The second Indian Classic of the year has a new sponsor with M/s. Vijay Shirke, K.N. Dhunjibhoy & Berjis Desai putting up two million rupees and presenting a Trophy to commemorate the star filly who ran in their colours. Jacqueline is the last filly to humble the colts in the Indian 2000 Guineas. The six fillies who have bagged the One Thousand-Two Thousand double are Princess Beautiful (1942-43), Her Majesty (1946-47), Gamble For Love (1949-50), Nanda Deep (1962-63), Highland Rule (1979-80) and Jacqueline. Four other fillies -- Rose de Bahama (1959-60), Multirosa (1966-67), Autumn Blue (1997-98) and Rapidash (2003-04) -- have also put it across the colts in the past. Unfortunately, there is no filly in the 10 starters who will go to the post on Sunday to pay a compliment to Jacqueline.

The Kunigal Stud-bred Castlebridge (Burden of Proof - Castle Queen) comes into this race with an imposing record. He is the winner of seven of his last eight starts, losing just once to Manifold in the Kingfisher Ultra Derby Bangalore, Gr.1. The filly wore him down in the last part suggesting that the extended distance may have played its part. A mile is a perfect trip for Castlebridge and he has warmed up for it with a stylish win the Maharaja of Morvi Trophy where Pure Zinc, Bateleur, Gallant Knight and Caprisca -- who cross swords with him again -- finished in his slipstream. It is possible that his rivals were merely on a scouting mission and were keeping their powder dry for the big day. On the other hand, Castlebridge raced in front throughout and his jockey P. Trevor never relaxed his double Nelson hold at any stage. Had he wanted, Trevor could have won by the length of Churchgate Street.

It is superfluous at this stage to discuss how far Castlebridge can go. The mile of the Indian 2000 Guineas is right up his alley. A son of the Champion Sire Burden of Proof, he traces to Schiaparaelli through Barley Corn. This branch of the family has produced six previous winners of this race in  Vesuvius, Adler, Smart Chieftan,  Mystical, Southern Empire and Pronto Pronto. The last named is from a different stirp but Castlebridge has a common heritage with the other five on the distaff side. On performance and pedigree, he is in a realm of his own.  A confirmed front runner, he will keep clear of all traffic problems. Recently, he has been seen sporting a hood which keeps his ear plugs in place. The connections felt that he became over keen when he heard the hoof beats behind him closing in and the contraption is meant to avoid that distraction. 

The real puzzle in this race is who will occupy the places in the frame behind Castlebridge and in what order. Rated nine points below Castlebridge is Malesh Narredu's Mygrator (Excellent Art - Haunting Memories). Three of his four wins have been over sprints and though he did win over 1400 m. once in Pune, he beat nothing special in that race. Last time out over 1400 m., Ruffina settled his pretensions emphatically.  His dam Haunting Memories and her full-sister Six Speed were both Gr.1 Classic winners over a mile but their progeny has struggled to win over that distance. Though a speedy customer, Mygrator doesn't tear away in front and is happy to stalk the pace. If he is judiciously ridden to husband his suspect stamina, he could be in the mix to get his number up.

Despite finishing off the board in the Kingfisher Ultra Pune Derby, Gr.1, Pure Zinc (Sedgefield - Skipperess) has much going his way. He is a course and distance winner, has won two Gr.2 races over a mile and finished closest to Castlebridge on his last start. He is hoping to become only the second grey to win this race after Capricorn in 1986. Beautifully bred Rochester  (Phoenix Tower - Krasnaya) was the best of the local brigade behind the runaway Lady In Lace at Pune. He has never been off the board in his six starts; on the other hand, he has won just once. A mile probably suits him better. He hasn't had a run during the current season but has been sharpened in a mock race in which he got the better of Perfect Star (Excellent Art - Free Radical).

Like Pure Zinc, Perfect Star is a course and distance winner. He came out of the maidens on his second start back in February. Not many juveniles win over a mile first time of asking as Perfect Star did. His dam won this very race in 2004. Unfortunately, Perfect Star hasn't progressed. The only time he finished off the board was in the Kingfisher Ultra Derby Bangalore, Gr.1. Up to a mile, he has never run a bad race though it would be true to say that he has, overall, disappointed his fans.

Bateleur (Western Aristocrat - Al Khazneh) is closely related on the dam's side to last year's winner Serjeant At Arms. He has two wins and two places from his four starts. Timeless (Surfrider - Showstopper) has some pretty decent form. He was second in the Kunigal Stud Breeders' Produce Stakes, Gr.2 and third in the Poonawalla Breeders' Multi-Million, Gr.1 as well as the Deccan Colts' Championship Stakes, Gr.3. He fell and finished riderless in the Kingfisher Ultra Pune Derby, Gr.1 after having clipped the heels of Zannara. He has always finished behind Tutankhamun but ahead of Perfect Star. His dam is a half-sister to Alma Mater who won the Radio Mirchi  Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1 a few years back.

While some of the runners may find a mile a wee bit far,. Caprisca (Steinbeck - Xisca) is likely to find it far too short. He will be at his best beyond 2000 m. 

As seemed most likely, Ruffina has not accepted to run on consecutive days and Excellent Gold, too, has declined leaving ten runners. Both were by Excellent Art and it now leaves that Freshman Sire with just two -- Mygrator and Perfect Star -- in the contest. The average field rating this year is 68.5 whereas the average over the past few years is 72.1. If the fillies' race on Saturday has seen seven consecutive favourites humbled, Sunday's feature has favourites on a winning spree of four.  The longest winning sequence of favourites in any Indian Classic is six and it came about in the Indian St. Leger in the latter half of the 1960s.

PAST THE POST

Over the years, the Indian 2000 Guineas has been some spectacular winners of the race who put daylight between them and the pack chasing in vain. Exhilaration, Continual, Princess Beautiful, Her Majesty, Super Brave, Bade Miya, Almanac, Alijah, Enrico and Flaming Star spared half a dozen lengths or more to their nearest rival. This is also the only Indian Classic which has seen a dead-heat which occurred in 1967 when Buland (Khade) and Our Select (Jagdish) could not be separated by the camera. Three years later, favourite Bright Hanovar finished two lengths ahead of Spellbound. Sexton on the runner-up objected against the winner and the protest was upheld. There were varied opinions about the decision of the Stewards and the most charitable one was that it was 'harsh'.

An Indian-bred stallion has very few opportunities and finds it hard to make his presence felt. So it surprising to note that Indian-bred stallions have managed to steal a bit of spotlight in the Indian 2000 Guineas. They are responsible for 11 of the winners over the years.