The Catalyst Properties Bangalore Derby, Gr.1 has drawn a field of 13 runners which features three Classic winners, one maiden, one unbeaten colt, one 'got-abroad', two outstation raiders ' and six runners who have just a solitary win to their credit. The trend this year has been for the average field rating to be well below the average of last ten years and this race is no exception. 58.4 is the average rating of the field which will report to the Starter on Saturday whereas it was 73.2 for the last ten years. Four favourites, three highest-rated runners and three 'got-abroads' have scored in the same period. 

The highest rated of the three Classic winners in the field is Isn't She Lovely (Excellent Art - In The Spotlight) who had won the K.R.O.A. Mysore 1000 Guineas, Gr.3 during the monsoons. She started as the favourite for the Spartan Poker Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1 at Mumbai but was never in contention, ultimately finishing fifth. At the request of the connections, she was scoped and found to have bled internally. She hasn't raced for 47 days, is susceptible to bleeding and yet to go beyond a mile. In the two Derbies run so far, two Excellent Art colts -- Barbaresco and Indian Pharaoh -- have finished second and as this filly's dam was a super race mare who excelled over 2400 m., there is a hope that Isn't She Lovely can cope with the trip.

The Invader (Total Gallery - Dajolie) gave his trainer G. Nityanand his first first Classic win when posting a fluent victory in the Manjri Stud Bangalore 2000 Guineas, Gr.2 last month at sumptuous odds of 25/1. Kept back early in the race, The Invader moved up with a sustained run to pass Valegro who had set sail for home and stormed away. You cannot punch any holes in that winning effort. It is his pedigree which gives rise for some concern. His sire Total Gallery was a pure sprinter, his six wins being divided equally between 1000 m. and 1200 m. with the Qatar Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp, Gr.1 as the show-piece. The Invader is from his third crop and the best runner that either he -- or Badal Stud where he stands -- has produced so far. The Invader is a half-brother to Gestapo (by the staying influence Mastercraftsman) who was third in Desert God's Indian Derby. Their dam Dajolie comes from a German -- originally Hungarian -- line that has oodles of stamina. Hence the mating of Total Gallery with Dajolie represents coming together of two very diverse aptitudes. Such matings, generally, do not produce good horses so we must be thankful for The Invader. It is hard to say how the colt will fare over 2400 m. Those who believe implicitly in Dosage numbers will be mindful of the fact that The Invader has a DI of 11.00 !

The only course and distance winner in the field is Mea Culpa (Multidimensional - Yana), the winner of the Bangalore Oaks, Gr.2. She was beaten about three lengths by Isn't She Lovely in the K.R.O.A. Mysore 1000 Guineas, Gr.3 but that was over a mile. As a full-sister to Mathaiyus and Sana, Mea Culpa will be more at home over the extended trip. It has to be said, though, that Mea Culpa is a much smaller and slighter individual than her older siblings. She has already done her bit to uphold the family honour and anything more will be a bonus. For a Classic winner, she has a very poor rating. How she acquits herself in a tougher field on Saturday will be watched with interest.  The two fillies who finished behind her in the Oaks -- Play Safe, winner of a race over 2000 m., and the maiden Superb Success -- are also participating.

In mid-November, the Karnataka Police Trophy produced a thrilling finish, two necks separating Psychic Force (50 kgs), Peluche (55 kgs.) and Knotty Ash (56.5 kgs). Psychic Force and Knotty Ash were both prominent in The Invader's race the following month but dropped out of sight through the trap door. Psychic Force's victory in the South India Derby, Gr.1 gives hope to Knotty Ash (Gusto - Dovers Hill) but Peluche's poor run in the same race is a dampner. Earlier, Knotty Ash was beaten in the dying stages of the Pune Derby, Gr.1 by Pioneer. Like The Invader, Knotty Ash is by a sprinting stallion but from a speedier family. He is the highest rated runner in the field. 

Also rated in the 70s are Mr. Handsome (Tazahum - Youre So Beautiful) and New Moon (Dean's Kitten - Atmosphere). Both have been consistent runners with seven wins between them. The former veered out badly in the Mysore Derby, Gr.1 and stopped racing but hasn't shown any such tendency in his two subsequent starts at Bangalore. 

Multifaceted (Multidimensional - Dhaawiah) has won his only start so far. He was very impressive in that victory and has been working brilliantly since then. He is a full-brother to Manifold who bagged the Kingfisher Derby Bangalore, Gr.1-  Villoo Poonawalla Indian Oaks, Gr.1 double last year. This race probably comes too soon for him but his sire is in the middle of a purple patch. 

We the have the Pesi Shroff-trained raiders Kennedy (Dean's Kitten - Talita Kumi) and Eagleinthesky (Footstepsinthesand - Trumbaka). Shroff's wards Bluebell (Golconda Oaks, Gr.2) and Barbaresco (second in Calcutta Derby, Gr.1) had somewhat similar credentials before they ventured forth from Mumbai. Kennedy is a half-brother to that wonderful filly Jacqueline while the latter belongs to the Our Liz family which was once in full bloom at Dashmesh Stud. Eagleinthesky's dam herself won the Prix Corrida, Gr.3 and Prix de Flore, Gr.3 around 2000 m. at Saint-Cloud in France. Both the colts should find the distance to their liking.

Air Command (Air Support - Arabica) and Velocidad (Excellent Art - Lombardia) are also winners of one race each and both have stamina in the bottom half of their pedigrees. Air Command has won only over 1200 m. but he is from the immediate family of the Stayers' Cup, Gr.1 winners Arabian Prince, Arabian Knight, etc. Velocidad's win was over 2000 m. His dam, the Razeen mare Lombardia won the Nizam's Cup, Gr.3 beating Southern Empire and placed in the Indian St. Leger, Gr.1. Air Support and Excellent Art, though, are not exactly commendations for confirmed staying ability. 

PAST THE POST

Almost every race goer knows Pyare Miya who won the 1975 Indian Derby, Gr.1 as a maiden and never won another race again. The "Southern Pyare Miya" is of a more recent vintage and yet he is not as well remembered and that horse is Tororosso (Red Giant - Paula's Girl), a 'got-abroad' born at Hazara Stud, who was owned by the breeders M/s. Vikram Singh and Nirmal Singh and trained by Irfan Ghatala. He was slow to come to hand and was first seen under colours when he came out for the Mystical Million in July 2016 under S. Zervan. He reared up at the start, flipped over, injured his jockey and was withdrawn. On his next start in the middle of the next month, he jumped out awkwardly, dropped Selvaraj who was astride and raced riderless.

That was the end of the colt's racing for the summer. He did not race during the monsoons but re-appeared in mid-November under Anjar Alam, yet again, he jumped out awkwardly and later in the race caused interference to at least three other runners. For the Bangalore 2000 Guineas, Gr.2, he was entrusted to Irvan Singh and at last ran a "normal" race, finishing third to Battalion and Captain Morgan. Neeraj Rawal was his fifth jockey in five starts when he lined up for the B.N. Gudiyappa Bangalore Derby, Gr.1 and he showed them all a clean pair heels as he romped away to win by almost eight lengths -- the longest winning margin in the race for 22 years -- with Battalion and the favourite Captain Morgan out of ear shot. He was then fourth in Temerity's Indian Turf Invitation Cup, Gr.1. During the summer season, he was third in the Chief Justice's Cup, Gr.3 and fourth in the Bangalore St. Leger, Gr.2.

Tororosso was then transferred to the care of trainer Jasbir Singh at Calcutta. He was one of  the dozen runners declared for the 2018 Indian Champion Cup, Gr.1. He proved a handful while being saddled, came late into the paddock for the parade, was slowly out and finished last. He hasn't raced since. His fifth dam was a full-sister to Sir Gaylord and a half-sister to Secretariat.