There is something about horses which embark on a winning streak that endears them to racegoers. With each new victory their fan club grows and swells to legion proportions. Their supporters know that sooner or later the streak will come to an end but that does not restrain them from revelling in the moment. Nearly 150 years ago, the Hungarian filly Kincsem won 54 races in a row and that included the Goodwood Cup in England. Nowadays, most horses don't run 54 times in their whole careers and the winning sequences have become shorter. Black Caviar retired after 25 consecutive wins but most other streaks ended short of the 20-mark. There is, off course, the "opposition party" which keeps running down the horse, predicting its doom on the next start. Eventually, they have their day in the sun when they can beat their chests proclaiming, "I told you so". The fans of the horse, however, have the last laugh. They have more days to rejoice and only one to shed tears. 

Talk of unbeaten horses is appropriate  this year because we have Sir Cecil who has won all his eight starts and the Indian Derby is just round the corner. The Sarainanga grey is not the first horse to find himself in this position. There have been some others and it is interesting to see how they fared. Besides, he is currently the subject of much conjecture as to his physical well being.

HER MAJESTY (b f 1943 Barra Sahib* - Laughing Water* by Walter Gay)

The first unbeaten runner in the Indian Derby was Her Majesty, owned by Mr. A.C. Ardeshir and she was bred by him in partnership with the Yeravada Stud. She was described as "a rangy, upstanding filly of magnificent proportions and all quality". She made a winning debut as a three year-old in mid-January and won her next eight races including the Indian 1000 Guineas, Indian 2000 Guineas and Indian Oaks. She was trained by Walter Buckley, ridden in all her races by the Australian jockey Billy Evans and while the average win odds on her were 10/3 on, she won her races by an average of four and a half lengths. These are bare facts. What they don't convey is her imperious bearing and her magnetic appeal with earned her the sobriquet "Apdi Ghodi" (Our Mare). In those days, the Tote rule stipulated that if you had a winning bet, a dividend of Rs. 11 was mandatory. It is said that some shrewd people used to back her for heavy amounts in place on the Tote. They reckoned that it was the quickest and safest 10% they ever earned !

For the Indian Derby run on Saturday, 8 February 1947, Her Majesty was a piping hot favourite at 1/9 on in a field of ten runners which included her pacemaker Equity. Why she needed a pacemaker is today unclear. Why Equity, who had won a battling race over 2000 m. by a head just five days previously,  was chosen is hard to fathom. The fateful moment arrived as the field was passing the mile marker, right opposite the Stands in the backstretch. Equity broke down. Her Majesty, who racing behind him, cannoned into the colt and almost came a cropper. It required all of Billy Evans's saddle artistry to prevent that. The mishap caused Her Majesty bad bruises, she lost momentum and valuable ground. Despite that, she was upsides Bucephalus, whom she had beaten by eight lengths in the Indian 2000 Guineas, as they took the final turn. Then, the injuries told and she buckled under. Three weeks later she got her revenge in the Governor-General's Cup (Indian St. Leger). Still far from recovered and much short of work, she beat Bucephalus by a short-head, her indomitable spirit carrying her through as she made every inch of the running and refused to give in.

With the future of Indian racing uncertain at that time, it was decided to send Her Majesty to England. She was aboard S.S. "Durenda" which left Mumbai and she was treated for  swollen sub-maxilliary glands at Karachi. She appeared to be responding to the treatment but her condtion took a turn for the worse as the ship entered the Gulf of Aden and she died on the evening of 27 May 1948.

HELIANTHA (b f 1974 Prince Pradeep - Elgin Marbles* by Phideas)

Like Her Majesty, Heliantha was bred at the Yeravada Stud and she raced in the colours of Mr. F.D. Wadia and his daughter Parvin. As a sister to two Classic winners in Venus de Milo and Elegance. Heliantha had much family honour to maintain and when the breeders retained her to race, it was obvious that she had star potential. She was first seen on a race course at Mahalakshmi on 14 January 1973 and scored a smashing win in the hands of Yusuf Khan. Two months later, she won by a distance under Jagdish and her trainer Dady Adenwalla knew that he had a serious filly in his yard. In Pune, she won two races in a fortnight during the mid-season, both with Yusuf Khan in the saddle. 

Heliantha's Mahalakshmi opener came in the H.H. Maharaja of Morvi Gold Cup where the Irish jockey Christie Roche had the ride. The Indian 1000 Guineas and the Indian Oaks posed no problems. The filly had now won seven races in a row, all as a favourite and her average winning distance was five and a half lengths. She had earned the respect of Mahalakshmi and the right to start as the 7/10 on favourite for the Indian Derby run on 10 February. The field comprised of 11 runners and Heliantha took off a trifle tardily . That didn't worry Roche for the filly had shown that tendency previously also. However, she was not at the races that day and though she improved a bit towards the end, she could only finish sixth. In the Invitation Cup next month at Mumbai, her fans were staunchly behind her and she started a 2/1 favourite. Once again she was left at the start and though she ran a much better race this time to just miss the board, there was a problem to be solved. She came under the silks twice during the Pune season but refused to race. Something had soured her and she was sent off to stud. Her stud produce was not noteworthy though her Confusion daughter Sterling Lass later became the dam of Indian Derby winner Littleover.

EXHILARATION (b c 1885 Malvado[CAN] - Preparation[IRE] by On Your Mark)

Fifteen years after Heliantha, came Exhilaration and at last we had an unbeaten winner of the Indian Derby. Stallions Malvado and Riyahi and broodmares Preparation and Charenzaccio and her daughter Schiaparelli came to Poonawalla Farms at about the same time and they were the catalysts of that farm's rise to eminence. Exhilaration made his debut on Cordon Bleu's Indian Derby day when he won the McDowell Moving Spirit Cup by nearly three lengths from the filly Grand Stand. He was even more impressive when bagging the Bookmakers' Trophy, Gr.3 from Firebolt the next month. He had just one start during the Pune season and he added the S.A. Poonawalla Trophy, Gr.2 to his cabinet, beating Classic Jim by a distance in a new course record time. Till then, he had raced in the colours of M/s. J.P. Goenka & Cyrus S. Poonawalla. 

Mr. J.P. Goenka's share in Exhilaration was bought by Mr. Z.S. Poonawalla and Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy and the colt raced in the new colours when he made his seasonal appearance back in Mumbai when he won a Class III mile race by eight lengths. Mr. Solomon Sopher joined the ownership as Exhilaration extended his spree by winning the Garware Paints Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1 by a distance. Favourite in all his five races so far, Exhilaration had an average winning margin of about seven and a half lengths. He went straight into the Indian Derby on 5 February and though he touched even money in the ring it was only momentarily. His starting price was 7/10 on. Pesi Shroff, who had ridden him in all his starts, kept him switched off in the mid-field till the bend, He made rapid progress once they came into the straight and he hit the front at the distance. Exhilaration hung left in the closing stages and finished closer to the standside than the far rail. Shroff did not correct the drift as he feared that it would break the colt's stride. Exhilaration had a neck to spare over Northern Star at the wire. 

In the Invitation Cup, Northern Star reduced the gap to half a length and towards the end of the month beat Exhilaration by a length and a quarter in the Herbertson's Dynasty R.W.I.T.C., Ltd. Invitational Trophy, Gr.2 when receiving 8.5 kgs. However, Northern Star tested positive for caffeine in his post Invitation Cup samples and was disqualified from his runner-up position there as well as his later win. That maintained Exhilaration's unbeaten status. Exhilaration won a race in Pune and went to the post for the R.W.I.T.C., Ltd. Committee Trophy, Gr.3 in February 1990. Something was found amiss there and he was withdrawn on veterinary grounds. He was retired to stud and from limited opportunities got the South India Derby, Gr.1 winner Capital Risk.    

ADLER (b c 1989 Riyahi[IRE] - Schiaparelli[HOL] by Sanhedrin)

Adler was owned by Dr. Vijay Mallya and trained by Rashid Byramji. He was a three-parts brother to Divine Light who had the same connections and was unbeaten in six starts before she met her Waterloo in the Indian Oaks. Adler was a very talented colt but had soundness issues so he was only sparingly raced, winning four races as a three year-old including the McDowell Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1. He crashed into the running rail as he was being pulled up after winning that race and so needed time to be recover and be tested in a prep-race. The Indian Derby that year had been postponed and was scheduled to be run just a week before the Invitation Cup. Adler's connection had a choice to make and they decided to go for the Invitation Cup at Hyderabad which their colt duly won. He returned to Mumbai to  run away with the McDowell Indian St. Leger, Gr.1 in record time. Byramji did a remarkable job in producing him in tip top condition after a gap of seven months to lift the Herbertsons Bagpiper R.W.I.T.C., Ltd. Invitational Trophy, Gr.2. That brought to an end an unbeaten career of eight wins in which he was the favourite every time and his average winning margin was almost six lengths.

Adler was then sent to U.S.A. where he met his first defeat and also became the first Indian-bred horse to win a race in that country. After his return to India, he served as a stallion at the Kunigal Stud but met with only modest success. His trainer considered him an extremely brilliant but brittle horse.

ELUSIVE PIMPERNEL (ch c 1991 Wattlefield[GB] - Right Step by Ilheus[USA])  

It is over two decades since Elusive Pimpernel last raced but he is still fondly remembered by many of his fans. Part of the reason for that was that he was exclusively ridden in the early part of his career by Aslam Kader who was at the height of his popularity in the mid-1990s. A scrawny, narrow chestnut in his early days, he filled out well once he got into serious training as his breeder, Mr. Sonny Brar of Dashmesh Stud, had forecast. He was owned by Mr. Deepak Khaitan and trained by Rashid Byramji. On the eve of the Indian Derby of 1995, Elusive Pimpernel had won all his seven starts as a firm favourite, ridden every time by Aslam Kader and had an average winning margin of four and a half lengths. His last four wins were all Classics.

A field of 15 runners for the McDowell Indian Derby, Gr.1 on 5 February 1995, which included six other regional Classic winners, meant that for the first time in his career Elusive Pimpernel was not an odds-on favourite. He landed his starting price of even money with ease from his bracket-mate Mystic Memory. The Invitation Cup at Calcutta made it nine out of nine for the chestnut colt but a minor stifle problem caused him to miss the McDowell Indian St. Leger, Gr.1 and the Indian Triple Crown. A hat-trick of the Chief Justice's Cup, Gr.3, the Nizam's Cup, Gr.2 and the President of India Gold Cup, Gr.1 completed a tidy dozen. His thirteenth start proved unlucky for he was unable to concede 17 kgs. to the filly Consequence and beaten a short-head. He picked up the winning thread, never to be beaten again, till he retired with a record of 22 wins from 23 starts. He was the first horse to amass over Rs. 1 crore in stakes, won on seven different tracks and broke five track records. He had his moments in his short career as a stallion and his daughters are proving priceless as broodmares. He is the maternal grandsire of Sir Cecil. 

INDICTMENT (b c 1993 Razeen[USA] - Soccia[FR] by Realm)

While Elusive Pimpernel was racing through unbeaten in ten starts in 1995-96, there was a younger colt notching up five wins on the trot. That younger colt was named Indictment, housed in trainer Vinayak's yard and owned jointly by the Dhunjibhoys and the Mehras, his breeders. He won his first race early in January and ended up winning the McDowell Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1, bagging the Nanoli Stud Pune Derby, Gr.1, a race in which Jaguar gave him a frightful scare, in between. He won the Dawn Ramniwas Ramnarain Ruia Gold Cup, Gr.3 early in 1997, this time beating Jaguar comprehensively. His six wins had come as a favourite but only in three of those was he was an odds-on fancy. He had been ridden by Malesh Narredu in all his starts except one when he was not available. 

Backed down to 5/4 for the McDowell Indian Derby, Gr.1 on 2 February 1997, he duly obliged his backers, warding off Arabian Rose by a neck and joined Exhilaration and Elusive Pimpernel as the third unbeaten winner of the Indian Derby. He lost the unbeaten tag in his very next outing in the Indian Turf Invitation Cup, Gr.1 at Bangalore, finishing fourth to Ministerial. Back in Mumbai for the McDowell Indian St. Leger, Gr.1, he found that Aslam Kader's mount Avaglow had supplanted him in the betting. Avaglow had bagged the Calcutta St. Leger-Queen Elizabeth II Cup double on his home track to highlight his staying prowess. As Avaglow flopped and finished off-the-board, Indictment won the race in style by seven lengths -- his longest winning margin -- and seal the Indian Triple Crown. Going on to Pune, he won the Eve Champion Trophy, Gr.3 but ended his career on a disappointing note, finishing well behind his own pacemaker Amarillo in the Idar Gold Trophy, Gr.3. Retired to Nanoli Stud, he had just 24 foals from which he produced four black-type winners including ALDEBURGH (McDowell Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1) and OBLIGADO (Kingfisher Mysore Derby, Gr.1). You won't  hear Indictment's name coming up too often when great horses are discussed but he was an unbeaten winner of the Indian Derby, an Indian Triple Crown winner and a horse who never lost at Mahalakshmi. 

CONTINUAL (b g 1995 Placerville[USA] - Cordon Bleu by Riyahi[IRE])

There were four unbeaten horses in the 1990s and the last of these was Continual who was owned jointly by the Poonawalla Brothers in partnership with Dr. & Mrs. Vijay Mallya. He was trained by Rashid Byramji. Continual's career followed  almost the same path as that of Elusive Pimpernel. Both made their debuts in July in Bangalore and had one more race there before the summer season ended. They then reeled off a Mysore Hat-Trick comprising of the Million, the "2000" and the Derby. There was a slight variation after the first five races. Elusive Pimpernel won the Bangalore 2000 Guineas and then the Indian 2000 Guineas; Continual came straight for the Indian 2000 Guineas and followed it up in the Dawn Ramniwas Ramnarain Ruia Gold Cup, Gr.3. At this point, both had won their seven races. The difference was that the younger horse had won his races with longer winning margins and much more cramped odds.

If ever a horse seemed serenely on his way to Indian Derby glory, Continual certainly was one. But Fate stepped in to deal a cruel blow. During one his morning workouts in the latter half of January, Continual broke down. He had suffered a condylar fracture of the distal cannon . He never raced again and spent his days as a "pensioner", first at Poonawalla Farms and later at Kunigal Stud where he was put down after he tested positive for EIA..

SOUTHERN EMPIRE (b g 2003 Placerville[USA] - Stunning by Ascot Knight)

Southern Empire, a full-brother to Smart Chieftan, Classical Act and later Change of Luck, was owned by Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy in partnership with Mr. Z.S. Poonawalla representing his breeders. A majority of Dr. Ramaswamy's runners were wont to have an 'educational' debut run. Not Southern Empire, though. He won his first race early in December as a two year-old at Bangalore and by the end of the summer season at the same venue had posted seven consecutive wins including the Bangalore Colts' Trial Stakes, Gr.1 and the Kingfisher Derby Bangalore, Gr.1. He was then rested during the monsoons and his trainer S. Ganapathy moved him to Mumbai for an onslaught on the Indian Classics. He started off his second year's racing by winning the Super Mile Trophy and then added the Johnnie Walker Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1 and the Ramniwas Ramnarain Ruia Gold Cup, Gr.2 to take his tally of wins into double figures. He had been ridden in all his races by the stable's retained jockey B. Prakash, the average winning margin of his victories was a shade over six lengths and had been the overwhelming favourite in all his races. 

At 25/100, he was one of the hottest favourites for the Indian Derby. As usual B. Prakash was astride. Prakash knew him like the back of his hand and yet he rode a curious race, keeping his mount well off the pace as bracket-mate Diabolical, who had won the Golconda Derby just the previous Sunday, broke away from the field approaching the final bend. Southern Empire did go after the leader but could not catch him. Southern Empire and Diabolical met again in their next start in the Invitation Cup at Calcutta. There, the Indian Derby winner finished a distance behind Southern Empire ! Southern Empire returned to Mumbai, bagged the Panchshil Indian St. Leger, Gr.1 but won no new friends. That Indian Derby debacle is indeed mystifying. More so, by losing that race Southern Empire also lost the Indian Triple Crown. He won four of six his starts during the second half of the year, including the President of India Gold Cup, Gr.1 at Hyderabad. That ended his glory days. He remained in training for long and even had to run at Udhagamandalam to earn his oats.

SET ALIGHT (b f 2005 Razeen[USA] - Set Aside by Steinbeck[USA])

One thing that Southern Empire proved was that a string of ten consecutive wins does not guarantee a Derby win. Two years after his debacle, we had a filly with a similar record. Named Set Alight, she was owned by Dr. & Mrs. Vijay Mallya and trained by Pesi Shroff, for whom it was early days then in his new career after giving up riding. Set Alight was first seen in public early in January and she made a winning debut, picking up the A.I. Rahimtoola Trophy. Her next two starts in Bombay were both Graded events. She got the Breeders' Produce Stakes, Gr.2 after being beaten a head by Autonomy on a successful objection and then won the Forbes Breeders' Juvenile Fillies' Championship Stakes, Gr.3 by seven and a half lengths. She had been partnered by C. Rajendra in all her three outings.For the Bangalore Summer Season, Malesh Narredu had been retained and her treble in the Garden  City consisted of the Fernhill Palace Juvenile Million, Gr.2, Bangalore Fillies Trial Stakes, Gr.1 and the Kingfisher Derby Bangalore, Gr.1. She had one more race as a three year-old, the Pune Premium Million towards the end of October, which she won without fuss under Malesh Narredu.

The Mumbai Winter Season commenced late that year because of an outbreak of a virus which limited the movement of horses. It started only on 31 January, about two and a half months later than usual and all the Classics were postponed and compressed in a smaller time frame. In Set Alight's case, however, the decision to side step the Indian Oaks and go fresh for the Indian Derby had already  been taken. It seemed a prudent decision because after after having completed her hat-trick of the Morvi-"1000"-Ruia, Set Alight had a gap of three weeks before the Derby. Then, the Derby was postponed by a week at the behest of the Sponsor. 

How the postponement affected Set Alight in terms of her preparation is hard to estimate but the bigger problem was in finding her a jockey. As the Derby was now run  in mid-April, the Irish jockey Chris Hayes, who had ridden the filly in her first two starts, had returned to Ireland. It was decided to engage Malesh Narredu who had ridden the filly earlier in preference to Niall McCullagh who had steered her in the Ruia to a track record breaking win and was available. Ten wins including seven black-type events obviously made Set Alight a red hot favourite at half money. As no-hoper Go Guzzy Go made the running with the Calcutta Derby winner Abs Fabs in his wake, Set Alight  had a box seat behind the two. Go Guzzy Go shot his bolt coming to the final bend and at about the same time Abs Fabs broke a blood vessel. Both began to back-pedal and Set Alight found herself in front much earlier than she had wanted. She led the field into the straight, was striding fluently but suddenly her stride began to shorten and she was passed by Antonios close home. Set Alight ran twice more; she was beaten by Icebreaker -- whom she had defeated twice before -- in the Nizam's Gold Cup, Gr.2 before ending her career with a victory in the President of India Gold Cup, Gr.1 over the Derby distance.

This then is the tale of some horses who were unbeaten in mid-January during their years. Some won the Indian Derby; some lost it and, one did not run in it.  In the 76 Indian Derbies run so far, there have been 958 runners, While their records are available, it would have a Herculean task to peruse them all. So an arbitrary yardstick of minimum five unbeaten wins was set. Still, it is possible that some horses with five or more unbeaten wins have been missed out. If these are pointed out, they will be gratefully acknowledged.

PAST THE POST

Squanderer had a sequence of 15 consecutive wins. It came after he had he been beaten in his fourth start. That is perhaps the longest winning streak in the last 80 years.