The Derby is over, racing will return to loyalists - By Shiven Surendranath I DNA
Posted on - 09 Feb 2017
The Derby is over, racing will return to loyalists
By Shiven Surendranath
DNA
With the glittering Platinum Jubilee of the Indian Derby having had its expectedly successfully run last week, racing will be returned to its loyalists from the fashionistas, who hijack it year after year to add a glitz and glamour that is unrivalled in any sporting event in the entire country.
However successful the Indian Derby may have been in terms of pomp and splendour, there are always those who miss the quiet elegance of an era gone by. For them the Eclipse Stakes of India, to be run this Sunday, provides the perfect opportunity to walk through the gates of the club into the days of yore.
While not as glamorous as Derby Day, the 94th running of the Eclipse Stakes of India, at the more than 200-year-old Royal Western India race club, is no less seeped in history. This gentle stroll back in time, under the Vitamin D enriched rays of a lovely winter sun, is strongly recommended not only for all those who like things elegant but also those whose idea of a well spent Sunday afternoon is to run around an air conditioned mall with the fully deserved status of a headless chicken.
So deceptively gentle and placid is the atmosphere at the turf club that non regulars would be completely oblivious of the lurking build up of testosterone at the premises, in two of the races in particular. The Eclipse Stakes Of India and the Dr SC Jain Sprinters Championship. The horses entered in these races wont just be running for the prestige of winning a graded race but also to score an invite to the coveted Invitation Weekend, which is to be held in Bangalore next month.
For the uninitiated, the Invitation Weekend is held every year at different racing centres in India where the best horses from across the country run over their pet distances and are officially declared champion of champions. So high is the calibre of racing that for many patrons of the sport the Invitation Cup weekend is preferred over the Derby Weekend.
While the official list of acceptors in the race is still not out, The Eclipse Stakes of India should see Mr Gaurav Sethi’s Alaindair self select himself as the piping hot favourite. Alaindair is not just the highest rated horses in the field by far but also amongst the highest rated horses in India and were it not to for his unfortunate tendency to occasionally bleed in a race it would be as certain as sunlight that the postman would be knocking at his stable door with his invite for the Invitation Weekend.
Mr Peter “Oktoberfest” Deubet’s, Jack Frost, is the next highest rated horse but it seems unlikely that he can beat Alandair. Which leaves Mr.Haresh Mehta’s Palatial as the proverbial joker in the pack. However, Palatial’s rating of 70 compared to Alaindaire’s 123 will reduce the rating system to a bit of joke if the joker manages to beat one of the Kings of Indian racing.
The Dr SC Jain Sprinters Championship is the last chance for horses, who prefer to finish off things under a minute rather than take two, to get their invite to the Invitation weekend. Sponsored by the family of the current Chairman of the Royal Western India Turf Club, Mr Vivek Jain, this race isn’t just targetted by the best sprinters for its attractive stake money but one would also like to believe for the most beautiful trophies that the Jain family painstakingly curates to give to the winner of the race.
While winner picking in SC Jain is a near impossibility, with many of the older horses not running to form in their previous starts, Renee just might provide some balm to owner Khushroo Dhunjibhoy after Serjeant At Arm’s narrow loss in the Indian Derby.
For those looking for more than just a flashback of the past to come to the races, Sunday morning will see children and not horses run in the Little Hearts Marathon. You can log on to the clubs website at rwitc.com or www.littleheartsmarathon.com for details if you would like your little one to participate and help the Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital raise funds to get equipment for cardiac care for underprivileged children.
The horses will compete later in the day for the Little Hearts Million and one can expect the club and its members to come forward and contribute towards this good cause even as they themselves get over the side effects of demonetisation.
