Earlier this week, trainer Padmanabhan had a chance of equaling Chaitanya Chakram's record of most number of career Classics with In The Spotlight. Instead, the star filly bowed out, handing the race to her stable companion Hills and Stars. Opportunity, it is said, does not knock twice. So the trainer must count himself as being extremely fortunate to have a crack at matching another of the crack galloper's unique achievements. Chaitanya Chakram is the only horse in India to have won three Derbys as a three year-old. (Chaitanya Chakram would probably have won the Nilgiris Derby, Gr.1 that year had racing at Ooty not come to an abrupt end following a Government order). Borsalino can emulate the son of Urvashi this Sunday.

 Borsalino (Choisir - Running Flame) already has the Kingfisher Derby Bangalore, Gr.1 and the Vijay Textiles Deccan Derby, Gr.1 in his bag. In winning the former race, he outclassed Super Storm, one of his main rivals here. Borsalino is the only horse in the eight-strong field who has won over the distance and done so twice at the highest level. On both the occasions, there was rain around and going had give in it. How crucial has the going factor been responsible for Borsalino's two Derby wins? Obviously, should a similar track condition prevail on Sunday, he will be hard to rein in. On the other hand, if the going is good, the colt will have to prove that he is just as good on it. 

Super Storm (Rebuttal - Cielo Vodkamartini) upset the favourite Equine Lover in the Mysore 2000 Guineas, Gr.3. He handled the soft going that obtained on that day so his finishing well adrift of Borsalino in the Kingfisher Derby Bangalore, Gr.1 cannot be attributed to the underfoot conditions. While the evidence so far is scanty, it appears that the progeny of Rebuttal (as in the case of China Visit) take their distance aptitude from their dams. There is class and stamina in the bottom half of Super Storm's pedigree and he is well suited to the distance. However, he has to make up eight lengths against Borsalino and that is a tough ask.

Let's go back to Chaitanya Chakram. Twenty five years ago that was a hallowed name on the Indian turf and he had a legion of fans. Those, however, were the days before the internet and blogs and the hype was confined to the word of mouth and the print media. Chaitanya Chakram was trained by Jaggy Dhariwal. A quarter of a century later, Dhariwal has put in a late entry for Maths Baby (Mathematician - Cannon Baby). Last Sunday, Bezan Chenoy, a veteran trainer like Dhariwal, reaped the rewards for a final entry with Commander. While keeping Chaitanya Chakram's record intact would hardly be the reason for Maths Baby's final entry, the decision has to be respected. The old foxes do know a thing or two.

There are sound reasons of form which have obviously been paramount in Dhariwal's mind. After finishing mid-field in the Bangalore Colts' Championship Stakes, Gr.3, Maths Baby skipped the Derby and ran in the Nawab Arshad Ali Khan Memorial Cup over 1400 m. a day before. He finished second to Equine Lover and a line through that filly brings him in contention with Super Storm. His next start was in the DBA Hyderabad Colts' Championship Stakes, Gr.3 and despite angling out dramatically and finishing close to the stand side rail, he was just a length shy of the battling pair Machiavellianism and Borsalino. In his last start at Mysore he picked up the Chief Minister's Cup in the open class in fluent style over 1800 m. Admittedly, he was receiving plenty of weight from Camorra and Rising Rainbow who finished behind him. (Rising Rainbow has since then gone on to win the Governor's Cup to frank the running). Thus, Maths Baby has the required credentials against his own crop as well as older horses.

Maths Baby has a course victory over 1800 m. He is from the first crop of his sire Mathematician whose two wins came over 1200 m. and 1500 m. Maths Baby's damsire Ajaad was a sprinter-miler. However, there is sufficient class in the pedigree of Maths Baby to be competitive over 2000 m. He traces to Star of Vintage who established a successful family (that of Om-Sakthi, Half A Crown, Brave Dancer, Anekta and others) at the Byerly Stud.

Trainer Padmanabhan also runs Unforgettable (Ace - Perpetuate). This half-brother to the black-type winner Awarding was third behind in Super Storm and Equine Lover in the Mysore 2000 Guineas, Gr.3. Equine Lover was the fancied stable runner in that race. Unforgettable loped along at the back-end of the field before finishing on purposefully in the straight. In the old days, the correspondent of the Motee Race Card would have put it down as "trial run of great significance". From the family of the McDowell Indian Derby, Gr.1 winner Starfire Girl, Unforgettable is bred to get the trip. He has obviously not been asked a serious question so far and there is no doubt that he will be in earnest on Sunday. His stable-mate Borsalino will be better backed and that could be a bit a quandary for the trainer who also owns the favourite. Unforgettable runs in the colours of the sponsors.

There are two Steinbecks in the field. Simply Stylish (out of Silken Star), the only filly running, and the gelding Wind Stream (out of Artwork). Both are well suited by the distance but short on class and it is noticeable that Unforgettable reversed the finishing order with Wind Stream in the Mysore 2000 Guineas, Gr.3 after having run behind him in the Mysore Million, Gr.3. Own Asset and Courage In Red have no winning chance on their recent form

 PAST THE POST

 LEADERS

 Owners -  Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy (11)

Trainers -  A.B. David (8)

Jockeys -  V. Shinde and P. Shroff (5 each)

Sires -  Everyday II, Malvado and Placerville (3 each)

Stud Farms - Poonawalla (8)

 Fastest Time:   FIELD MARSHAL (2011) 2.1.54

Slowest Time:   MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1974) 2.25.4

Biggest Field: (13)  NEGRESCO (1993)

Smallest Field: (4)  DELAGE (1990)

'Got-Abroad' Winners: CROWN TREASURE (1996) and OCTOGONAL (1997)

Believe It or Not. Razeen has not sired a single winner of the Mysore Derby.