This Wednesday, the 49th renewal of the Deccan Derby, Gr.1 is scheduled at Malakpet. It was only in 1979-80 that Hyderabad had winter racing and the 1980 Deccan Derby is the first one in which there were locally trained contenders and outstation challengers. That Derby had just  five runners and only two of them were Malakpet-based. The 'raider' Look of Eagles, trained by Byramji, took away the prize. That set the trend and since then the 'raiders' have carried away the riches 30 times, leaving the locals to celebrate on only eight occasions. There hasn't been a locally trained winner of the Deccan Derby in the last nine years.

There are five three year-old Derbies in India run over a distance of 2000 m. in the latter half of the racing year. Each one of them has its own importance but they vary in their significance. The Derby Bangalore is the oldest among them and the most significant as far as showcasing a future winner of the Indian Derby, Gr.1 or the Indian Turf Invitation Cup, Gr.1 is concerned with 18 winners (32 %) going on to annex either of the two big races mentioned. The Pune Derby comes next with 6 from 35 (17 %) followed by the Deccan Derby (15 %) and Mysore Derby (9 %). The winner of Calcutta Monsoon Derby, Gr.2 is yet to win an Indian Derby or the Invitation Cup.

The Kingfisher Derby Bangalore, Gr.1 this year witnessed a cracking finish with David Allan grabbing a last gasp victory on Well Connected (Arazan - Guest Connections) by a long neck over Impavid (Air Support - Polenta). The filly and the colt are set to renew their rivalry on Wednesday. Both have won a Classic at Malakpet since their last encounter and so the form book suggests a rematch. However, both those victories were less emphatic than expected. Well Connected extended her unbeaten run to four wins when she picked up the Deccan Fillies' Championship Stakes, Gr.3. It was another last stride victory but the honours went to runner-up Gift of Grace who was less experienced and essaying a mile for the for first time. It is always hard for a horse to come back to a mile in a good race after having won over 2000 m. and that could well be the reason for Well Connected not winning more impressively. Three fillies have previously bagged the  Malakpet Monsoon Classic double and the last one to do so was Dynamic Dancer way back in 1992. Dynamic Dancer was saddled by trainer S. Padmanabhan whose other double came with the colt Desert God. With five winners of the Deccan Derby, Padmanabhan has the best record among the current trainers and that adds to Well Connected's prospects.

Impavid won the Deccan Colts' Championship Stakes, Gr.3 as expected but like the filly found winning a bit of hard going. Coming back to a mile should have suited Arjun Mangalorkar's ward. Yet, he had to pull out all stops to prevail by a length over stable-mate Royal Crystal (Western Aristocrat - Sparkling Crystal). Impavid has plenty of toe and likes to make the running or be close up to the pace. That day, he was ridden in check early on and maybe he needs to get used to the change of tactics.

Only three of the seven runners -- Well Connected, Impavid and Royal Crystal (Western Aristocrat - Sparkling Crystal) -- have raced over 2000 m. previously and they are also the three runners whose personal rating is higher than the average field rating which, at 63.5, is about par for the last ten years. Well Connected has beaten all her rivals barring Consigliori (Air Support - Caprese) and the 'got-abroad' Tetra Rama (Mount Nelson - La Surama) in an actual race while Impavid has the measure, either directly or through a line from Well Connected. That merely confirms the first impression that the finish should be confined to Well Connected and Impavid with others looking for the scraps left by those two. With only two paying places, it does not leave the punters with much of a choice.

Being unbeaten and having beaten Impavid once gives trainer Padmanabhan's filly a decided edge. This race was earlier not an intended target for Well Connected and she has had to pay close to a million Rupees as a final entry fee. She still holds an entry in the Mysore Derby, Gr.1. The changed plans gives Well Connected a longer break before an arduous winter campaign (though, one would not put it past her trainer to start her at Mysore also -- as he did in case of Desert God -- if she comes out of this race well). For Impavid to turn the tables, there has to be a change of tactics because it is said that you cannot keep repeating things and expect different results. He was ridden differently on his last start. The Hyderabad monsoon track favours come-from-behind ploy -- Well Connected's preferred mode of running -- more than the Bangalore one. There are options for Arjun Mangalorkar and his think tank and the course finally adopted will be interesting to witness.

Man proposes but God disposes is an old saying and in racing especially the script of a race is difficult to predict. That is what gives hope to other runners. Consigliori, a three times winner, is the highest rated of them. He is owned by URBB Ltd. whose Classic runners -- so few of them now that the operation has been scaled down -- are always putting their best foot forward. He hasn't ventured beyond a mile yet but comes from a proven, old Indian line -- that of Indian Derby winners Mansoor Beg and Cordon Bleu -- having plenty of stamina. Air Support, though, is yet to have a good winner over a trip. Consigliori's trainer L.V.R. Deshmukh has won every Malakpet Classic except the Deccan Derby and will be keen to make good that void. Royal Crystal, a stable-mate of Impavid, has two runs over 2000 m. and was gaining on the winner in the Deccan Colts' Championship, Gr.3. He was thought to be a good outsider in the Kingfisher Derby Bangalore, Gr.1 on the strength of his run behind Secretive Force but didn't show up. Perhaps, he prefers to be dropped out in the early stages of a race.  Arjun Mangalorkar, who has two bows to his arrow, has won this race previously with Spreadeagle.

The filly Cape Kidnappers (Abbeyside - Tijuca Forest) is a winner of the Nilgiris 1000 Guineas, Gr.3. She hasn't run badly in her four starts since nor did she look like winning any one of them. Her trainer, Shehzad Abbas, led in the last two locally trained winners of the this race. Artistryy (Sedgefield - Ballade Danon) finished dead last in the Deccan Fillies' Championship Stakes, Gr.3 while Tetra Rama had only two runners behind him in the Colts' equivalent. Both of them need massive improvement to get their number on the board.

This is a good race for the favourites with six winners in last ten years. Not so good for the top rated horses with just one winning over the same period.  Three of the last ten winners have been fillies and two were conceived abroad. 
 
PAST THE POST

During the Qutab Shahi Sultanate era, Golconda was the world capital of diamonds. Some of the most famous diamonds in the world came from the Golconda mines most of them are not now in India. The Hyderabad Monsoon Season has six main events -- three Classics for the three year-olds, the Nizam's Gold Cup, the President of India Gold Cup and the Golconda St. Leger. Like the Golconda diamonds, the trophy and the stakes of these six races  are often taken away by outstation challengers. This year, the Fillies' and Colts' Classics as well the NIzam's and President's have fallen to the 'raiders'. On Sunday, the four locally trained runners face higher rated outstation challengers and it will be remarkable if they can prevent the booty from being carried away. 

The local arsenal also looks devoid of enough ammunition to prevent Desert God from winning the Golconda St. Leger later next month.  If that does come to pass, it will be whitewash.