The seventy first renewal of the Blue Riband of Indian Racing is round the corner and the first thought which comes to mind is that even after seventy runnings we feel compelled to keep it restricted to Indian-breds. It is not surprising at all in a country where sixty five years after Independence we have reservations based on all kinds of parameters.  

People who have successfully managed to promote the cause of the Indian-bred need to be complimented for they have succeeded in safe-guarding their own interests at the cost of the Indian horse. It may look innocent but one other stratagem they have skillfully and dexterously slipped in is the opening the Classics to geldings. Some years ago at an international conference when someone asked why the name of the winner of the Kentucky Derby did not enjoy the protected status, Louis Romanet replied, "A Derby run over 2000 m. on dirt and contested by geldings running on lasix doesn't deserve to have the name of its winner protected". 

We will leave 2000 m., dirt and lasix aside and concentrate only on geldings. Throughout its history, the Thoroughbred has been developed by a careful process of selection which embraces pedigree and performance. Classics are the plinth on which the whole edifice is built and winners of Classic races stand out as prospective stallions. Unless, of course, they have been unceremoniously 'cut'. Those who have obtained the concession for the geldings to run in Classics will argue that no one wants to stand an Indian-bred horse. The success that Star of Gwalior, Prince Pradeep, Sir Bruce, Exhilaration, Elusive Pimpernel and their likes have had would suggest otherwise. In any case, the choice is that of the breeder and it is for the authorities to ensure that they have that choice. In absence of that choice, a small breeder is forced to import an unperformed non-entity from abroad. Much more can be written on the subject though it is hoped that a mere mention here will start some fresh thinking. 

A race like the Derby is - or should be-- the ultimate barometer by which to judge the progress of the breed. From that perspective, the race is a failure, whether in India or abroad. No one say pragmatically whether Camelot is a better horse than Roberto who won 40 years earlier. Last year's Indian Derby winner In The Spotlight won the race by seven lengths whereas Mystical was only third in the corresponding race in 2006, a length and a half behind the winner. Mystical won off a rating of 107 in Dubai so In the Spotlight has her work cut out to show that there has been improvement. 

Thirty two favourites have won the Indian Derby which is just a shade over 45 %.  Hang on a sec, though. In the twelve runnings this millennium, only one favourite has obliged. Why has the percentage dropped so dramatically and drastically? It is hard to ascribe reasons that will be universally acceptable but two plausible ones that come to mind are a deterioration in overall quality and a lack on genuine Classic, staying blood. At least three of the winners had pedigrees which were speed-oriented and unworthy of a Derby winner. Others will contend just the opposite. The overall quality has improved, they will say, and resulted in a more level playing field. Take your pick. 

In the early days, the first four Classics were run within the space of five weeks. No time for lead-up races. You went from one Classic to another. As the gap increased, the need for a prep race for the Derby was felt and the Trial Stakes was introduced in mid-1950s. It first became the Sir H.M. Mehta Gold Cup and then the Ramniwas Ramnarain Ruia Gold Cup. No winner of the Ruia has gone on to win the Derby this millennium though four who had placed in the race showed enough improvement to lift the big trophy. "Hoodoo Race" is a term associated with the Ruia which has no basis. As many as 17 winners of the Ruia have won the Derby and they include such stalwarts as the Triple Crown winners Our Select, Squanderer, Indictment and Smart Chieftan as well as Invitation Cup winners Bright Hanovar, Commanche, Manitou, Chaitanya Chakram and Desert Warrior and it remains the best lead-up race, statistically, for the Derby. It is also a worthwhile exercise to study the pedigrees of the Ruia winners this millennium and see if they had the potential to tackle the extra 400 m. Next to the Ruia, the Indian Oaks and the regional Derbys have a good strike rate both having provided nine Indian Derby winners while the Indian 2000 Guineas is just behind them with eight. 

47 Derby winners had won their previous race; 54 had run within four weeks of the Derby and 51 had raced over a distance of 2000 m. or more. 30 Derby winners met all the three conditions; that is they were winners of their previous start over a distance of 2000 m. or more within four weeks of the Derby.  

The concept of specialist horses according to the distance is something that has not crystalised in India. Win the Indian 2000 Guineas and it is almost mandatory to run in the Derby. In the last ten years, nine of the ten Indian 2000 Guineas winners lined up for the Derby.  (The one who didn't was the filly Rapidash who never raced after winning the Indian 2000 Guineas). The philosophy is - "The Derby comes but once in the lifetime of a horse. Let him have his chance". During the same period, only three Two Thousand Guineas winners on the Rowley Mile made the journey to Epsom! 

Since the beginning of the racing year in last November, 13 Classics have been run for the crop born in 2009 at Bangalore, Calcutta, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Of them, 9 have been won by horses born north of Narmada and just two born in born in Pune area and two at Kunigal. An interesting theory put forward and one worthy of a second thought is that during the 2008  Pune season, a strange virus broke out. The season went ahead as scheduled but the move to Mumbai was delayed and racing started at Mahalakshmi only towards the end of January. Perhaps, the virus was prevalent at farms in the Pune area (it certainly was at Kunigal) and that affected the mares carrying the foals. The foals, when they were born, were not as sound as they would otherwise have been. That has been reflected in the results. Subscribe to the theory and you have to put a line across all Derby runners born in Pune area. 

PAST THE POST 

And, finally, some trivia about the India Derby which the viewers may or may not be aware of and may or may not find interesting. 

* The very first Indian Derby, won by Princess Beautiful, was run on Saturday, 30 January 1943. Saturdays were the norm in the early days and Mansoor Beg's Derby in 1950 was the first run on a Sunday. It was back to a Saturday when Gold Street won the following year but Martial Law and Regal Domain won their races on a Sunday. Commoner, India's first Triple Crown winner, won the last Derby run on a Saturday in 1954. Since then, it has been all Sundays except one year. Which year was it and on what day of the week? The question is left for the viewers to ponder over.  

*    Regal Domain won the race on 18 Jan 1953 and that is the earliest in the year that it has been run. Antonios, on the other hand, won on 12 April 2009. All other Derbys fall within those two dates. 

*     There were no fillies in the race in years Deepak (1944), Balchand (1957), Alijah (1961), Royal Tern (1979) and Track Lightning (1981) won. On the other hand, in 2004, all the first four finishers, Psychic Flame, Estonia, Sprungli and Allies Serenade were fillies. 

*    In 1973, Mansoor's year, the first four finishers were all chestnuts.