First and foremost, it is necessary to pay a tribute to the satchel men of Hyderabad. They are among the leading sponsors at that centre and are certainly giving back something to the sport. If only the bookmakers at other centres took a leaf from their book !

The Calcutta Derby is the earliest of winter Derbies run and it affords an opportunity to horses that run in that race to have a shot at other Derbies. A Calcutta Derby runner has subsequently won an Indian Derby, the Golconda Derby or the South India Derby; so far, the Bangalore Derby has remained safe from the north-eastern onslaught. In recent years, Own Vision (2004), Sans Pareil (2010) and Tintinnabulation (2013) came south to Malakpet after having failed in their attempt in to win the Calcutta Derby. Own Vision and Tintinnabulation were victorious but Sans Pareil finished fourth in both the big races. So far, there has been no Calcutta Derby-Golconda Derby double. That omission will most likely be rectified this Sunday.

Quasar's winning margin at Calcutta was just three-parts of a length but he won far more easily than the bare verdict suggests. That form has got a tremendous boost with Tiger Tops cruising to an untroubled victory in the Villoo Poonawalla Indian Oaks, Gr.1 last Sunday at Mahalakshmi. Mr. Jaydev Mody's Mallesh Narredu trained colt will not only be seeking a unique double but also his sixth win in a row. A winner of two Gr.1 Derbies, he stands tall, dwarfing the opposition.

To discuss the motley collection of his rivals is an affront to Quasar but in racing a victory is not to be taken for granted till the white cone goes up. So, it is fair to begin with the fairer sex. Among the  fillies left in the contest are the L.V.R. Deshmukh pair of Supreme Fairy, an earlier winner of the Deccan Bookmakers' Golconda 1000 Guineas, Gr.2 and her stable-mate Vjiay Vaishnavee  (Yeats - Bright Hope) as also the Bangalore challenger Anarosa (Montjeu - Catherine Linton).

Laurita won the Golconda Oaks, Gr.2 where Vaijay Vaishnavee and Supreme Fairy were second and third. Laurita ran a dismal race in Mumbai and that, theoretically, puts paid to the chances of the Deshmukh duo. In the Malakpet race, Supreme Fairy was better backed than Vijay Vaishnavee but finished behind her. Since both had a common ownership interest, certain eyebrows were raised.  Not going by the unproven insinuations, it has to be said that Supreme Fairy had run a stinker in the New Hope Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1 at Mumbai and seems to have lost her way somewhat. Her trainer has had time to ginger her up and how successful he has been will be evident on Sunday. The 'got-abroad' Vijay Vaishnavee  has a fabulous staying pedigree and was going over the right distance for the first time in her career. She carries the Sadler's Wells-Danehill cross and her sire Yeats won the Ascot Gold Cup, Gr.1 (4000 m.) four years running. The filly belongs to an excellent, staying family, that of Our Liz whose Aurelie branch has done so well in India. Vijay Vaishnavee has abundant stamina but is relatively inexperienced at this level. She is the only foal of her dam in India because Bright Hope is dead.

What is said of Vjiay Vaishnavee can be repeated in the case of Anarosa. Her dam was purchased for the Rattonsey family by Radiant Bloodstock, a venture of trainer Padmanabhan, at the 2010 Tattersalls December Sale for 80,000 gns making her one of the most expensive mares to be imported. Her landed price in India would be well over Rs. 1 crore. Catherine Linton failed to win from four starts but being in-foal to Montjeu, a sire who has already made it to the 'chefs de race' ranks in the "classic/stout" category and her dam Ramruma having won the Vodafone Epsom Oaks, Gr.1, meant that the outlay was justified. Anarosa has raced just five times so far and came out of the maidens on her last start earlier this month. The filly may be wet behind the ears but her handler is a savvy old hand and Anarosa will at last be going over a distance her pedigree is crying out for.

Of the colts, three ran against each other in the Sri A.S. Krishna Memorial Cup over 2200 m. and the winner was Nerves  of Steel  (formerly Silver Phantom) (53 kgs.) with Veloz (56 kgs.) third and the Deccan Bookmakers' Golconda 2000 Guineas, Gr.2 winner Dare To Dream (60.5 kgs.) fourth.The winner beat Veloz by a length and three-quarters while Dare To Dream was just half a length behind Veloz. Since they will be level weights on Sunday, it is obvious that Dare To Dream (Oath - Starynessey) comes out the best. Add to that the fact that Dare To Dream was extremely unlucky in the running last time out -- he received a check at the top of the straight and was later pocketed on the rails -- and the conclusion is that the son of the Epsom Derby winner Oath ought to extract revenge on Sunday.

Veloz and Dare to Dream are trained by M. Srinivas Reddy while Nerves of Steel hails of trainer S.A. Shehzad Abbas's yard. The latter also fields Right Dimension (Multidimension - Flowersoftheforest) who is a winner over 2200 m. on his last start. His dam won the Wills Golconda Derby, Gr.1 in her time.  Right Dimension has a lot to find on ratings though the same could have been said of Roses In Bloom, a Multidimensional filly, with whom Shehzad Abbas scored last year in this race.

It is to be wondered if in Hyderabad they have a "Enter One, Run One Free" promotion because four local trainers have more than one runner. Trainer G. Sandhu will saddle two Hazara-breds -- maiden Holy Empire and Faustina -- in breeder Mr. Nirmal Singh's colours. M. Srinivas Reddy fields three including Angelina who could be Dare To Dreams's pacemaker while L.V.R. Deshmukh and Shehzad Abbas have a brace each. Happy Guy (Slickly - Ladyfish; from the immediate family of Pratap Stud stallion Royal Gladiator)  will carry Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy's standard. Happy Guy has two wins over 1800 m. and one over 2000  m. He was beaten, giving weight over 2200 m. by Parushram, who went to Calcutta for the Derby.

'Got-abroads' and local-breds are evenly divided and the average rating of the field (72.5) is below the average of last five years (76.66) but higher than what it was for this contest last year.

PAST THE POST

This Sunday's race will be the first of three Derbies within eight days. What is certain is that all three races will have very short-priced favourites. Quasar, Bold Majesty and Be Safe will all be at cramped odds. One or more of them may stumble but it is difficult to pick the giant slayers. On the other hand, a treble on Quasar, Bold Majesty and Be Safe can be an option. Be warned though if you think that's the holy grail. In this millennium, there hasn't been a single year when all the three Derbies were won by the favourite. On the other hand, there are four years -- 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2009 -- when outsiders won all the three Derbies. Two of the three favourites winning is the best and that's happened just thrice.