All aspirations of Set Alight, believed by most already as an “All Time Great”, are on the threshold of being realized on the Mahalaxmi track, the venue that she made her first appearance a little over a year ago. It was the Rahimtoola Trophy that Set Alight as a three year old created an innocent flutter beating the then favorite Thundering Hooves. As if impressed by the name of the contemporary that she defeated, Set Alight took it seriously - the name, and set about thundering her hooves on any racetrack that she set her hooves on. At 4/1, she polished off the opposition by over 4 lengths over a 5 furlong scurry. The Breeders’ Produce Stakes was her next show. Star Wave, another impressive youngster, cornered most of the betting. The bookies had not read much into her debut win obviously and had quoted Set Alight at 5/1, some at 7/1 as well. Autonomy, hold your breath, was offered 15/1. This was the race, I suppose, would evoke the most interesting and heated debate for the current generation. For, this was the race, that Set Alight earned the first recognition as an extraordinary filly. The race in question is still vividly clear in my mind. At the top of the straight, Set Alight had barely begun her now famous final run, when Autonomy came in fast and mean, forcing his way to the front. In doing so, Richard Hughes atop Autonomy, failed to keep a straight course and Set Alight who was right behind was forced to check. Autonomy, oblivious to this unintentional but obtrusive technical glitch, galloped on to dominate past the distance post. Behind him, Set Alight, clearly affected by the infringement, quickly geared up to the task of catching up with the colt. She recovered remarkably and was devouring ground with each stride. The winning post arrived a stride too soon for her and Autonomy had done what no other horse would ever do to Set Alight ever, to date! The rest is history. After two convincing victories in her first ‘away’ assignment in Bangalore, which included the Fillies' Trials, Set Alight entered the stalls as a less-than-half-money favorite for the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby. What she did in that race made every horse lover sit up and take notice! She gave jockey Malesh Narredu the easiest of rides in a classic and erased the course record but faithfully not the jockey's name. Malesh Narredu himself had partnered Star Supreme for the earlier record timing ten years back! The Byramjis and the Darashahs, the Shindes and the Kaders not to mention the Narredus, were all singing her praises in unison. 'She is the best in the business' was the universal statement. “She is the best filly I have ridden,” declared Malesh right there on the track, even before the applause had mellowed down! Malesh partnered her again in her solitary run at Pune. Having noticed Malesh repeated looking back during that ridiculously easy victory, I was prompted to write in my column in jest, “Malesh was looking back repeatedly as if he had vested interests in the Second Horse Pool”. Such was the authority Set Alight had stamped in Pune. Then followed the unfortunate equine influenza. Set Alight too wasn’t spared and suffered her bout as did most other race horses. There was gloom felt by every horse lover for all the horses that were affected. Most anxiety, however, was whether the EI would take a heavy toll on the horses and Set Alight in particular. Will she return to her original potential? Will the EI leave any effects? Would Set Alight recover to her menacing best? The wait was long and agonizing. Nearly four months after her Pune victory, Set Alight came into the paddock for the Maharaja of Morvi Trophy. Only Romantic Impact and Flaming Ace braved to take her on for which they were rewarded the second and third placing respectively. Set Alight won by 4½ L in a canter. The Gitanjali Indian 1000 Guineas was duly added to her conquests’ list. Icebreaker had shot into the lead in the straight, and Set Alight expectedly passed her approaching the distance post….now wait a minute! Did I use the word ‘expectedly’? Well, I beg to stand corrected. She was expected to whiz past Icebreaker. After all, Set Alight is Set Alight and Icebreaker, for all she is worth, was in fact racing on the Mumbai track for the first time! Icebreaker hung on alongside Set Alight for a stride or two longer than ‘expected’ and the noises from a few detractors that she may have could be heard. The R R Ruia Gold Cup victory ended all speculation whether Set Alight had any chinks in her armour. She pulverized the fighter Dancing Dynamite and the top class colt Palazzios Sun with minimum effort. What was astonishing was that the seemingly lazy gallop had eclipsed the great Elusive Pimpernel’s record of 13 years! Now that to my mind is a remarkable performance and ample evidence that this filly is truly exceptional and an equine Star, with the potential of being hailed as a legend in the history of Indian Racing. The McDowell Signature Indian Derby is her next and most important milestone and definitely the toughest race of her life yet. This is it, a true test of her stamina, speed and temprament. Sunday the 12th of April 2009, will reveal whether the Mahalaxmi race track will be graced by an equine star or an equine legend! Who wouldn't want to be there at the Mahalaxmi racecourse and witness history being created?