The Wadhawan and Tharani combine cannot be accused of being over-confident, if they were already considering creating a prominent showcase to place the McDowell Signature Indian Derby Trophy. After all, they have the optimum ammunition for the conquest! They have it all pretty much covered. In fact, the bookmakers’ board would probably read

Favourite – Wadhawan & Tharani (O&B),

Second Favourite – Wadhawan & Tharani (MR),

Jodi – Wadhawan & Tharani (O&B + MR),

Outsider – Wadhawan & Tharani (Sunlight)!

For a long time now, there has not been such a strong representation – that too for the richest race in the land – that dons the same silks. Dr MAM Ramaswamy has had multiple runners in a race more than any other owner. Dr Vijay Mallya too has had his multiple runners vying with each other. However, it is difficult to recall an occasion when two of the same owner has even had the stable’s retained rider in a tizzy for choice! Richard Hughes, who knows his horses well and, more importantly, knows the Mahalaxmi race track as no other current foreign rider does, has made no secret that he will wait to pick his mount at the last possible moment. “I will ride the one who feels best on the day (the final fast-gallop work day). Both have tremendous potential and I know both will stay the trip. It is a matter of who will be his/her best on the day,” Richard had said before weighing-in, after the Oaks triumph.

Moonlight Romance sure has had the right lead-up. The Oaks run proved beyond doubt that she would stay. The race itself was a fairly true run race and from the outset, Sun Elegance and Sunlight ensured that the pace was at a good clip if not lightening quick. Moonlight Romance settled well, was relaxed and when the moment came to quicken, she surged ahead readily. Richard was unduly persuasive on her and evidently at full throttle. He took his foot off the gas pedal only a stride before the winning post, despite there being no visible threat. Moonlight Romance’s turn of foot was pleasing to put it mildly. Yes, she will stay, she has the class and she has taken the hauling-through-the-coals-test admirably. She will take some beating!

Ocean And Beyond is the big boy from the yard. Powerfully built, he looks a dominant force alright. He is peaking at the right time and his lead-up too has been satisfactory. He won the Indian 2000 Guineas with conviction and followed that up with the Ruia Cup without dropping sweat either. Richard eased him to the front without much cajoling and spent just enough, to spare a length at the wire. All the way, he kept Macchupicchu interested and if that was a ploy, it was played out to the hilt.

Unlike Moonlight Romance, Ocean And Beyond has not been flamboyant in his victories. The margin of victory has not been too yawning. He has won his wars, yet has ensured no scars were inflicted. That is, up to the mile and quarter mark! To my mind, the only chink in his armour is just that – the distance. How he shapes up over the extra two furlongs is the million-dollar question.

“Oh, he took this very well, you can see he isn’t blowing too hard,” Richard had said while unsaddling after his Ruia Cup conquest. “He will surely stay longer and he is coming up nicely and is on course for bigger glory,” he had professed. Well, similar post-race quotes from a reputed jockey. Surely you wouldn’t be surprised if they both stretched to the wire, the one who would be breathing out, would win?

Macchupichhu is the pick among the challengers’ brigade. He ran a forward race in the Ruia and finished on well. He was up in front early and stayed on till the end, only letting Ocean And Beyond pass him for the winning post. He had come into that race after a completely lacklustre performance, his worst performance to date, just a few weeks back in the Indian 2000 Guineas. To stage a recovery from such a bashing was remarkable. The improvement he has shown is commendable, but to encash that against the likes of the two top contenders, Macchupicchu will have to dig a lot deeper.

Xisca has been a delight to her connections with the steep rise in her career graph. One short-head victory in the last Pune season beating Star Warrior was enough to catapult her into a Multi-Classic Princess. She took the title of that race she won in Pune seriously, and has since left a trail of “Mystic Memory”. She left for Hyderabad breaking into a classic winning spree ever since. After tasting victory in the Deccan Derby, she swept the Classic treble in Kolkata winning the 2000 Guineas, the Oaks and the Derby in the most fashionable manner. She has been well rested ever since the Calcutta Derby and is not the one to be taken lightly.

Sunlight is the proverbial Dark ‘Un. With just three victories to show from thirteen outings, Sunlight could be passed off as a long shot. What brings her into the reckoning is her undoubted power to stay. Just like her name, she could stay from sunrise to sunset, as they say, ‘till the cows come home’. She showed what she could do in the shorter Pune straight in the Nanoli Derby when she almost shocked Ocean And Beyond at the post. The Mahalaxmi straight is one that suits her style and if she gets going she could spring a surprise. If she doesn’t, persist with her in the Leger; the longer the distance, the better for her. I am of the opinion that she is yet to give out her best. There is some hidden talent in her which should surface sooner or later.

So the Wadhawan connections are sitting pretty. The mood in the camp ought to be upbeat. They are aspiring for their first ever Derby, a campaign that’s an ultimate destination for any owner. No matter who the owners are, no matter how big, the craving to bring home the McDowell Signature Indian Derby Trophy doesn’t bet bigger!