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Mirror Mirror On The Wall
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The 2011 Calcutta Oaks was previewed on this site under the heading IN THE SPOTLIGHT LOOKS HOME AND DRY. It ended with a final, PAST THE POST paragraph, which read:- More....
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Indian Turf Invitation Cup Week-End
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There is little doubt that the Invitation Cup week-end's racing, featuring four Grade 1 races, represents the very best that Indian racing has to offer. More....
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2012 Indian Turf Invitation Cup Gr.1
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The 50th renewal of this race will be run as AKK Entertainment Golden Jubilee Indian Turf Invitation Cup. The Sponsor's name and the Golden Jubilee prefix are understandable but what is... More....
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2012 Indian Turf Invitation Cup Week-End
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In The Spotlight is certain to be the cynosure of all eyes for the main race of the week-end and will be an overwhelming favourite.
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Many Possibilities But No Clear Cut Choice
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Thirteen runners will line up in front of the Members' Stand for the start of Mahalakshmi's race of the year. That's one more than the average of the past 69 runnings and includes three fillies - Hills and Stars, More....
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McDowell Signature Premier Indian Derby Gr.1
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The 70th Indian Derby will be run this Sunday. A Derby is meant to crown the best horse of a particular crop over the classic distance and while it does succeed in that objective frequently, More....
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Vijay Textiles Golconda Derby Gr.1
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In warfare, numbers count for nothing unless the conflict is long-drawn and attritional. Otherwise, sophisticated weaponry always prevails. This is very much pertinent to Vijay Textiles Golconda Derby More....
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The Bangalore Derby Grade-I
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Southern Bay, who seemed to have this race at her mercy, has 'defected'. Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy's filly worked well yesterday so presumably all is hunky dory with her but she is not in the list of acceptances. More....
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Zoom Indian Oaks Gr.1
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The 69th renewal of the Indian Oaks looks to be a race which in effect is a re-run of the Indian 1000 Guineas. More....
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Calcutta Derby Postponed
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Rains have caused the postponement of the Calcutta Derby. It will be run a week later on the 15th but the postponement does bring in an element of uncertainty and alters equations. More....
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Eveready Calcutta Derby Gr.1
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Nothing divides Calcutta more equally, right down the Chowringhee as it were, than Mohan Bagan and East Bengal; or, rosgollas and sandesh; or, politically, More....
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Bangalore Oaks Gr.2
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They say that what happens twice, must happen a third time. Some aver that things happen in threes. On Saturday, the Bangalore Oaks, Gr.2 More....
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Golconda Oaks Gr.2
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This Sunday, the 2008 crop turns four and eight birthday girls will contest the first four-year old Classic when the Golconda Oaks is run at Malakpet. More....
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Calcutta Oaks Gr.3
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The facile Calcutta 1000 Guineas, Gr.3 winner In The Spotlight (Alnasr Alwasheek - Radiate) faces six other fillies -- including four that she disdainfully brushed off in the Calcutta 1000 -- on Saturday More....
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Casino Royale Indian 2000 Guineas Grade-I
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The Indian 1000 Guineas and the Indian 2000 Guineas are both run over a mile, usually within a week of each other. While the former is restricted only to fillies, the latter race is open to both the sexes. More....
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Golconda 2000 Guineas Grade-II
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The Golconda 2000 Guineas has been won, more often than not, by outstation horses. The very first running was claimed by Aristocrat as was the last renewal by Astounding Gallop. More....
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Indian 1000 Guineas Grade-I
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The oldest Classic in India is the Indian 1000 Guineas and its 69th renewal is scheduled for the coming Sunday when it will be sponsored, for the first time, by Radio Mirchi. More....
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Another Guineas Double Header
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Another Saturday beckons with the 2000 Guineas carded at both Calcutta and Bangalore. Just a week ago, a similar arrangement promised two well contested 'matches' More....
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One Thousand Guineas Double Header on Saturday
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The Calcutta 1000 Guineas, Gr.3 and the Bangalore 1000 Guineas, Gr.2 are both down for a decision on Saturday with the former being run just a little before the latter. Both are likely to have small fields and both appear, at this stage, to be straight contests between two principals. More....
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Golconda 1000 Guineas Gr.2
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The winter Classics carousel will be set in motion on Sunday when the Golconda 1000 Guineas, Gr.2 is run at Malakpet. This is the Classic where the locals have had their best moments with four fillies winning in the last five years. More....
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Golconda St. Leger, Gr. 2
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Classics in India for any crop are spread over two years. The 3YO Classics -- trials, really, for the Winter Classics -- start high up in Udhagamandlam in April and finish with the Mysore Derby in October. There is not much of a break before the Winter Classics begin. More...
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Razeen's Unique Feat
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Yesterday, Razeen's daughter Hills and Stars won the Nanoli Stud Pune Derby, Gr.1 in a new track record time. That was his only winner of the day when 11 races were run. More....
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Nanoli Stud Pune Derby Grade-I
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The first Pune Derby, run in 1984, was sponsored by Splendour Deluxe and won by the filly Prudential Champ. In the 27 runnings so far, the race has showcased five future winners, Amorous Knight, Desert Warrior, Astonish, Indictment and Forest Fantasy of the Indian Derby/Invitation Cup. More....
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Deccan Derby
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Two races in India which are linked to specific dates on the calendar are the Bangalore Derby on 26th of January and the Deccan Derby on 2nd of October. However, before discussing coming Sunday's showpiece, a detour to Chinaswamy Stadium is necessary. More....
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Calcutta Monsoon Derby
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It was only in the 1980s that Kolkata's Monsoon Season received a boost with the introduction of two significant races, the Calcutta Fillies' Trial Stakes and the Calcutta Trial Stakes, both over 1400 m, with the latter being open to fillies as well as colts. More....
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Mysore 2000 Guineas
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It is difficult to say whether the Monsoon Classics at Mysore or their counterparts at Hyderabad have had a greater impact on the winter Classics. The Mysore 2000 Guineas has, however, provided the opportunity to two all time greats Elusive Pimpernel and Continual, to win their first Classic and announce their coming. More....
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Who Will Win The Mysore 1000 Guineas?
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Mysore Race Club inaugurated its "Classic" races in 1974, the very year Hyderabad Race Club added the Fillies' Trial Stakes and the Colts' Trial Stakes to the Deccan Derby which it had introduced three years previously. More....
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Picasso is The Pick
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Like the fillies' version, Hyderabad Colts' Championship (Group 3) began as a 'Trial' in 1974 when it was won by the Tyrrell-trained Zinosca colt Star of Stars. Since 1985, the satchelmen of Hyderabad have sponsored the race and just as in the case of fillies, the local colts have found it hard to ward off the outstation challengers in the last 30 years. More....
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Windsor Manor Sets The Standard
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The Hyderabad Fillies' Trial Stakes - as well as the Colts' version - was an even greater conundrum than its Bangalore counterparts. How a non-graded race and a 'Trial' at that was always considered a 'Classic', defied logic. More....
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Hard To Oppose Xisca In The Bangalore St. Leger
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The first Bangalore St. Leger was run in 1974 and was won by Nectar Queen. Nectar Queen is quite unique in that she was by an Indian Derby winner in Prince Pradeep out of Rocklie, also an Indian Derby winner. More....
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No Outstanding Contender in The Kingfisher Derby Field
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Sunday the 10th July will see the 50th renewal of Derby Bangalore - sponsored by Kingfisher since 1988 - and if there has been any trumpeting by authorities to highlight the historic occasion, it has been muted at best. More....
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A Delicate Balance
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Tesio's firm belief in the primacy of pedigree and performance found its way into a common racing adage - "Performances Make a Pedigree". Hackneyed but true enough, because if we accept the pedigree as the starting point - the scaffolding - then the performances provide the other embellishments of the structure. More....
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Summer's First Classic Wears an Open Look
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Bangalore's first 'Classic' of the summer season will be run on Sunday as the Fillies' Championship Stakes and it will be the 53rd renewal of this race. More....
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Classier Contest in The Colts' Championship
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What a significant pointer the Million race run in May has proved to be for the two mile Classics of the Bangalore Summer Season! Going back to the trend of last ten years, one - Astral Flash - did not run in the Fillies' Trial Stakes and of the remaining nine, six went on to bag either the Fillies' or the Colts' Trial Stakes. More....
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The Twin Pillars
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Federico Tesio, the Wizard of Dormello, is generally regarded as the greatest breeder the world has known. Tesio once said that the edifice of racing was built on the twin pillars of the Racing Calendar and the Stud Book. The Racing Calendar contained the results of all races run while the pedigrees of the horses which ran in them could be found in the Stud Book. More....
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Pat Eddery was Par Excellence on French Soil
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Irishman Pat Eddery was born in 1952. While his record in Britain was admirable, it was his incredible success in France that caught the attention of one of Europe’s leading owners Prince Khalid Bin Abdullah and he was ultimately retained by the royal. More....
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Lester Piggott – a Living Legend
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There was no way that Lester Keith Piggott was going be anything but a top jockey – his pedigree said so. His grandfather Ernie won the Grand National thrice, his dad Kith was a successful steeplechase.. More....
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Two big stars of yesteryear
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Two of the greatest jockeys of all time were Sir Gordon Richards and Willie Shoemaker. While the former is the sole member of his fraternity to be knighted, the latter had ridden his 8,700th winner before his 40th year. More....
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Walter Swinburn –A chip off the old block
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Oldtimers in India may well recall the name of Wally Swinburn. He was a popular Irish rider who rode with great success in both Bombay and Calcutta in the sixties. More....
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Carson, the finest from Scotland
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The stoutly built Willie Carson was one of the best that Scotland has produced – and we are not talking of their whiskey for once. Though a late starter, More....
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The Resilient Steve Cauthen
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Born in the year 1960 in the heart of thoroughbred racing that is Kentucky, Cauthen rode his first race at Churchill Downs at the tender age of 16 More....
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A Late Starter But Quick Learner
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From a bricklayer’s assistant to a top jockey in Italy was quite a transformation for Gianfranco Dettori, a lad who had never set his eyes on a racehorse till in his late teens More....
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Malesh Narredu to Represent World Jockey Team
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Indian Ace Malesh Narredu has been chosen to represent the Rest of the World jockeys’ Team for the Shergar Cup weekend at Ascot. More....
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Jockeys on Their Way to India
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Here is information on English and Irish jockeys who are riding and will soon be riding in India. The numbers are taken from Racing Post. More....
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A Tribute To Jacqueline
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Every once in a while, a special two year-old walks into a trainer's yard, and life, as he knows it, changes forever More....
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Silvestre Desouza Joins The "Elite Group"
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Jockey Silvestre Desouza completed a rare landmark, when he rode the David Baron-trained Sheastar to an exciting victory on Saturday More....
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Razeen - A Stallion Sensation of our Times
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Usha Stud's Northern Dancer horse Razeen passed away at the height of his glory. More....
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Placerville - The Great Adversary
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The Northern Dancer horse Razeen passed away just as the new covering season was getting underway. More....
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Glory Of Dancer - Steady Climb To The Top Halted
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Just two months ago, the deaths of Razeen and Placerville had left the Indian breeding industry reeling and the Champion Sire's crown without a head to adorn. Amongst the aspirants for that crown was the Shareef Dancer horse Glory of Dancer who, unfortunately, died in a freak paddock accident at Nanoli Stud on 13 April, 2011. More....
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Sires Of Substance (S.O.S) : Rebuttal
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With three of the country’s leading stallions having passed away in quick succession, it is imperative that the void left by the three ‘giants’ be filled by the new string of stallions scattered across the country. More....
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