What makes a Derby winner? There can be numerous attributes required of a Derby aspirant. It can range from possessing staying prowess to showing maturity, from having the pedigree to its camaraderie with the rider, but what exactly separates a Derby winner from that of an ordinary race? The answer to this might be ever elusive and different based on personal perspective. But one factor that remains common in most of them is having the right temperament by the horse and its rider. The amount of calmness displayed by both of them often decides the outcome. The preparation in the build-up to a Derby by the trainer and the split-second decisions taken by the rider in the race have a huge bearing on the result too. The fitness on the day also plays a role and yes, a bit of luck too!

Among the 4 Derbies run in monsoon, The Deccan Derby is the oldest of the lot that started in 1971 with the Mysore equivalent starting 3 years later. The Pune Derby was instituted in 1984. The Calcutta Monsoon Derby is the youngest of them all, having been first run in 1994. It attained Grade 3 status in 2010 and promotion to Grade 2 in 2013. The level of competitiveness in Calcutta’s monsoon has been relatively lower, perhaps because of its geographical remoteness to other racing centres. Its winter season surprisingly, is quite competitive. As a matter of fact, no monsoon Derby winner has ever won the winter Derby yet, including the great Dandified who went down to In The Spotlight. However, 11 of the total 25 winners did win a classic the following winter. Since attaining Graded status in 2010, there were only 2 winners out of 9 - Tiger Tops and Sana, who won a Graded race outside Calcutta after winning the Derby. The Fillies’ and Colts’ Trials are obvious pre-cursors to the Derby. But no colt since Dandified (2011) and no filly after Silverina (2012) could do a Colts/Fillies-Derby double. Lack of consistency is often seen in this race and therefore even a rank outsider should be given due respect.

Nine runners have been accepted to run in the 26th edition of The Calcutta Monsoon Derby, Gr.2. The average field rating is 56, three points lower than that of the last decade. The last 9 editions have seen different jockeys winning. None of the runners in this field have forayed at 2000m previously. The average rating of the last 9 winners (since attaining Graded status) is 72. This year, there are two horses rated more than the average – Trafalgar & Tenno Sho, who are also likely to be the top fancies in the betting ring. Tenno Sho (Phoenix Tower – Namibia) is the highest rated (79) and the only outstation challenger in the field. Only 4 raiders have won it so far with Whomakestherules in 2016 being the most recent.

Tenno Sho started off in Bangalore summer with two lackluster runs. He shed his maiden tag in July winning by 3 ½ lengths in Bangalore. He travelled all the way to Calcutta for The Colts’ trials and handsomely put down the challenge of the local colts by 2¾ lengths. His manner of winning was pretty impressive and should he carry the same form on Sunday, Tenno Sho will be hard to catch. What might adversely affect him is the inevitable change of rider. He has been ridden by P Trevor in all 4 starts but will now be partnered by a new jockey. Notably, Tenno Sho has been withdrawn twice – reportedly for trotting lame and was ‘fractious’ while being stalled on his last start. Such behavioral attributes often end up affecting the outcome, much more than one thinks.

Trafalgar (Western Aristocrat – Bluegrass Phenom) is from the yard of Trainer JE McKeown, who shot to fame with the wonder filly Adjudicate. Trafalgar came into classic reckoning as soon as he notched up a couple of wins in the winter. His expedition to Bangalore was not quite fruitful where he ran behind War Hammer on two occasions. In the Calcutta Colts’, Trafalgar appeared quite comfortable and on a tight rein at the top of home stretch, but eventually lost to Tenno Sho by 2¾ lengths. A closer look shows that jockey A Sandesh was a bit too ‘easy’ on Trafalgar in the last 2 furlongs and that he wasn’t extended to full capacity. Trafalgar has been made to sweat in morning trials with 6 workouts since his last run and a total of 16 this season! Class compensates for stamina, they say, and Trafalgar surely has the class. Western Aristocrat has so far sired only one Derby winner in Kangra and will be keen to increase that number. Trafalgar’s damsire Bluegrass Cat was the runner up in Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes of 2006.

Another contender by the same sire – the filly Izzy (Western Aristocrat – La Joie De Vie) is unbeaten in 3 starts, including The Calcutta Fillies Trials. Though she has won by decent margins, the field in all 3 races was quite sub-standard. Among the Derby runners, Izzy has finished ahead only of Rosina and Shivalik Sight. Izzy is expected to have a change of rider for the Derby, if at all the connections are serious about the blue-riband. Her staying ability will be put to test against Tenno Sho & Trafalgar, considering she has never run beyond 1400m. Fillies have won this race 10 times out of 25.

After having two educational runs, Jaivant (Win Legend – Validate) won two Graded races – The Indian Champagne Stakes, Gr.3 and The Calcutta Million, Gr.3 by narrow margins. In the Colts’ Trial, Jaivant finished 10 lengths behind Tenno Sho and will have a herculean task to bridge that gap on Sunday. However, his pedigree makes him a live danger. Jaivant is a full-brother to Big Sur, who has won 7 races beyond a mile in competitive fields. His dam Validate too did well at distance over a mile. His owners, who won with Shivansh last year, will be eyeing back-to-back Derbies.

Rosina (Speaking Of Which – Roses In Bloom) has run thrice, finishing in the money on each occasion. She beat Sasakwa in Bangalore who later won by 10 lengths at Pune. Rosina then finished behind Izzy twice by 3 ½ and 6 lengths. That might leave her with a bit too much to cover. Since Speaking Of Which is still in ‘infancy’ as a stallion, not much can be commented about the staying aptitude of his progeny. While a Derby winner in his first crop will be a shot-in-the-arm for him and Usha stud, who have won a record 10 Calcutta Monsoon Derbies. Rosina’s dam Roses In Bloom won The Golconda Derby, Gr.1 in 2014. Her trainer Bharath Singh jointly holds the record for the maximum number of Monsoon Derby wins with his brother Vijay Singh with 8 Derbies apiece.

The rest of the four runners seem like also-rans. Topnotch (Top Class – Elzaam) is still a maiden after 8 starts but has run in close proximity of Trafalgar and Jaivant. Top Class sired the last year’s winner Shivansh. Vijay Singh trained Inca (Air Support – Systematic) and Shivalik Sight (Saamidd – Seasham) won only their last starts, with below par performances in previous races. However, Inca’s half-sister Nimble Mind is a winner at 1800m, 2000m and 2400m. Javed Khan trained Script (Whatsthescript – Shenliyka) is still a maiden after 5 starts.

The 4 monsoon Derbies are often instrumental in deciding the best stud farm and the best stallion, but it seems as if the Derbies won’t make a big impact this year. According to the Indian Stud Book, Poonawalla Stud Farm is leading with 868 points and Nanoli is a distant second with 517. Usha-stud stalwart Multidimensional leads the stallion’s list with INR 98mn, leaving last year’s winner Excellent Art (INR 83mn) with a lot to catch up. Phoenix Tower has the maximum number of winners currently – 102 with 63 individual winners.

Food For Thought
The Calcutta monsoon track is widely known to be one of the slowest tracks in the country. Of all the Derbies run in the monsoon, the one at Calcutta has recorded the maximum number of slowest timings for 10 furlongs. Prior to 2013, there were only 2 instances out of 19 when the winner could go past the post in less than 02:10 mins. Since 2013 however, all the winners have clocked lesser than 02:10 mins. Interestingly enough, 2013 was the year when the Derby got promoted to Gr.2. So, does a promotion in Grade affect the overall competitiveness? A point to ponder indeed!