IN THE SPOTLIGHT vs JACQUELINE

    There are several factors that determine the greatness of a horse. Most people involved in Indian Racing Fraternity lack the basic knowledge of the industry and are only guided by the betting factor.

People also have a misconception that the better the timing of a race so better is the horse. This is a big misconception as the timing is based on various factors like pace of the race, incline of a racetrack (uphill/downhill), ground conditions, false rail placement, distance covered by a horse (rails vs. outside), etc. So to judge a horse from different crops on timing is incorrect.

Also, when determining the horse, one must take into account the crop of horses they run with. Some years will see a very weak crop of horses compared to a year where the crop is extremely competitive.

This is why IN THE SPOTLIGHT by a shrewd judge will always be considered a better animal than Jacqueline. No doubt Jacqueline won four classics and was indeed a super special filly, but IN THE SPOTLIGHT is a class above her.

Jacqueline’s crop consisted of Change of Luck (mediocre stayer), Aboline (one paced horse with tack bias), Astral Flash, Classerville, De Nada, Sea Ruler, Native Knight, Onassis and Buckaner. All the above mentioned horses apart from Onassis are super gallopers. Only Becket was a real threat to her supremacy and was never disgraced in his races. SO basically it was a very weak crop of horses with only two horses that were in a classic group, Becket and Jacqueline. Also Jacqueline only won in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. In Pune she won in Class 1 and in Bangalore she won the G1 Fillies Trial Stakes.

On the other hand, IN THE SPOTLIGHT has travelled the length and breadth of the country winning a Classic race in 5 different centres (Mysore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Calcutta and Hyderabad) and winning three derbies in the process. A feat which is unmatched in the Indian Thoroughbred History till date and will be very difficult to repeat. Her opposition included the Pune Derby Winner, Bangalore Derby Winner, 1000 Guineas and 2000 Guineas winner, Oaks Winner, etc. And the manner in which she beat them shows the sheer class of IN THE SPOTLIGHT. When was the last time you remember a filly winning a derby in any jurisdiction by 7 lengths and that too after running 2400 meters multiple times in less than 40 days time gap?

She is way superior to Jacqueline, and as Todd Pletcher (USA’s Top Trainer) always says, ‘Any horse can win a G1 race in his backyard. But a Champion is one who goes to the others backyard and beats them there with utter disdain ’……Well she did just that in all the centres.

And for those who argue stupidly about timing and distance, Jacqueline won a total of 8 races with a combined distance of 16.5 lengths, and IN THE SPOTLIGHT has won her 7 races with a total combined distance of over 40 lengths.

And for those who love timing, Jacqueline won her 3 x 2400 meters race in combined time of 7m 32 sec 93msec….whereas IN THE SPOTLIGHT has done it in 7m 32sec 50msec…

I REST MY CASE!