The Royal Calcutta Turf Club (RCTC) will stage a seven-race meeting on Wednesday, September 2, with proceedings scheduled to commence at 2:00 PM and conclude at 5:05 PM. The afternoon will encompass races over distances ranging from 1,100 metres to 1,800 metres, embracing Class II, Class III, Class IV and Class V handicaps alongside the Calcutta Fillies Trial Stakes, which will be restricted to three-year-old horses. The latter will command the most substantial purse of the programme at Rs. 27,12,500, while the remaining contests will carry prize money between Rs. 3,00,000 and Rs. 7,50,000.
Kolkata Racecards 2 September
The opening chapter of the afternoon will unfold with THE FAITH HANDICAP at 2:00 PM, a Class V contest for horses rated 1-26. The race will be conducted over 1,400 metres and will carry total prize money of Rs. 3,00,000. As the curtain-raiser to the meeting, it will introduce the lower-rated runners to the day’s programme and will provide a measured middle-distance examination. The conditions will establish the tone for an afternoon in which the race classifications and distances will progressively vary.
The second engagement will take shape at 2:30 PM, when THE EXCEPTION HANDICAP will send its field over 1,400 metres. The Class IV contest will be open to horses rated 21-46, while those rated 1-26 will also be eligible under the stipulated conditions. With Rs. 4,00,000 in total prize money, the race will represent a step upwards in class from the opening event. Its identical distance will preserve some continuity, although the broader rating conditions will introduce a different level of competition to the early stages of the meeting.
The programme will then assume a more demanding complexion with THE WINDSOR FOREST HANDICAP, which will be scheduled for 3:00 PM over 1,800 metres. The Class III contest will cater to horses rated 41-66, with those rated 21-46 also eligible, and will carry total prize money of Rs. 5,00,000. As the longest race on the card, the contest will constitute a pronounced departure from the preceding 1,400-metre assignments. The extended journey will require the runners to sustain their effort over a greater distance and will provide the meeting with its clearest test of stamina.
The afternoon will subsequently ascend into higher-rated company with THE SHIVANSH CUP, due to be contested at 3:30 PM over 1,600 metres. The Class II event will be open to horses rated 81 and above, while horses rated 61-86 will also be eligible. The race will carry an appreciable total purse of Rs. 7,50,000. Its position immediately before the afternoon’s richest contest will lend further significance to the middle portion of the card, while the mile distance will offer a balanced examination between the longer 1,800-metre event and the shorter races that will follow.
The principal attraction of the meeting will then come under scrutiny at 4:00 PM with THE CALCUTTA FILLIES TRIAL STAKES, restricted to three-year-old horses and scheduled over 1,400 metres. The contest will carry an imposing total prize of Rs. 27,12,500, making it by some distance the most valuable race on the programme. Four runners will be named for the contest: PINNACLE, who will be partnered by Yash Narredu; PRINCESS S, with P. Trevor; SHRISHTI, to be ridden by Akshay Kumar; and SOLEVA, with P. Tejeshwar. The age restriction will confer a distinctive character upon the event, while its substantial purse will place it firmly at the centre of the afternoon’s racing narrative.
With the principal contest concluded, the card will enter its closing phase with THE SCRUPLES HANDICAP DIV I at 4:30 PM. The Class IV race will be run over 1,100 metres and will be open to horses rated 21-46, with those rated 1-26 also eligible. The event will carry Rs. 4,00,000 in total prize money. The contraction in distance will markedly alter the nature of the examination, bringing the programme back towards sprinting territory after the more expansive tests that will have characterised the middle of the afternoon.
The final instalment of the seven-race programme will arrive at 5:05 PM with THE SCRUPLES HANDICAP DIV II, again over 1,100 metres. The Class IV contest will carry Rs. 4,00,000 and will be open to horses rated 21-46, while those rated 1-26 will also qualify under the race conditions. Coming immediately after Division I, the concluding event will mirror its predecessor in distance and classification, bringing the afternoon to an orderly close after a programme distinguished by a broad spectrum of ratings, distances and race conditions.
The Kolkata Racecards 2 September will encompass seven races at the Royal Calcutta Turf Club, with the Calcutta Fillies Trial providing the feature contest and the programme running from 2:00 PM to 5:05 PM.
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