BLAST FROM THE PAST
The winter classics in Bangalore were first run in 1973-74. The Indian classics at Mumbai were established in 1943-44, Calcutta and Madras in 1959, while Hyderabad was the last to commence in 1979. Bangalore’s first-ever winter classics in 1973 were dominated by the popular Irish rider Wally Swinburn, who rode with great success in the 60s in the UK. He won first The 1000 Guineas, The 2000 Guineas and The Oaks at Bangalore in 1973. Wally’s son Walter Swinburn was a jockey too, who won The Epsom Derby in 1981 on the greatShergar. In 1983 Shergar was kidnapped from Ballymany Stud in Ireland where he had retired to for stallion duties by a gang of armed robbers in the most bizarre incident in the sport’s history, never to be seen again.

HOPE AMIDST CRISIS
Horse racing in India is going through arduous times and facing an existential crisis all over the country.The Clubs coffers are dwindling with attendances at the courses dropping alarmingly and the ruthless tax regime is doing the sport no good. Mahalaxmi’s infrastructure was unprepared to host winter races and the first two meetingshad to be held at Pune. The first day of the Bangalore season was marred by an unfortunate incident, graphic details have been covered quite extensively. The episode snowballed into an unpleasant saga all over the media and it earned the game unwanted publicity.

As someone once famously said,“No matter how worthless you feel, remember you’re someone’s reason to smile”.Indeed, amidst all the chaos, the winter classicsbracewith its own nostalgia each year, to give all of us, a reason to smile.

THE BIG PICTURE AND TREND ANALYSIS
The 47th edition of The Bangalore 1000 Guineas, Gr.2 set to be run this Saturday with 7 horses having been accepted.The race, of late has been pretty unpredictable with notable long shots prevailing in close finishes. The average rating of this field is a mere 51, way below that of the last 10 years (65). The average rating of the last ten winners was 74 and only Well Connected is rated above that at 75. Only one got-abroad has won in the past decade – You’re So Beautiful (by Tirol) in 2009.The raiders Oomph and Windsor Forest won the last two renewals, though there are none this year. Five favorites have won it in the past decade, but a notable observation is that the other five non-favorites won at seriously long odds.

THE CONTENDORS AND THE PRETENDORS
Greek philosopher Thucydides said, “Slow and cautious can equally well be wise and sensible”. And it so seems that S.Padmanabhan has trained his filly Well Connected (Arazan – Guest Connections) with a similar philosophy. Well Connected, the richest 3-year old in the country with more than 20 million INR in earnings, is the winner of KF Ultra Derby Bangalore, Gr.1. In each run, Well Connected preferred to stay off the pace, and pulled off a victory in the dying moments each time, but one. She was unbeaten in her first 4 starts and started in The Deccan Derby, Gr.1 with an unblemished record. Well Connected, however, failed to keep her winning streak intact, finishing 4th by 3 ½ lengths behind Consigliori.

Some would reason her loss in The Deccan Derby for the postponement of 2 weeks, or maybe for that track’s soft going. But surely there is more than what meets the eye. Jockey A.Sandesh’s explanation present in the Derby report is worth mentioning. He said, “The instructions were to position the mount off the pace and improve after 1000mtrs, but when asked for an effort, my mount did not raise a winning gallop in the straight”.Now that puts some serious speculation into place.Is Well Connected already past her peak or will she carry her form in to the winter? She will venture on a winter track for the first time, and whether a hard-base winter track suits her is anybody’s guess. Well Connected has been declared with new equipment for Saturday – a hood, and no, it’s not because winter is here (pun intended).A hood is believed to help a horse focus, by minimizing the noise of the crowd and other horses’ hooves.It appears that Well Connected mayhave a pacemaker in Crack Of Dawn (KingdaKa – Jingle Bells) and it would be worth seeing if David Allan remains ‘slow and cautious and equally wise and sensible’ in positioning her on Saturday.

Anjeze (Win Legend – Angelique) won her first three starts in splendid style by a combined margin of 18 lengths. She ran gallantly in The Fillies Championship Stakes, Gr.1 at Bangalore finishing 3 lengths behind Well Connected. Her Derby Bangalore quest was rather a damp squib, where she finished 17 lengths behind Well Connected. By that yardstick, the odds are stacked against Anjeze. But hold on, Anjeze is a full-sister to Angel Dust who had a knack of winning big races at long odds. Angel Dust won 4 races including two Gr.1 Derbies, both at Bangalore. Anjeze, by her bloodline surely promises stamina, but whether she can put up a classic display against heavyweights in big races is what will set her apart. Jockey P. Trevor, who was missing from action for sometime is back in the business and would partner her. Anjeze is running after a gap of 4 months, and no trackworkhas been reported since October18. She is again likely to assume a front running role and it remains to be seen if Anjeze can do an Angel Dust.

Of the three contenders rated above the average field rating is Gift Of Grace (Speaking Of Which – Appeasing).In The Deccan Fillies Championship, Gr.3, Gift Of Grace led all the way valiantly until Well Connected spoiled her party by a short head. Accepting the fact that Well Connected has a scintillating turn of foot, Gift Of Grace nonetheless looks set for bigger things in the winter. She is bred to stay and has vast scope of improvement over long distances. Gift Of Grace will be ridden by the 20-year-old Irish pro David Egan who impressed on his first outing at Pune. He was champion apprentice in England two years ago and is related to Richard Hughes on his maternal side. Egan has given Gift Of Grace two pieces of trackwork last week and the filly gave a fine display. Gift Of Grace has been declared with a change of shoes for Saturday. It is to be noted that she was given intra articular injections twice in August and had acquired an infection before her last run.

Aravind Ganapathy trained Queen Regnant (Dean’s Kitten – Aim To Achieve) was accepted to run on 22nd November but was withdrawn, apparently to run the 1000 Guineas. She has run 4 times, placing in all of them. Queen Regnant, a full sister to Awesome One, will be ridden by ColmO’Donoghue.Harbour Sunrise (Strong Suit – Royal Highness) is running after a gap of 5 months. She seems to have an abundance of speed in her pedigree. Her dam was a decent sprinter-miler while her sire Strong Suit has thrown reasonably good sprinters. Glorious Dancer (Arazan – Glorious Breaker) has won once in 5 starts and is a full sister to Sagittarius.

OVERHEAD AND UNDERFOOT CONDITIONS
The first day of the season saw a terrible accident when three jockeys fell in the day’s opener on a track that was allegedly ‘loose at places’ and the horses could not get a firm grip. However, two race days have been conducted successfully after that and the track now looks in good condition. The monsoon has relented though some scattered thunderstorms are expected on Saturday with a 40% chance of rain.

THE DENOUEMENT
The first classic of the season appears to be a three-way fight, with the likely favorite Well Connected having an obvious edge over Anjeze and Gift Of Grace. Well Connected’s positioning will be importantsince David Allan will need to keep Anjeze’s lead under check.Irrespective of the outcome, Gift Of Grace should improve further in the winter.