Can Lagarde douse Forest Flame?

A highly-rated colt that is oozing form and confidence, an unbeaten filly who has not put a foot wrong and another filly, the only one to have proven her credentials over the punishing 12 furlongs, will be vying for supremacy in a subdued Bangalore Winter Derby here on Tuesday.

When the gates open for the blue riband event – the Rs 1.29 crore Kingfisher Ultra Derby Bangalore – on Republic Day at the Bangalore Turf Club, all eyes will be on the triumvirate of Lagarde, Forest Flame and Antibes.

The odds though are marginally in favour of Lagarde to emerge victorious. The four-year-old colt, to be piloted by Akshay Kumar and trained by SS Attaollahi, is not only fresh from winning the Indian 2000 Guineas in Mumbai on January 18 but has lost just once in four starts.

Expected to give Lagarde a run for his money is another Attaollahi trained horse, Forest Flame. To be ridden by P Trevor, one of the country’s top jockeys, the four-year-old filly is yet to be beaten in five starts.

The wins posted by Forest Flame are some of the important classics in the country, the Poonawalla Indian 1000 Guineas, the Bangalore 1000 Guineas, the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million and the Ebco Worksmart Breeders Produce Stakes. In all those races, she has sprinted her way to glory with none able to match her speed and power.

“I’m glad that two of my horses are billed as the favourites,” Attaollahi told DH on the eve of the big day. “Both horses have proven their mettle over 1600 metres, it’s time now to up the ante. 2400 metres requires a different strategy and we are prepared for it. From sprints to endurance, it's a totally different ball game. However, both horses have run well in 2400 in training and I’m quite confident one of them will triumph.”

Arjun Mangalorkar, the trainer of Antibes, too echoed similar sentiments. “My filly has shown she has the staying power. If she can get off to a good start and not get caught in the traffic, then she’s definitely in with a chance. (S) John is a seasoned jockey who anchored her to victory in the Bangalore Oaks which had a good field. It’s going to be a strategic battle and we’ll have our plans in place for the big day.”

Since both Lagarde and Forest haven’t run 2400 metres competitively, it’ll be interesting to see what strategy Attaollahi comes up with on Tuesday. Will he instruct his jockeys to get off to a modest start and then unleash power on the home straight or will he gamble with one of them setting a quick pace considering both are sprinters to off-set Antibes’ plans? Or, will he just allow the jockeys to run their own races? All of it remains to be seen.

A minor setback is Lagarde not having the accomplished Suraj Narredu on the saddle. Narredu, who has handled the colt predominantly, will be riding Forever Together but Attaollahi downplayed his absence. “I would have loved to have Suraj who has been working with Lagarde from the start. He knows him in and out. But Akshay could use this an opportunity to make a name for himself. He’s ridden in big races and it’ll be great if he can succeed. Lagarde has responded well to Akshay so far, so let’s see what happens.”

With the sun beating down the last couple of weeks and temperature rising slowly, the course has matured well and is expected to play fast.

Barring Lagarde, Forest Flame and Antibes none of the others in the nine-horse field inspires much confidence. An upset looks highly unlikely but stranger things have happened on the track.