How often does it happen that an Indian Derby and Invitation Cup winner face each other, in the same year they attained that glory? It seldom happens that the two best of the crop run against each other in their ‘classic year’. The Maharaja’s Gold Cup, Gr.2has over the years been known for being a race that features such mouth-watering match races at the peak of the Bangalore season. Most courses in the country have a bend at the 11-furlong marker, making it impractical to place starting gates at that point. The Maharaja’s Gold Cup, Gr.2 run at Bangalore is the only graded race run over the distance of 2200m, thanks to the fact that the Bangalore course has a 10-furlong circuit. In the past decade, there have been only two instances where the Derby/Invitation winner won this race – Quasar (2015) and Desert God (2016). In the rest of the runnings, either the winner(s) didn’t participate or they lost to a lesser-fancied horse. The classic generation has dominated this race of late, winningall the last nine renewals.

The Maharaja’s Gold Cup, Gr.2 is set to see a field of 8 runners on Sunday, with Oomph being withdrawn at the declaration stage. There were 9 runners last year, none of whom features in Sunday’s race, including the winner Dancing Dragon. The average rating stands at 89 (excluding My Opinion). The last time an Indian Derby andan Invitation Cup winner faced each other in this race, was in 2015 featuring Be Safe & Quasar, in probablythe most anticipated clash of the decade.Four years later, the best colt and winner of the KF Ultra Indian Derby, Gr.1 Star Superior (Excellent Art – Ramjet) takes on the best filly and winner of The Indian Turf Invitation Cup, Gr.1 Adjudicate (Multidimensional – Alvarita). Their head-to-head scores are level at one each, which makes it a lot tougher to draw a line of comparison between the two. Adjudicate has lost only once in her last 6 starts – and ironically to Star Superior. The colt too has been in exceptional form, winning 5 of his 7 and has run behind only Sir Cecil, Adjudicate and Desert God. A closer look at their relative performances show that Star Superior won the Derby by a bigger margin than what Adjudicate won in their Invitation Cup clash. He carried the mandatory a kilo and a half “sex allowance” more than the filly in both those races and that would remain the same for Sunday. Both of them seem to be in the pink of condition and coming off dominating victories in their last runs.

There are a very few long-distance term races thatthe progeny of Multidimensional have not won and the Maharaja’s Gold Cup happens to be one among them. Going by her bloodlines, Adjudicate surely scores over Star Superior in staying prowess,but a 2200m race will not be one-sided for the fact that Star Superior too has won thrice over 2000m, all being group races.Adjudicate has run over 2400m thrice, at three different centres with three different jockeys. All the stats and trivia go for a toss when the gates open, but just for a fact – Amazing Grace andXisca are the only two fillies in the past decade to have won this race. The running style of both contenders is quite predictable, with Star Superior showing a tendency to be in the front bunch and Adjudicate saving her best for last. A change in tactics is unlikely on Sunday, more so for the reason that Star Superior seems to have a pacesetter in Super Smart (AlnasrAlwasheek – Persepolis). What bodes well for him is that he would run after a gap of 4 weeks while Adjudicate has got just a 2-week gap. Star Superior’s rider SurajNarredu rode Adjudicate in her Chief Justice Cup, Gr.3 win and will have a good idea of filly’s running style and fitness. The colt has been ridden only by Surajin all his 13 runs, while the filly has had four different riders in her last four runs.

Salazaar (Burden Of Proof – Saddle Star) is the only horse in this field to have run this race previously (2017).In The Chief Justice Cup, Salazaar ran a good second to Adjudicate by 3 lengths, albeit with an advantage of 1.5kgs. He would now receive 3kgs on Sunday, however thepossibility of his reversingtheplacing seems slim. Of his 23 starts, a majority of them have been term races and hence the figure of 8 wins is decent enough. He has mostly run in shadow of some exceptional horses, which has kept him away from winning more big races. Salazaar is definitely a better horse than what his record suggests but he will needto punch above his weight to come out of the shadow of the others.The progeny of his sire Burden Of Proof have won this race with Desert God (2016) and Arabian Prince (2010).

Roberta (Multidimensional – Moonlight Romance) has had her share of luck and misfortune in a short career of 6 runs.She finished last among 10 runners in her last essay, The Chief Justice Trophy, reportedly coming out of the gates slowly and losing a few lengths. A similar incident was reported during the last Pune season, when she jumped ‘awkwardly’ from the gates.According to the club’s website, there is a change in equipment now, with KNB taken off for this race. How it impacts her running style will be keenly watched. Roberta had been found sore after a race on two different occasions, once in herright fore and later in her left hind. She was ‘stretched’ in her latest trackwork on Tuesday and her fitness would determine how well she canchallenge the big-two of her generation. She will be piloted by P Trevor, the same jockey who rode her to victory in the Indian Oaks.

As a trainer, PesiShroff has won this race twice,first with Xisca in 2011 and then with Amazing Grace in 2014. Along with Roberta, Sacred Roman (Holy Roman Emperor – Clicquot) will run to make it thrice for Pesi. The winner of the Stayers Cup, Gr.1, Sacred Roman seemed to have had an easy outing in the Chief Justice Cup, which is the only time he has run off the board in 8 starts.For a horse like him, 2200m might be a little short, particularly against the likes of Star Superior and Adjudicate.

My Opinion (Dialed In – Love Me Good) will run his first race at Bangalore. He has won The Nilgiris Derby, Gr.1 and The South India St Leger, Gr.2 previously and that makes a case for how well he can stay. The Bangalore St Leger, Gr.2 might be a more suitable race for My Opinion. Watchmyscript (Whatsthescript – Yas Marina) carries the bottom handicap of 52kgs. In her last start, she ran 2nd to Star Superior in The KrishnarajaWadiyar Cup. A win might be a difficult prospect for her;however, she can be in the money if positioned well.

In a nutshell, both Star Superior and Adjudicate seem pretty evenly matched and that leaves very little to choose between the two. All the past performances, records and comparisons hardly matter when two horses are so closely stacked, and hence a closer look in the paddock for a fitness check will be imperative. The railbirds will be spoilt for choice on Sunday, which also features the Cricket World Cup Final between New Zealand and England. Rest assured, come Sunday, we will see two ‘first-time-Maharajas’, one on the cricket field and the other on the racing turf!