh

In the post-Rock of Gibraltar era, the country could boast of a dozen or more super stallions, but none could quite produce stayers like him – that is until Ilheus came along. More...

Riyahi, the second of the Poonawalla trilogy

The Poonawalla Stud farms were well and truly revolutionising the breeding industry in the country in the eighties. Their trio on stallions... More...

Another of 'The Magnificent Seven'

Continuing our series of the seven sires who called the shots in the eighties and nineties, we look at another of 'The Magnificent Seven'. More...

The Magnificent Seven

This is a series of seven stallions that dominated the eighties and nineties.Their progeny was dreaded by all their rivals and they dominated the classics in the country during those two decades. More...

Resurrection of RCTC — A Reality Now

The Calcutta racecourse has been one of the landmarks of this metropolis for nearly two centuries. Leased by the army to the Royal Calcutta Turf Club for a paltry sum,.... More...

Blood Always Tells on the Race Track

All racehorses that take part in flat racing around the country are thoroughbreds who have bloodlines that can be tracked back to their foundation sires and mares. More...

It Was a 'Regal' Season at Calcutta

The Calcutta winter racing meet, which concluded last Friday, witnessed a definite improvement over earlier seasons on several fronts. More...

Vijay Singh and Christopher Alford are champs

The Calcutta winter meet drew to a close on Friday with plenty of action all round. It was a foregone conclusion that trainer Vijay Singh and jockey Christopher More...

 Fort Knox Stands Rigid

Heavy overnight rain made inspection of the track a necessity prior to the start of the races at RCTC on Friday.More...

Amazing Sea Legend wins the The Donegal Cup

The nine-year-old gelding Sea Legend showed an amazing zest for racing as he raised a great gallop in the final furlong to peg back the runaway Chagall in the very last stride. More...

Gallant Commander Guns Down Rivals

T Despite the brevity of the card on Saturday, there was no dearth of thrills at the RCTC.   More...

The Handicapper Takes the Honours

Wednesday belonged to the handicapper. There can be no doubt about that. There were as many as six close finishes in the card of eight events. More...

Rank outsiders burn punter's pockets

In an amazing afternoon at RCTC last Wednesday, all eight public choices took a dive to leave punters high and dry. In fact, barring second favourite Salazaar, it was rank outsiders to the fore. More...

Afforce Adds One more Feather to His Cap

Jockey Christopher Alford rode a superb finish atop the on-money public choice Afforce in the race for the Elusive Pimpernel Cup at RCTC last Saturday. More...

Aristotle’s class has the last word

On a warm sunny afternoon, the Calcutta races got off to an eventful start on Saturday with the Stipendiary Stewards coming down heavily on champion jockey Christopher Alford More...

Fort Knox Lived up to His Name

The honours on, Thursday afternoon were shared by three trainers who recorded a brace each. They were Bath, Imtiaz Sait and Javed Khan. More...

Punters Take A Fierce Drubbing

Last Saturday is one that local turfites would like to forget in a hurry. Rank outsiders ruled the roost in five of eight events and even the afternoon's main event, More...

Khan DLycia Falcon Obliterates Opposition

Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Rutherford Alford (Richard's son) saddled the first winner of his career at Calcutta last Saturday.More...

Azureus Lifts Queen's Cup in Style

A light drizzle prior to the big race of the afternoon on Saturday had little effect on the course favourite Azureus as the Vijay Singh ward romped home a clear winne... More...

Priapus Edges out Hugo, Bags Mayor's Cup

A welcome change in the weather, and the lure of concurrent inter-state betting on Mumbai's races (this being their Derby week-end), saw More...

Entrepreneur Lifts Bahrain Trophy in Style

Never count your chickens before they hatch—nowhere does that idiom ring truer than in horse-racing. Those who were speculating that a sunny afternoon ...   More...

Unstoppable Vijay Notches up a Quartet

Trainer Vijay Singh and his wards have been simply unstoppable of late. On Wednesday, the champion trainer notched up a cup quartet--a rare feat by any standards. More...

---

Outstation Riders Trigger the Adrenalin Rush

Barring the ever-reliable Christopher Alford who guided two favorites past the post, outstation jockeys by and large called the shots at the RCTC last Saturday. More...

Regal Connection Bags Calcutta Derby

A magnificent piece of saddle artistry by champion jockey Christopher Alford fetched the indomitable rider and his trainer Vijay Singh their fifth triumph of the afternoon ... More...

Calcutta Derby Promises Plenty

On the eve of the season's blue riband, The Calcutta Derby Stakes to be run on Sunday, the Royal Calcutta Turf Club is going out of its way to ensure that a large gathering ... More...

Christopher Alford Notches up Fancied Treble

Saturday proved to be a lucrative afternoon at work for champion jockey Christopher Alford, who booted home three winners. More...

Treble for Vijay Singh

A bumper New Year's Day crowd spent an extraordinary day at the Calcutta racecourse on Tuesday. Traditionally marked as a day, when the ... More...

Dr MAM Makes History Winning His 500th Classic

Takeover Target won the Razor Sharp Quality handicap, a Listed race, at Randwick Race Course in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday. More...

Regal Connection Bags The Calcutta Gold Cup

A brilliant hat-trick by class low-weight rider Neeraj Rawal from western India overshadowed all else at the Calcutta racecourse on Saturday. More...

O'Donoghue Pays a Memorable Visit

Colm O'Donoghue, the frontline foreign jockey of the Daniel David yard, made it a memorable Saturday for his followers at the Calcutta racecourse.  More...

Armaan Khan Steals the Day's Honours

Rookie Armaan Khan stole the day's honours with a narrow victory astride Elegant Road in the Bad Deal Handicap run over seven furlongs. More...

RCTC Makes a Fortune in Sales
The six-year-old gelding Sovereign Power and four-year-old Salazaar fetched the highest bids of Rs 5 lakh at the RCTC Breeze-Up sale conducted More...