When it comes to achieving success in big-ticket events in horseracing like the Indian Derby, it is said, if not believed, that it is not necessarily the best horse in the field, which wins the blue riband. Pesi Shroff-mentored Santissimo, who was traversing for the first time over the mile and half Derby trip, was still considered as the best horse in the set of sixteen though there were all kinds of pundits who were sceptical about the bay colt’s stamina. To the delight of all such experts, Santissimo lost the derby. Eventually, it was Ranquelino who proved to be the best horse in the Derby line-up and deservedly wore the Indian Derby crown. It was not difficult to digest Ranquelino’s superiority over his rivals or Santissimo’s failure to find a place on the judges’ board. Yet, Pyrite ending just a length behind the winner; Positano getting the third spot and Thalassa finishing fourth after beating Duke of Tuscany in the last furlong, was hard to fathom.

Imperial Star set the initial pace for Casteel and headed the field for a minute before African Gold with Billy Lee in the saddle took over the running and ran like his tail was on fire which saw him enter the final stretch a distance ahead of his nearest rival. However, African Gold was a spent force before coming into the last furlong and was easily overtaken by Trevor Patel-ridden Duke of Tuscany with K. Mukesh Kumar-piloted Pyrite also making a strong bid. Meanwhile, Ranquelino, who was set alight by A. Sandesh once the heads had straightened for home, ranged alongside the pair ahead. Finding that the winning post was within a kissing distance when tackling Duke of Tuscany and Pyrite in the final furlong, Sandesh energised Ranquelino to go for the kill and his resolve helped the Darius Byramji-groomed bay gelding to hoist the victory flag. Pyrite went down by a length to the winner and held on grimly to the runner-up berth from late finishing Positano, who was under a length in front of Thalassa. Just for record’s sake, Duke of Tuscany, Dash and Santissimo finished further behind in that order. Ranquelino (Fiero – Sunset) is co-owned by Messrs Shapoor Mistry, Mukul Sonawala, Kishore M. Dingra, D. R, Thacker, S. R. Sanas & Ashok Ranpise and was bred at the Manjri Horse Breeders Farm. Darius Byramji led in his third Indian Derby winner, which took a long time coming, having last saddled Psychic Flame to victory in 2004. An Indian Derby victory had remained elusive for A. Sandesh thus far but his dream of winning this event was fulfilled with Ranquelino’s triumph.

Intentional or not, the scorching gallop unleashed by African Gold after the first five furlongs of the event, appeared to have caught most of the field off guard especially the jockeys engaged atop the fancied runners. If indeed there was a script written for African Gold to catch the prominent Derby contenders out of breath, it did turn out to be a masterstroke! Hats off to the script writer. African Gold, incidentally, is trained by Darius’s better half Parvati with two co-owners of Ranquelino figuring in his owners’ list as partners. Finally, given the fate suffered by the likes of Casteel, Psychic Star and even Santissimo, one feels that the Indian Derby was not a true run race.