First run in 1971 when Red Surprise was the winner, the Deccan Derby has been sponsored 18 times since then. This year's renewal sees a new sponsor and the 42nd running is slated as Vijay Textiles Deccan Derby, Gr.1. Vijay Textiles is owned by the Guptas who are also prominent owners of Hyderabad. Their firm will be contributing Rs. 1.5 million towards the stake money and as they also own a half share in four of the nine contestants, they would be hoping to recover a part of that outlay.

Two 'got-abroad' geldings stand apart from the others in the field. They are Borsalino (Choisir - Running Flame), bred, trained and part-owned by Padmanabhan and Machiavellianism (Jazil - Empresse Jesse) who will run in the colours of the late Mr. D. Pratap Chander Reddy and is trained by L.V.R. Deshmukh. There is a difference of just one point in their ratings with Machiavellianism at 100 and Borsalino on 99. No handicapping wizardry is necessary to arrive at those figures because the last time the two met, in the Hyderabad Colts' Championship Stakes, Gr.3 about a month ago, Machiavellianism just edged ahead of Borsalino in the shadow of the winning post to eke out a neck victory.

That last encounter between the two adversaries was the fourth time they had crossed swords. The first came at Mahalakhmi in February in the Poonawalla Breeders' Multi-Million, Gr.1 where Machiavellianism finished fourth with Borsalino unplaced. Then, after a gap of four months, the two clashed in the Bangalore Colts'. Championship Stakes, Gr.1 which Deshmukh's ward won. Borsalino, making his seasonal debut in that race, was fifth and not too far behind the winner. There was some talk of Borsalino's saddle slipping during that race though the official race day report does not mention it. Then came the Kingfisher Derby Bangalore, Gr.1 and Borsalino, relishing the underfoot conditions, strode away from his field to win impressively while Machiavellianism just about got his number put up; he was a shade over a dozen lengths behind the winner. Machiavellianism thus has a 3-1 advantage in their head-to-head meetings.

So well matched are the two that it is difficult to separate them. Tactics, underfoot conditions, fitness on the day and the luck in running will be extremely critical and the final outcome will depend on those factors. Borsalino won the Kingfisher Derby Bangalore, Gr.1 adopting a start to finish tactic. He relied on the same strategem last month in Hyderabad but this time he was not allowed an easy lead with Machiavellianism's bracket-mate Plenipotent striding alongside and though it looked as if he would just about hold on, he became a victim of the winner's late swoop. The tactics are unlikely to change. What will be crucial is their execution. The pace required to win from the front in a 2000 m. race is different from that is necessary over a mile. That judgement of pace comes only with experience as does the all-important decision of when to kick on. Sandesh had things his way in Bangalore and perhaps didn't quite make the required adjustment at Malakpet.

They say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". In racing we could adapt it to "If something has worked, don't ditch it". Sacrifice of Plenipotent last time paid rich dividends for the Machiavellianism camp. Machiavellianism and Plenipotent run in the same colours. The Guptas have a share in Winning Tactics and  Racing Tycoon; the former is with Deshmukh and the latter is trained by Laxman Singh. While at the moment no jockey seems to have been declared on Winning Tactics, it is known that Culhane will be astride Racing Tycoon. It looks more than likely that the 'relay' system (it used to be called "tapaal'' in the good old days at Mahalakshmi) of pacemakers will be employed with Plenipotent coming to the fore after the other two have retired. Whichever way it is done, it will be absolutely essential for P.S. Chouhan not lie too far out of his ground and begin his assault at the right moment.

In England, it is permissable for a trainer to declare a horse with a proviso about the going. He may well declare a horse to start with the proviso that if the going turns soft, he will withdraw his runner. No such recourse is available in India. The effect of going on a horse's performance is considerable and one which is often ignored in India. Look at the runs of Equine Lover in July in Bangalore and in the Mysore 2000 Guineas, Gr.3. On both the days, there was give in the ground and the filly edged left steadily in the run-in. Of course, going is not the only reason which causes horses to drift (on the track as well as the books ! ). The fact that Borsalino thrived in soft going in Bangalore while Machiavellianism ran his worst race is one which needs to be kept in mind.

One would expect a Derby runner to be fit. The fitness required to win a race is the essence of a trainer's art. One spurt too much and the horse leaves his race on the training track. One gallop less and he is found wanting at decisive moment. This is where Borsalino perhaps has an advantage. Padmanabhan usually gets his calculations right once he has "measured" a horse. That is to take nothing away from Deshmukh who has come on tremendously in the last year or so. The Vijays Pride-Machiavellianism double in Bangalore at long could have been dismissed as a one-off. On the other hand winning with those very horses as favourites in Hyderabad showed the extent of the progress he has made. Another possible pointer is that Borsalino has already won over 2000 m; Machiavellianism is yet to win beyond a mile though his pedigree suggests that he should be able get the trip.

Other than Borsalino and the Gupta Quartet, the other four runners are San Ramon (64) ,Ocean Side (56), Flying Spur (53) and Hawkspring (52). Leo D'Silva trains the first two named and it is noteworthy that he is not running Laurel Canyon who beat Hawkspring last time out over 2000 m. by a length. San Ramon (Placerville - Sorrento Steel) had won three consecutive races, all over 1400 m., before finishing fourth five lengths behind Machiavellianism in the Hyderabad Colts' Championship Stakes, Gr.3. San Ramon's dam was a Champion Filly in Scandinavia where she won 4 races upto a mile. Her sire Montjeu being a notable stamina influence, San Ramon appears to be the one who can throw a spanner in the works.

LEADERS

Owner                                      - Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy (14)

Trainer                                     - R.R. Byramji (6)

Jockey                                     - Karan Singh (4)

Stud Farm                                - Poonawalla Group and Usha (8 each)

Sire                                          - T.V. Sunday (3)

Fastest Time                             -  In The Spotlight (2012 - 2.05.6)

Slowest Time                            -  Sparks (2009 - 2.15.7)

Biggest Field (15)                     - Sweeping Success (2007) and Xisca (2010)

Smallest Field (3)                      - Chaitanya Chakram (1986)

'Got-Abroad' Winners              - Starsky (2001) and Star Presentation (2008)

Fully Related Winners              - (Grand Parade and Aristocrat) 
                                                      (Chaitanya Ratham and Chaitanya Chakram)

Aris David (1978), R.R. Byramji (1990) and S. Ganapathy (2004) are three trainers who have won all the three Monsoon Classics at Hyderabad in one year.