JOIN USIn the thirteen-horse field for the McDowell Signature Premier Indian Derby (Grade I), three fillies hold the edge over the other ten colts in what is expected to be one of the most open Derbies in recent history.
Vinayak-trained Hills And Stars, Kolkata Derby winner In The Spotlight and Indian Oaks champion Smashing is expected to be the favourites along with Kingfisher Derby hero Pronto Pronto.
Hills And Stars, to be ridden by the experienced Richard Hughes, ran a wonderful race in Pune’s biggest event and will probably go out as the first favourite, the familiarity of the Mumbai track also in his favour. In the Spotlight, however, has been garnering all the attention in recent times, her dominating win over much-fancied colt Dandified in the Kolkata Derby particularly catching the eye. The S Padmanabhan-ward will have the calming influence of Martin Dwyer to guide her fortunes.
Vijay Mallya-owned Smashing, trained by Pesi Shroff and to be ridden by French pro Anthony Crastus, is the other filly in the reckoning, her outstanding win in the 2000 Guineas recently showcasing her true potential.
Among the colts, Imtiaz Sait-schooled Pronto Pronto, again to be ridden by ace Indian jockey YS Srinath, looks best to upset the fillies, and after retaining his form shown in the early parts of the season, the Shapoor Mistry-owned horse will look to add the Indian Derby to his already glowing resume.
Other Shroff horses, Picasso (Stephane Pasquier up) and B Prakash-piloted Cardinal cannot be discounted with either of the colts capable of putting in a brilliant run on the day. Bangalore contenders Field Marshal, to be ridden by David Allan and S Ganapathy-trained Star Marquess, with CD Hayes atop, will need to be at their absolute best to trouble the frontrunners.
1. Antiquity Blue ‘Fusion Of The Finest’ Cup (Div II) (Cl V, rated 1-26) -- 1200M, 1.15 pm: 1. Tropical Zone 59.5 PS Chouhan 16; 2. Laurus Pride 59 CS Jodha 8; 3. Machala 59 Suraj Narredu 7; 4. Athos 58 Ruzzan 10; 5. Calypso Queen 58 Merchant 13; 6. Celsius 58 C Rajendra 11; 7. Arshavin 57.5 CS Jodha 17; 8. Lazor Razor 57 A Agarwal 9; 9. Last Tango 56.5 A Sandesh 14; 10. Mumbai King 56.5 Kavraj S 13; 11. Divine 55.5 Akshay 2; 12. Blau Himmel 55 Neeraj Rawal 15; 13. Lake Huron 53.5 R Shelar 1; 14. Money Strike 50.5 Dashrath S 6; 15. Fantastic Kingdom 50 M Kharadi 12; 16. Bemisaal 49 S Kamble 4; 17. Rising Asset 49 Vivek 5.
Celsius 1; Money Strike 2.
2. McDowell’s No 1 Platinum Trophy (Cl IV, rated 20-46) -- 2400M, 1.45 pm: 1. Fortune Hunter 61 Srinath 5; 2. Clinton 60 B Prakash 6; 3. Jen’s Glory 60 Neeraj Rawal 4; 4. Sheriff 58 A Agarwal 9; 5. Persian 56.5 P Trevor 8; 6. Apache Indian 54 Kavraj S 2; 7. So Royal 54 Merchant 3; 8. Carlyle Hills 52.5 A Sandesh 7; 9. Tara 52.5 CS Jodha 1.
Clinton 1; Persian 2.
3. Vladivar Cup (Cl II, rated 60-86) -- 1400M, 2.15 pm: 1. Scholar 61 Dashrath S 5; 2. Batista 58.5 CS Jodha 6; 3. Moon Flower 57 Akshay 3; 4. Royal Highness 56 P Naidu 2; 5. Silk Cut 55 I Chisty 8; 6. Chemim De Fer 54.5 C Rajendra 7; 7. Incognito 54 S Pasquier 10; 8. Scarface 54 TS Jodha 9; 9. Beyond Stars 53.5 R Shelar 11; 10. Enlightenment 52.5 Daniel Grant 1; 11. Scarlet Pimpernel 52.5 Anthony C 4; 12. Vibgyor 51.5 A Sandesh 12.
Scarlet Pimpernel 1; Incognito 2.
4. Dalmore Cup (terms) -- 1600M, 3.00 pm: 1. Hot Pepper 55 PS Chouhan 8; 2. Red Baron 55 CD Hayes 7; 3. Scarlatti 55 Anthony C 3; 4. Senor Hill 55 TS Jodha 6; 5. Smokey Baba 55 Suraj Narredu 4; 6. Snow Angel 55 C Rajendra 10; 7. Capital Attraction 53.5 R Hughes 5; 8. Mylastwish 53.5 Daniel Bast 2; 9. Sheer Romance 53.5 DK Ashish 9; 10. Sun Salutation 53.5 Srinath 1.
Scarlatti 1; Sun Salutation 2.
5. RN Kanga Gold Trophy (terms) -- 1600M, 3.40 pm: 1. Onassis 59 B Prakash 5; 2. Dear Henry 53.5 S de Sousa 1; 3. Harlamoff 53.5 S Pasquier 2; 4. Portrush 53.5 R Hughes 4; 5. Venus Rosewater 52 P Trevor 3.
Onassis 1; Harlamoff 2.
6. BK Rattonsey Memorial Maiden Multi-Million (terms) -- 1200M, 4.10 pm: 1. Alecto 56 S de Sousa 7; 2. Belmont 56 Srinath 12; 3. Blue Ace 56 C Rajendra 10; 4. Incentio 56 V Jodha 1; 5. Naserian 56 David Allan 4; 6. Sikandar 56 DK Ashish 11; 7. Su O Moto 56 R Hughes 3; 8. Victorious March 56 A Sandesh 5; 9. Austerity 54.5 S Zervan 9; 10. Edwina 54.5 B Prakash 6; 11. Gates Of Heaven 54.5 Daniel Grant 2; 12. Snow Cannon 54.5 CD Hayes 8.
Naserian 1; Blu Ace 2.
7. McDowell Signature Premier Indian Derby (Grade I) (terms) -- 2400M, 4.50 pm: 1. Astapi 57 S de Sousa 5; 2. Cardinal 57 B Prakash 10; 3. Field Marshal 57 David Allan 4; 4. Knighton 57 I Chisty 11; 5. Marauder 57 PS Chouhan 4; 6. Picasso 57 S Pasquier 8; 7. Pronto Pronto 57 Srinath 12; 8. Pronto Star 57 Dashrath S 1; 9. Ranthambhore 57 CS Jodha 6; 10. Star Marquess 57 CD Hayes 9; 11. Hills And Stars 55.5 R Hughes 13; 12. In The Spotlight 55.5 M Dwyer 2; 13. Smashing 55.5 Anthony C 3.
Hills And Stars 1; In The Spotlight 2; Smashing 3.
8. Royal Challenge ‘Game For Life’ Challenge (Cl III, rated 40-66) -- 1200M, 5.35 pm: 1. Sugar Loaf 60 I Chisty 9; 2. Our Chieftain 59.5 CD Hayes 15; 3. Coccinella 57.5 S Zervan 5; 4. Palazzo Grazioli 57.5 S Pasquier 6; 5. Salt 57 Srinath 4; 6. Phosphor 56.5 I Pardeshi 8; 7. Silver Screen 56 Dashrath S 1; 8. Bold Dancer 55.5 Akshay 14; 9. Flying Kiss 54.5 V Jodha 10; 10. Native Lady 54 P Trevor 12; 11. Titleist 52.5 A Agarwal 7; 12. Hockenheim 52 Anthony C 13; 13. Rein In Spain 52 A Sandesh 16; 14. Hidden Goodness 51 PS Chouhan 3; 15. Red Tabasco 50.5 S Kamble 17; 16. Royal Honour 49.5 CS Jodha 11; 17. Mountain Wind 49 V Phadke 2.
Our Chieftain 1; Palazzo Grazioli 2.
9. Antiquity Blue ‘Fusion Of The Finest’ (Div I) (Cl V, rated 1-26) -- 1200M, 6.15 pm: 1. Ashwa Apollo 60.5 I Chisty 11; 2. Belle Brise 60.5 Khalander 13; 3. Brut Rose 60.5 D Patel 7; 4. Call To Arms 60.5 A Sandesh 4; 5. Distant Promise 60.5 Akshay 1; 6. Fahrenheit 60.5 S Kamble 12; 7. Apocalypse 60 David Allan 8; 8. Helen 60 PS Chouhan 15; 9. Silver Lining 60 Kavraj S 18; 10. Staffan 60 S Pasquier 6; 11. Stylish Strokes 60 Shammi Khan 17; 12. Al Zamarud 59.5 Nikhil Bhujbal 2; 13. Constellation 59.5 P Trevor 10; 14. O’princess 59.5 Dashrath S 5; 15. Hermann 58 V Jodha 9; 16. Hills And Dales 58 R Shelar 6; 17. Money Flash 56.5 Neeraj Rawal 14; 18. Splash 55.5 S Chinoy 3.
Apocalypse 1; Ashwa Apollo 2.
Day’s best: Clinton.
I jackpot: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. II jackpot: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Mini-jackpot: 6, 7, 8, 9. I treble: 2, 3, 4. II treble: 6, 7, 8. III treble: 7, 8, 9. Exacta pool: 7, 9.