Calcutta: Close contests in Wednesday’s card kept punters on their toes and the one which turned out to be most exciting race was the feature event, the 1,200m La Gitana Cup. It was claimed by Sea Legend who, in the hands of jockey Imran Chisty, had to fight out every inch of the ground with the top-weighted Tasmac (Apprentice Islam up) in the final stretch. Errol Bhungard trained the five-year-old by Warrshan out of River Foyle.

It was Shalom, in the curtain-raiser, the Aladancer Cup, who started the day’s trend. In the last 300m of the race, the Vijay Singh-trained filly, after kicking clear of Make A Wish, the front-runner who was also the favourite, nearly surrendered the advantage in a three-cornered close finish. Daniel David’s Regal Fortune, the Grand Annual winner, was no exception in the Woolver Valley Handicap. The filly was fully extended by Followme. In the Freelancer Handicap. Vijay’s Amonita was hard-pressed to beat Frontier Flame and Castle Moon.

RESULTS

1. Aladancer Cup 1,400m: (2-4-3-1) Shalom (Shanker) 1; Elusive Romance (Rabani) 2; Make A Wish (Gajender) 3; Scent Of Victory (Gowli) 4. Won by: Nk; Hd; 1/2; (1-33.5). Tote: Win Rs 34; Place: 17; 24; Quinella: 87; Shp: 30; Tanala: 327. Fav: Scent Of Victory (1). Winner trained by Vijay S.

2. Woolver Valley Handicap 1,400m: (5-6-2-1) Regal Fortune (I. Chisty) 1; Followme (Rabani) 2; Gallant Romeo (Gurang) 3; Ballet Master (Yadav) 4. Won by: 1/2; Dist; 2; (1-32.2). Tote: Win Rs 15; Place: 12; 19; Quinella: 20; Shp: 28; Tanala: 67. Fav: Regal Fortune (5). Winner trained by Daniel D.

3. Freelancer Handicap 1,000m: (4-2-6-1) Amonita (Shanker) 1; Frontier Flame (P. Kujur) 2; Castle Moon (I. Chisty) 3; Splendid Quest (Gajender) 4. Won by: SH; Hd; 5; (1-7.6). Tote: Win Rs 46; Place: 20; 26; Quinella: 131; Shp: 74; Tanala: 525. Fav: Splendid Quest (1). Winner trained by Vijay S.

4. Aunty Pip Handicap 1,400m: (1-7-3-2) Rheinheart (Asghar) 1; Thoughtful (I. Chisty) 2; Small Fry (Islam) 3; Boldwin (Reuben) 4. Won by: 7; 1/2; 1-1/4; (1-33.2). Tote: Win Rs 126; Place: 19; 12; 30; Quinella: 64; Shp: 53; Tanala: 1,131. Fav: Thoughtful (7). Winner trained by Bath.

5. Finalist Handicap 1,100m: (5-3-1-6) Jaannisar (P. Kujur) 1; Alessio (Shanker) 2; Cambridge Blue (Gajender) 3; Land Of Fantasy (Brij S.) 4. Won by: 3-1/2; 1-1/2; 1-1/2; (1-14.3). Tote: Win Rs 59; Place: 24; 16; Quinella: 61; Shp: 34; Tanala: 260. Fav: Cambridge Blue (1). Winner trained by Sanjeev C.

6. La Gitana Cup 1,200m: (8-1-7-6) Se Legend (I. Chisty) 1; Tasmac (Islam) 2; Amicable (Domingo) 3; Say It Loud (Tamang) 4. Won by: SH; 5; 1-1/2; (1-19.9). Tote: Win Rs 23; Place: 12; 16; 19; Quinella: 53; Shp: 88; Tanala: 280. Fav: Sea Legend (8). Winner trained by E. Bhungard.

7. Cherry Handicap 1,000m: (5-3-2-1) High Chief (Salim) 1; Midas Touch (Yadav) 2; Common Spirit (Jaiswal) 3; Lucifer (Surjeet) 4. Won by: 1-1/2; Hd; SH; (1-7.2). Tote: Win Rs 30; Place: 15; 78; 34; Quinella: 1,742; Shp: 277; Tanala: 12,980. Fav: High Chief (5). Winner trained by Daniel D.

Jackpot: Rs 98,161 (Carried over); (C) Rs 5,048.

Treble: (i) Rs 906; (ii) Rs 1,551.