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If you're gifted/have qualities that will enable you for success, I struggle to see how not taking advanced calculus will be to your detriment, or affect your ability to be noticed.

Ramanujan read a bunch of textbooks. He certainly did not have the luxury of advanced calculus courses (which isn't even a good representation of research mathematics). He's one of the greatest mathematical geniuses of all time.

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Do you honestly believe that two kids with the same raw talent, one growing up in the projects and one attending private school in upstate New York, have the same chances of being future Fields Medalists? The same principle applies at a smaller scale to the availability of advanced classes in high school or at any level.

Ramanujan is considered exceptional precisely because of his background. He absolutely would have had more prominence and pushed the field much farther with the right resources at a young age.

Fair point. I was specifically comparing "regular" stream calculus vs a special "gifted" class (in the elitist, "my parents have more money" sense) ; I see now you were thinking more of "a subsidized opportunity for people in disadvantaged situations to be exposed to higher level mathematics", in which case, I agree with you.

Someone with 1-in-1000 aptitude might be considered gifted.

Ramanujan was more like 1 in a billion.

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