Indian breeding has come a long way. With qualitative improvement, the days of the super stars are gone. We may have to wait a long time to see the likes of Elusive Pimpernel who won consistently each and every race, over a long period of time, against all age and opposition and at back-breaking weights. The present day champions are just good enough to win on any particular day but have proved to be fallible when the terms go against them. The distance between the first and the fifth horse in any Derby of late has narrowed considerably. The vagaries of a race and the possible mishaps and mess-up have often prevented the horse with the best merit winning. As such, it is increasingly becoming difficult to point out any horse as the winner with conviction, without having to eat a humble pie when things go awry. Each big race has seen a new winner in the recent past! The Gr 1 Indian Turf Invitation Cup has more often than not been only a confirmation of the Indian Derby result. Elusive Pimpernel, Smart Chieftan and Storm Again have left an indelible mark on this event by not only winning the Indian Derby but stamping their authority on the Invitation Cup, the travel from centre to centre not having a bearing on their performance. Things have changed dramatically so much so that the Invitation Cup winner now is not necessarily the Indian Derby winner. For that matter, often the winner of this race is not even the winner of any Derby! Ministerial, Zurbaran and Simply Supreme won this premier event, without a Derby success behind them. Barring Storm Again, the Invitation Cup race held at Chennai has invariably favored a rank outsider. Southern Regent who won the Indian Derby goes into the race as the favourite and he has much to live up to. His task is not going to be an easy one because his own stablemate Elite Zone is well rested and is in good nick to cause an upset. For that matter, even the vanquished Venus Arising can make a comeback while Frida Kahlo can show significant improvement or there could be a total shock awaiting the followers of fancied horses like it happened in the last edition of the Invitation Cup where the Derby winner Psychic Flame and runner-up Estonia were not sighted. On the evidence of surface form, Ganapathy trained Southern Regent who peaked for the Indian Derby goes out as the favourite. The son of Razeen out of Allinda, Southern Regent was a game performer but always found one better over trips up to a mile and a quarter. He finished behind Venus Arising in the Pune Derby, runner up to Berlioz in the Indian 2000 Guineas and was beaten close home by Warsaw Pact in the Ramnarain Ruia Gold Cup. He was expected to be lacking the will to win but over a mile and a half trip, he came into full bloom, with an emphatic win. He seemed to be still plodding inside the final 200 metres but one crack from Prakash had him bounce into full flight. He very nearly ran into stablemate and pace maker Ministrel Heights who was dropping back alarmingly but the jockey maneuvered his way, avoiding the danger and the son of Razeen waded his way to essay a strong challenge to Frida Kahlo who had stolen the march. After a brief duel, Southern Regent went away for a very impressive win. May be Southern Regent had come good on the day it mattered the most or just that he relished the fast pace and the extra two furlongs that he was essaying. Since he has a sturdy frame, the hard race should not have any bearing on his performance in the Invitation Cup in the home turf of India’s racing baron Dr M A M Ramaswamy who will be celebrating the remarkable run of Derby wins this season as also his amazing classic tally which stands at a whopping 421! The most improved four-year old is the Golconda Derby winner Elite Zone. The son of Placerville won the Derby at Hyderabad with ridiculous ease. There is no doubt that he was beating a poor quality of opposition but the manner in which he left the field for dead at the top of the straight spoke more about the class of the winner as also the fact that he has come right and is peaking. Blessed with a great turn of foot, Elite Zone has had the measure of Southern Regent in the Deccan Derby and as such, the former is no mean challenger. Elite Zone will be the challenger to the supremacy of Southern Regent who enjoys the highest rating among his contemporaries post the Indian Derby success. To add icing on the cake for the turf baron is the ever improving filly Forever Elegance who has the Bangalore Derby success behind her. The formidable trio will give the turf baron reason to look forward to the biggest race of Indian calendar with great expectation. Trainer Ganapathy surely holds the aces. The Khusro Dhunjibhoy camp will have two formidable horses in the fray. The vanquished Venus Arising and the consistent Frida Kahlo have been nominated from Mumbai. They should surely add to the value of the Invitation Cup. The Chennai event should go out as one of the best assembly of horses seen in this race for a long time. Venus Arising, the triple Grade I winner, was the overwhelming favourite to win the Indian Derby but the filly ran below par. May be the tough race in the Oaks only a fortnight ago had taken its toll on the light framed filly but all said and done, jockey Malesh Narredu failed to aid the cause of the filly by an insipid ride. He kept the filly too far behind, leaving the favourite to cover too much ground in the straight, ran into traffic problems and eventually finished fifth. With a month’s break and a better quality ride, she can still retrieve lost ground. Frida Kahlo is one of the most consistent performers on the circuit. The daughter of Alnasr Alwasheek is not found wanting in her desire to give off her best. She has made significant strides during the winter season and may be she can peak for the Invitation Cup to end the frustrating wait to enter the winner’s enclosure on the all important occasion. The Kolkata based tycoon Deepak Khaitan will have two good quality horses running in the event and they will be Calcutta Derby winner Aperitivo and Bangalore Derby runner up Andreyan. Both these horses ran a fair race in the Indian Derby, the latter despite the travel and having to run within 10 days of running a grueling race at Bangalore. Andreyan has scope for improvement and if he makes significant gains over his previous runs, he is the one everyone has to look for a possible upset. The one horse who has really fallen from grace is Full Speed. The son of Burden of Proof who won the Mysore Derby and the Bangalore 2000 Guineas was being hailed as the best four-year old in the country but his tame defeat in the Bangalore Derby has left him behind. He has several handicaps one of which is the fact that he is a doubtful stayer over this grueling trip. But then one can only ignore Full Speed at one’s peril because he has always excelled when everyone has taken him lightly as he has faltered only as a favourite!