Keep an eye on Adhiraj Singh Jodha's Avener

This horse's Pedigree combines stamina with moderate speed.We can expect this horse to excel in races between 1600meters and 2400meters which inherits a blend of mid-distance speed and strong stamina.

May be Bangalore derby is too early for Avener,as it matures it will become a tough competitor in future Pune and Mumbai classics against present superstars Margaretta, D'artagnan and Studpoker.

As far as I know Suraj has been booked for Buckingham. It should win. 

*Buckingham* is hidden treasure with its true connection if accepted in the Derby field it has all the abilities to gallop and win this summer derby.

Stud Poker...  Buckingham... Margaretta... these 3 will b on d board for sure... D'artagnan doesn't have staying capabilities... 

For the 2026 Bangalore Derby, these look like the three strongest contenders at this stage:
1. D'ARTAGNAN

    Won the Colts Championship impressively.
    Defeated Stud Poker despite facing a strong challenge.
    Has the best established form among the colts.
    Pesi Shroff's horses generally improve over longer distances, making him the current Derby favorite.

2. MARGARETTA

    The leading filly of the season.
    Many racing experts consider her a serious Derby threat.
    Her stamina and finishing kick over longer trips make her extremely dangerous.

3. STUD POKER

    Brilliant debut winner who created a huge impression.
    Ran second to D'Artagnan in only his second start.
    If he improves with experience and gets a strong jockey like P. Trevor, he could still reverse the form over 2000 meters.

My current ranking for the Bangalore Derby:

    D'Artagnan
    Margaretta
    Stud Poker

If Stud Poker gets additional race experience and settles better during the race, he has the potential to upset the favorites but based on current form, D'Artagnan remains the horse to beat.

@Prem

When was 2000 guineas ran?

Larry n prem too early to predict but sure Stud poker won't be in first 4 .This I can say with confidence Anthony gave his best but horse was not able to respond had it been extra 200 meters even Suraj would have beaten him. So wait andwatch. 

Larry what extra you saw in his first win which makes you feel bad when he lost in classic. In his first run stud poker ran with inferior bunch and how can you expect him to win classic with real challenging horses is beyond my thoughts  Stud poker needs time and I feel it was hype by prassana stable for that horse . 

 Someone like Stud Poker comes once in a while, and he made his presence felt in his very 1st outing, winning over 1400 on debut in a time which matches, or for that matter exceeded that of class I. Won by about 15 lengths, timings about 1:24, which could have been about a couple of seconds lesser if he wasn't so far ahead.

The Colt's Stake came a bit too early for him, was raw in terms of experience, and D'artagnan was quite a mature one, so one  need not read too much into that run.

I am pretty sure that he will win classics all over the country with absolute ease, and I say that based on the pedigree numbers, which I have pasted below.

The second line are numbers for the dam.

A figure of 37 in that line says it all, I haven't seen such numbers in a very long time.

Pesi has two good things in the form of Margaretta and D'artagnan but I'm sure, with the emergence of Stud Poker on the scene he might be a bit of a worried man.

Margaretta 

DP 1-3-6-0-0 (10) DI 2.33  CD  0.50

DP 5-1-10-2-0 (18) DI 1.57   CD 0.50

D'artagnan 

DP 1-3-10-8-0 (22) DI 0.69   CD -0.14

DP 5-5-12-6-0 (28) DI 1.33   CD 0.32

Stud Poker

DP 2-2-25-1-0 (30) DI 1.22   CD 0.17

DP 5-5-37-0-1 (48) DI 1.46   CD 0.27

No matter who will run inthe Derby it's in prasana 's yard will lift the derby STUD POKER is the next derby winner in BTC.. no one can match him only one run came second in 2000 guniues.. so only SP is the winner