Kalpana began her five-year-old campaign with a win in the Group 3 Sky Sports Racing Aston Park Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.
Andrew Balding's daughter of Study Of Man had questions to answer on her first start of the campaign, conceding 4lb to her male opponents without having a run under her belt.
Indeed, she deserved to be shorter than her 11/10 starting price on form, and she proved her fitness was at a good level with a professional neck win over West Wind Blows (11/4).
William Buick made his way to the front after a quarter of a mile on the runner-up and dictated the fractions, his mount well used to posting very good form in such a scenario.
However, Colin Keane eased Kalpana into contention and she took lengths out of the field heading into the final quarter mile where she just began to tie up.
That gave West Wind Blows a sniff and he ran well to the line to get within a neck at the finish, but Kalpana always looked like holding on. The pair were 11 lengths clear of the third.
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Keane said: "She's such a big girl, she was looking for the line there but she's a class filly. She's a bigger version again and hopefully she's one to look forward to this season. I'd say she'll have a similar sort of campaign to last year."
Balding added: "The fitness was telling a bit in the last half-a-furlong, but it looks like she has still got the appetite for it, and the desire, which is the most important thing when you very sportingly keep horses in training as five-year-olds.
“12 months ago we were taking on the colts in a Group One in Ireland, and it was a tough ask, whereas this was more calmer waters. I think she was just getting a little tired but she was entitled to win the race on ratings, but you never know first time out while she is carrying a bit of extra condition, and she hasn’t run for a good while, so we are thrilled.
“I think the Fillies & Mares will be the big plan for her. We tried the Arc last year, and it didn’t work out obviously, but I don’t think any horse has won three races consecutively on Champions Day so that would be a nice target, but all things are possible. I don’t think it was so much the conditions in the Arc last year. I think the draw was the main issue, but that is history.
“I think the next step will be something at Royal Ascot depending on the opinions of the owners and we will see where we go from there.
“Both (the Hardwicke and Prince Of Wales’s) will be kept open and available and we will make a decision closer to the time. I think if the ground was very soft it might make the Prince Of Wales’s more attractive. She was second in the King George last year and that would be a nice mid-summer target.”
Simon Crisford said of the runner-up: "It was an absolutely epic performance from him. It was a great effort. He wears his heart on his sleeves and he stays well. He is in great form and we are going to head to the Hardwicke after this.
“He is a big international horse who loves international racing. Coming into this race we were just slightly fearful this track wouldn’t play to his strengths with such a long run in. You have to keep to finding here, but it was a strong performance.
“It never looked like he was going to get there, and he ran out of racetrack, but it was a nice performance."
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