The outcome of the 73rd renewal of Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1, sponsored by Deltin Casinos, revolves a great deal around The Admiralty Question. Admiralty ( Admiralofthefleet - Caprese) has raced thrice so far in his career and is yet to be beaten. His first two wins came in Mumbai and while the manner of his winning was impressive, he did not beat much in them. Then came the Karnataka Juvenile Million, Gr.2 at Bangalore which he won beating Auriga and Desert God (both receiving 4 kgs. from the winner) and Eternal Flame (giving 2.5 kgs. to the winner).  Desert God and Eternal Flame have since won four Classics between them while Auriga has placed in three. That is a very strong form line and it makes Admiralty very much a live contender here. On pedigree, too, he comes out vaunted. His dam is Classic placed while his grandam is herself a Classic winner and a half-sister to the unbeaten Continual. The next dam Cordon Bleu won the McDowell Indian Derby, Gr.1. It certainly is a Classic pedigree though it is fair to say that it is more suited to longer trips rather than a mile.

The Admiralty Question arises because Dr. Mallya's colt, having developed a tendon problem, has not raced since May. He will be running after almost seven months. It is hard to remember a horse winning a Classic after such a long gap. Horses have won the '2000' after resting during the monsoons but they were sound horses and the gap was shorter. There is a difference between 'resting' and 'recuperating' horses. Two instances which come readily to mind of horses sidelined through an injury and running in a big race after a long interval are Tristar and Andreyan.  Tristar ran after a six month gap in the Invitation Cup in 1974 and Andreyan took part in the Bangalore Derby after four months 2005. Both finished second.

From all reports, Admiralty is fit to take his place in the line-up on Sunday. He has had two mock races. In the first one, he finished a close fourth to Your Royal Majesty, Gestapo and Myrtlewood. Being once again on the track sent the adrenaline coursing through the colt and being full of beans he ran rather more keenly than intended. A week later, he had his second mock race when jockey was instructed to make sure that he ran well within himself. Dr. Mallya's racing is conducted in a very open manner and his horses are always on their mettle so one need not worry about any smoke screens. However, one can never predict how Admiralty's tendon stands up to the strain of an actual, high quality race.

Mr. Shapoor Mistry holds two trumps in his hand through Phoenix Tiger (Phoenix Tower - Tigresse Noir), who is the highest rated contender and Costa del Sol (Phoenix Tiger (Phoenix Tower - Shining Glory), who will run in the 'Nifty' colours with the doyen of Manjri Stud holding a share. The former is trained by Dallas Todywalla while Pesi Shroff schools the latter. The Phoenix Tower pair has been very consistent. Phoenix Tiger has won five of six starts and placed second once; Costa del Sol has won four times from his six and has been the runner-up twice. Phoenix Tiger pulverized Auriga in the Bangalore Colts' Championship Stakes, Gr.1 and has since won twice in open Class 1 to be rated 107. Like Phoenix Tiger, Costa del Sol is also a Gr.1 winner having won the Poonawalla Breeders' Multi-Million to which he added the F.D. Wadia Trophy, Gr.3 in Pune. In both these races, he beat Colombiana (Noverre - Wonder Smile). Costa del Sol also finished ahead of Ostwind, a stable-mate of Colombiana, in the Kunigal Breeders' Produce Stakes, Gr.3. Ostwind is the only horse to have beaten Phoenix Tiger so far. Shroff's ward is rated 32 points below Phoenix Tiger but he has a more conventional damline and his beating Ostwind  brings him closer than the arithmetic difference. It will be interesting to see whom Colm O'Donoghue chooses to ride.

Colombiana, like Costa del Sol, has raced six times, won twice and been the runner-up on four occasions. He has been beaten twice by Costa del Sol, once when receiving 3 kgs. and yet he is rated 2 points higher. Handicappers can work that out. He went down fighting to Desert God in the Deccan Colts' Championship Stakes, Gr.3. The Mumtaz Mahal family finished on top of the table last year and Colombiana, who belongs to it, made a healthy contribution. Phoenix Tiger and Colombiana have won during the current Mumbai season. Costa del Sol won at the fag end of Pune season and he was given a mock race at the end of last month which was the second one Admiralty had.

Rigoletto (Kingda Ka - Highland Ghillie), like Phoenix Tiger, Costa del Sol and Colombiana, has never been off-the-board though he has run only four times with two wins and two seconds to his name. In Pune, he won over 2000 m. and then went down by shade over two lengths in the Nanoli Stud Pune Derby, Gr.1 to Bullrun. He is a brother-in-blood to the recent Golconda 2000 Guineas, Gr.2 winner King Charles whose dam is a full-sister to Highland Ghillie. He is also a half-brother to Cabriolet. Highland Ghillie is a full-sister to Artois (Nanoli Stud Pune Derby, Gr.1) and a half-sister to Zurbaran (Indian Turf Invitation Cup, Gr.1). There is stamina in the dam line but Kingda Ka's best runners -- like King Charles, Intelligence, Zachary and Jack Frost --  have so far excelled at a mile.

Rated much higher than Costa del Sol, Colombiana and Rigoletto is the Bangalore challenger Bold Commmand (Arazan - Indian's feather). After an easy outing at 2, Bold Command won most impressively during the Bangalore Summer Season beating Amazing Charm and Brilliant Cut; he followed up with another win in the Bangalore Summer Million, Gr.3 finishing ahead of Starlet and then scored in the Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club Mysore 2000 Guineas, Gr.3 getting the better of Brilliant Cut and Mogadishu. These three wins were all over a mile but his margin victory was receding -- a distance on his maiden win, five-plus lengths in the Million and just a neck in the Mysore 2000. In the Mysore Derby, Gr.1., however, he was collared by Mogadishu in a blanket finish which saw the first five horses (Desert God, Star Formation and Brilliant Cut were the other three) covered by just about one length. Bold Command will be running at what appears to be his best distance and his own form line is good enough; the form of his stable, though, is uncertain.

The last three winners of this race were all 'got-abroads' -- Machiavellianism, Muroi and Be Safe.  There is no 'got-abroad' in the ten that have accepted. The average rating of the field is almost 75, much higher than the average of recent years and only a point below the average rating in Jacqueline's year. Of the trainers with runners, only S.K. Sunderji and Karthik Ganapathy haven't saddled a '2000' winner. Suraj Narredu, P.S. Chouhan and P. Kamlesh have ridden a winner earlier though it is doubtful if the last named would have a mount in the race on Sunday. When P.S. Chouhan won the race on Machiavellianism, he had already won on Vijays Pride so it was a Guineas Double for the jockey and the trainer L.V.R. Deshmukh that year.

One thing is certain though. No matter which horse wins, his sire will get his first Indian 2000 Guineas winner.

PAST THE POST

It has been a very long time -- seventy two long years -- since the first Indian 2000 Guineas was run and so it is easy to forget that the first seven runnings of the race were in January.  Two other renewals -- one in the '50s and the other in the '60s -- were also contested in January whereas Autonomy won his race in March. Capricorn, Enrico, Exhilaration and Perfect Timing won on the round course at Mahalakshmi while the mile chute was closed to enable an underground water pipeline to be laid. And, Eversun and Sir Bruce won their races at Pune.

It is a matter on coincidence that both the Pune winners were sons of Everyday II and both were ridden by the Irish jockey Mick Kinane. The Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1 was the only Classic that Eversun won. He was owned by Mr. V.S. Dhedia and trained by A.U. Khan for whom, too, it was their only Classic success. Sir Bruce, owned by Mr. & Mrs. Chaudhry and trained by Jamshed Dalal, went on to win the McDowell Indian Derby, Gr.1 and later he stood as a stallion at Divyug Stud after brief spells at Doaba Stud and Pratap Stud. He was a successful stallion and his daughter Autumn Blue emulated him by winning the Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1. He was euthanized last year at the age of 32. No stallion registered by Stud Book Authority of India has lived longer than Sir Bruce.