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 and looks all set to pick up the longer fillies Classic. She towers over the field but while a defeat for her is unimaginable on form, she is likely to be at very cramped odds and is hence unbackable.

The four fillies she beat last time out over a mile are Two In One, Pedigree Nick, Secrecy and Secret Visit. Two In One was five lengths behind and only half a length in front of the third-placed Pedigree Nick. The other two fillies ran well down the field. When moving from the mile of the Guineas to the mile and a half of the Oaks, there is always a possibility of some placings getting reversed. In the case of In The Spotlight that possibility is remote because she is bred to stay and the longer distance, allied with her much superior class, is very much in her favour. She had won the Deccan Derby, Gr.1 over 2000 m. without being challenged before coming to Calcutta. Her black-type placed dam is a three-parts sister to Radical Force who won the B.K.Rattonsey Stayers' Cup Gr.1 in record time and full-sister to Road Runner, a winner of the Bombay Dyeing C.N. Wadia Gold Cup Gr.2 over 2400 m. The next two dams, Aroma and Menorah, are both black-type winners and both have victories over 2800 m. to their credit. These are impeccable stamina credentials and being rated 14 points higher than Two In One and 19 above Pedigree Nick makes it futile to look for any possible chinks.

There are two other fillies -- Pedigree Nick and Genevieve -- who are bred on the same Alnasr Alwasheek-Placerville cross and they too have excellent staying pedigrees. Pedigree Nick's dam Risada, third in Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1, is a full-sister to Golconda Oaks, Gr.2 winner Rain Splasher while Genevieve is herself a full-sister to the Dheeraj Arma Indian Oaks, Gr.1 winner Blue Ribbon.  Pedigree, however, cannot override demonstrated performance. Pedigree Nick has almost ten lengths to find on In The Spotlight while the lightly raced Genevieve -- who will carry the same colours as last year's winner Xisca -- won her maiden race earlier this month.

Two In One (Royal Gladiator - Arikara) has been an epitome of consistency with a hat-trick of wins and three seconds from six starts. Her dam gained her black-type when placing second to Anzello in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Gr.3 over 2800 m. and comes from a prominent staying family for her fourth dam is Hari Hara Priya. This is the family of Birthday Girl, Amazing Bay, Amazing Girl, Armagnac and other good stayers. Royal Gladiator did win the Golconda St. Leger, Gr.2 and placed 3rd in Indian Turf Invitation Cup, Gr.1 but he also won the Kingfisher Bangalore Colts' Trial Stakes, Gr.1 and Golconda 2000 Guineas, Gr.2 over a mile. His progeny has not shown any tangible signs of stamina thus far and Two In One comes across as filly who could -- rather than who will -- get the mile and a half trip.

Usha Stud has won this race a record 14 times in the past and will be represented by two fillies -- Secrecy and Secret Visit -- both carrying the Khaitan colours and both bred on the China Visit-Razeen cross. Last year, this cross was responsible for Moonlight Romance and Xisca whose tail-female lines were more steeped in stamina. Secrecy and Secret Visit ran dismal races last time out. The remaining filly in the field is Manhattan Rain (Sunday Doubt - Star Selection) who, like Genevieve, broke her duck just this month. Bred at Dashmesh Stud and carrying the Brar colours, she comes from the celebrated, staying Aurelie family (Rocklie, Bakhtawar, Classic Story, Classic Style and others). Star Selection placed fourth in this race in her time.

The leading owners of the Calcutta Oaks are Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy with 12 wins while Dr. Vijay Mallya has seven. Neither will be represented on Saturday but the leading jockey, B. Prakash with five winners, could have a mount. Trainer D.M .David won't be saddling a runner in this race but his record of seven wins in not under threat. In the last ten years, nine favourites have won the Calcutta Oaks and the only one to have failed is Star Perfection in 2007. 

In The Spotlight, it has to be mentioned, is following the trail established by Xisca last year. Xisca came to Calcutta after winning the Deccan Derby but unlike trainer Padmanabhan's filly, chose to go for Calcutta 2000 Guineas. Having won that race, she completed the treble by bagging the Oaks as well as the Derby. Will In The Spotlight stay on to cross swords with Dandified in the Calcutta Derby or will she head west earlier?

PAST THE POST

We have seen some exceptional fillies in recent years. Fillies like Set Alight, Jacqueline, Moonlight Romance and Xisca to mention just four. It inevitably leads to the debate about the best filly ever. That debate, rarely if ever, includes a filly who won the Calcutta Oaks in 1968-69. In fact, she won the Calcutta 1000 Guineas, Calcutta 2000 Guineas, Calcutta Oaks, Calcutta Derby and then went to Mumbai and picked up the Indian Oaks, the Indian Derby and the Indian St. Leger! Seven winter Classics in a row, five of them over 2400 m. or more and four against the colts!! Now, that should make the debate even more interesting.