Velvet Rope (P.Kamlesh up) winner of
the McDowell Indian Derby (Gr.1) being led in by owner Mr.Shiven Surendranath &
trainer Mr.Vinayak

Velvet Rope shocks in 2006 McDowell Indian Derby
By Anil Mukhi
 
Feb 11, 2006

Hanging by a rope, not necessarily a velvet one, and swinging gently in the breeze, are all the Turf correspondents of India - this writer included - after seeing what was amongst the longest-priced Indian Derby winners of all time triumph on February 5th! All the predictions and pre-race analyses went out of the window as Velvet Rope (Turtle Island-Truffa, by Selkirk) defied the apparent limitations of his pedigree to score by half a length from the luckless Holding Court.

To place the result in proper perspective, it is worthy to note that the Tote dividend at Mahalakshmi of Rs.406 was higher than the figures recorded for Nelston (Rs.383), Star Of Gwalior (Rs.298) and Gold Street (Rs.216), and was second only to the astonishing Rs.899 returned by Noble Eagle in 2003.

Velvet Rope (Kamlesh up) getting the better of Holding Court (McCullagh up)

Coming off a six-race victory skein, Mystical, trained at Bangalore by S. Ganapathy for Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy, garnered the largest share of the wagering pie. Unfortunately, in this writer's opinion, he was the victim of the manner in which the race panned out, accompanied by a somewhat below-par judgment of pace from Indian saddle ace, B. Prakash.

In line with pre-race prognostications, Admiral's Force made the running; however, contrary to expectations, he blazed through lightning fast fractions, and thus ensured that the field was strung out behind him in the backstretch like a bead necklace. Only Romantic Liaison and Holding Court kept "in touch", with Mystical well off the pace. By the halfway mark itself, it was pretty obvious that the latter's chance had all but gone.

When the race took a serious turn, Christopher Alford on Romantic Liaison could not resist making a forward move even before they straightened for home. His mount hit the front far too soon, and then flattened out in the drive (she finished 7-1/2 lengths behind the third-placed runner, not by any means a true reflection of her merit).

As the Indian Oaks heroine weakened, the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby winner Holding Court kicked on, tackled now by Mystical, whose reserves had been used up to bridge the rather large leeway that his rider had allowed the leading group. However, it was clear he was making no impression. In fact, Velvet Rope, showing by far the better turn of foot, soon passed him on the outside.

In a ding-dong tussle, during which Niall McCullagh and Holding Court showed the utmost resolution under pressure, it was Velvet Rope under P. Kamlesh who prevailed by half a length in front of a bemused throng. Sent out by Vinayak Gaekwad, who took over the reins from the suspended Cooji Katrak, the bay gelding was bred by the Nilagiri Stud Farm at the Sohna Stud in Haryana.

The 2006 McDowell Indian Derby winner being paraded by his jubilant connections, Mr.Sultan Singh (Breeder), Mr. Shiven Surendranath (Owner) and Mr. Vinayak (Trainer)

Mystical was not disgraced a further length in arrears, well clear of Romantic Liaison. In fifth came Nanoli Stud Pune Derby winner Aquilo, who ran a better race than expected, considering he had been on a fruitless mission to Hyderabad just the previous week. Supplementary entry Golden Triangle was sixth.

Democraticus (ninth) was a total disappointment, as was Calcutta Derby hero, Aristotle, who ended up tenth. Of course, this was not their true running - horses do have "off days" due to some factor not divined by human beings, since horses cannot talk. Both are more than likely to return to their best in the not too distant future.

Was the result a true reflection of the merit of the runners? One thinks not necessarily - unless Velvet Rope has made unexpected improvement, he is less likely to be able to surprise Mystical or Holding Court when the rivals next square up, probably at Bangalore in the Indian Turf Invitation Cup on March 5th. And what about one Flashing Star lurking in the wings……!!!