It's Siachen Vs Moonlight Romance - By Mahendra Mallya
Posted on - 22 Jan 2011
It’s Siachen Vs Moonlight Romance
By Mahendra Mallya
With due respect for the other contenders, the small field of six have two super stars in the line up, who appear to have a decisive edge over the other four – Siachen and Moonlight Romance. They are fillies who are extremely talented and possess a lot of class. They are proven champions and are in peak form and go into the HDIL Indian Oaks (Gr1) with little separating them.
The Indian Oaks is the third leg of the five Indian Classics and universally known as the “Ladies’ Derby” as it is run over the Derby distance (2400m) and with only fillies eligible to participate. This race is a good measure to gauge the top filly in the country and looked upon as a true test for speed and stamina in fillies.
The Oaks has always generated a lot of interest and it has a long drawn history. In Mumbai, it was first run in 1944. A filly named ‘Same Again’ had won the first ever Indian Oaks. More recently, Jacqueline, with that unforgettable run, literally cruised to one of the most sensational victories recorded on the turf for the Indian Oaks. Jacqueline not only won the Oaks, but also was the filly that conquered both the Indian 1000 and 2000 Guineas preceding the Indian Oaks and topped it by winning the Indian Derby as well.
Jacqueline won the Indian Oaks 2010 in the most convincing fashion and effortlessly too! Richard Hughes played a decisive part in partnering Jacqueline to her pinnacle of glory in all her Classic triumphs. He is here again, this time lending his allegiance to another top class filly Moonlight Romance. The daughter of China Visit from Wandering Star has a strong bloodline confirming her staying abilities. She started her career winning on debut as a half money favourite, beating Ciel Indienne on that occasion over a six-furlong sprint. In her next outing for the Hello Million, she was completely outpaced in a shock defeat to Star Future who recently ran a good second to Ocean And Beyond, the prime conterder for the Indian Derby this year.
Moonlight Romance raised the bar when she humbled the opposition which had the in-form filly Xisca in the line up for the Forbes Breeders’ Fillies Championship by a whopping 7 lengths plus margin. She then travelled to Bangalore and in the Fillies Trials Stakes there, she encountered Siachen for the first time and Siachen won sparing a length. However, she quickly put that defeat behind her and came into her own in the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby winning decisively beating another promising colt Sun Kingdom.
Back on home turf, she won her opening race a class I seven furlong affair with absolute ease. However, in her next, the Indian 1000 Guineas, Siachen once again proved a tough nut to crack and Moonlight Romance ate the humble pie yet again over the mile. Moonlight Romance is in great touch presently and will be itching to have a go at the Oaks and also seek to get even with Siachen. With the distance a different cup of tea this time, one can’t fault the connections of Moonlight Romance if they are optimistic about returning home triumphant this time.
Siachen would be basking in glory. She has every reason to. After all not many have beaten Moonlight Romance twice in two outings. Siachen is well bred too, coming from the Kunigal farm, she is by Burden of Proof out of Indian Mission. She too started off by winning a six furlong sprint and has a career record of four wins from five starts, which include the Fillies Trials, The Bangalore 1000 Guineas and the latest Indian 1000 Guineas.
Siachen has not gone the distance yet, she has never travelled over the mile, but her connections are confident that she will easily stay the trip. Her dam line has a strong stamina factor and that they feel she would have inherited abundantly.
Siachen travelled back to Bangalore after her Guineas conquest and has returned well in time to prove her mettle over the Derby trip. She is looking good and will be a lot more confident than her main rival. Her morning workouts have been right up there and her Jockey CD Hayes is more than confident that she is going to get stronger over the longer distance.
With two great riders in Richard Hughes and CD Hayes in charge of two top notch fillies, The HDIL Indian Oaks has all the pre race hoopla that one can’t afford to blink at the wire! The crowds are going to love it and they are going to get vocal as the race takes off right from under their nose – in front of the Grand Stands. The decibels are going to be deafening and if you are not at the Mahalaxmi this Sunday afternoon, you are going to miss the greatest action of the year so far!
Trivia:
H H Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia and partners won the Oaks four times.
Trainer Uttam Singh earned his title reference of the “Ladies’ Man’ for his unmatched expertise in getting the fillies read ladies to perform their best. Now wouldn’t we all love to possess that quality! It comes as no surprise then, that Mr Uttam Singh has won this race the most number of times – a record seven times! Well trainer A L J Talib too has won it seven times and I wonder why he did not earn the title!
Jockey S Chavan a seasoned pro and a top jockey of his era, won this race five times.
The Poonawalla Stud Farm has bred the winners of this race a record 14 times.
