A thrilling finish befitting a Derby had the packed stands at Malakpet on their toes on Sunday afternoon. Business Tycoon (ex Arya Veer), owned by Mr. Vijay Kumar Gupta and Mr. Susheel Kumar Gupta, representing Vijay Racing & Farms Private Limited, pulled off a glorious victory beating the top two fancied runners in a nail biting finish. Trained by Laxman Singh, Business Tycoon (Placerville-Imperial Satsuma) was ridden to a splendid victory by Patrick Anthony Culhane. 

Business Tycoon was quick to be up with the front bunch and the rider found no difficulty in settling his mount. Approaching the last 800 metres, Culhane decided to take Business Tycoon to the front and was a clear two lengths ahead on entering the home stretch for the final 400 metres of the race. Vijay Damini was along the rails but was unable to find the right rhythm, while Mark Gallagher brought Ordained One with a fine gallop to challenge Business Tycoon on his outside. The battle between the two was in full flow throughout the last 300 metres and it was in the final 50 metres Balmoral Castle came with a flash along the inner rails but by then Business Tycoon had touched the winning line to be the hero of the day. A ‘head’ and a ‘short head’ separated the first three horses in the Derby. 

Ordained One had nothing to complain about the loss as Mark Gallagher had brought out the best in his mount but Balmoral Castle had to undergo a freak interruption during the 2400-metre trip. As the field approached the seven-furlong marker, Vijay Monarch, ridden by Dashrath Singh, suddenly shifted out and that put Balmoral Castle out of stride momentarily. The connections of Balmoral Castle were of the opinion that the incident had a big bearing on the running of the race and the result could have been otherwise if the filly had not received the check. 

Mr. Vijay Kumar Gupta, the owner of Business Tycoon, who also happens to be the sponsor of the Derby, was mighty thrilled to lead in his first Derby Winner. An overjoyed Laxman Singh, the trainer of Business Tycoon, speaking to Indiarace, said, “This is my first Classic Victory. I have no words to express my feelings.” The Jockey, Culhane, fondly known as ‘Tony’, said, ‘It is great to win the Derby. Our plan was to get to the front as early as possible knowing well that staying will not be a problem for him.” When asked if he felt threatened when the horse started to shift out on top of the straight, Tony said, “I took him out on purpose as most of the winners of the day had made their move on the outside and I too wanted to stay away from the inner ground.” 

The Derby day had two Million races as added attractions, one sponsored by the H.D.I.L. Group and the other by the A.P. Race Horse Owners Association. A well-packed card of nine races made the task of picking a winner a tough task for the race-goers. Majority of the fancied runners had to bite the dust but the close finishes of the day with almost half the field in one frame in most races deserves a special mention of the handicapper. He turned out to be the silent Hero of the day and should be commended for a job well done. 

Super Duper (Keltos-Supercal) was a class apart on his way to victory in the H.D.I.L. Juvenile Million, run over 1,400 metres. Proof brought the field into the home stretch but was no match when Super Duper unleashed a splendid turn of foot. Super Duper has tremendous potential and the Deshmukh-trainee will be seen more when he gets to run in classics in future. Proof held on in second position. Naval Honour was withdrawn after he was troublesome and refused to move into the gates. 

Donal Netto-trained Precisely That (Rebuttal-Waggamama) was brought from outside draw quickly by Mark Gallagher to get into a prominent position in the A.P. Race Horse Owners Association Youngsters Million. Entering the last 300 metres, she shot ahead and held off the strong challenge of Premiership and Vijay’s Jet. 

Vendetta (Valid Concept-Three In One) beat the even-money favourite Golden Queen in The Secretariat Cup, for horses in the highest category. Golden Queen looked a winner 100 metres from home but Vendetta made massive progress to get past on the last stride. The race was the first leg of the jackpot pool and the win of rank-outsider Vendetta had a major chunk of the jackpot tickets in the dustbin. Bold Blast was withdrawn before the race. Shehzad Abbas, who trains the winner, pulled off a double on the Derby day lifting The Deccan Prince Cup, the concluding race with Al Sarraah. 

M.V. Narayana Rao’s Onti Onti Onti (Black Cash-Follow The Rainbow) covered almost a street from the rear with a flying finish to lift The Squanderer Cup. Chesapeake also moved along with ‘Onti’ but failed by a slender ‘head’. Queen Of Sheeba and Ultra Violet Ray filled the frame. 

P.S. Chouhan brought Faisal Hassan-trained Sanjaa (Hymn-Starissima) from a seventh position at the final bend through the field with a blistering run, to win The Aristocrat Cup. Illustrator covered ground late to finish second. 

Laxman Singh’s Rose Queen (Inhabitant-Olympic Princess) was ridden to victory by P.A. Culhane in the higher division of The Sikander-E-Azam Cup, beating Splendid Show. Richard Smith started the day, riding Anupam Sharma-trained Bharatanatyam (Dancing Beggar-Groves Iesis) to victory in the lower division. 

Trainers Laxman Singh, Shehzad Abbas and Jockeys P.A. Culhane, P.S. Chouhan were the only professionals to score a brace each on the day.