UNRAVELLING THE CLASSIC CONUNDRUM - PREVIEW OF THE KINGFISHER ULTRA PUNE DERBY (Grade 1) - By Cyrus Naterwalla
Posted on - 14 Oct 2017
UNRAVELLING THE CLASSIC CONUNDRUM – PREVIEW OF THE KINGFISHER ULTRA PUNE DERBY (Grade 1)
- By Cyrus Naterwalla
The Pune Derby is the highlight of the 3 month long Pune Racing Season and is the race that every Trainer aspires to win at the beginning of the Pune season. The inaugural running of this prestigious race was way back in 1984 when it was sponsored by a company called Splendour Deluxe and was won by the filly Prudential Champ, trained by the legendary Uttam Singh and ridden by Aslam Kader. . In the earlier years, this race tended to throw up a future winner of an Indian Classic with Amorous Knight, Desert Warrior, Astonish, Indictment and Forest Fantasy all went on to win either the Indian Derby or the Indian Turf Invitation Cup. However, since the year 2000, only the mighty Quasar went on to claim the Indian Turf Invitation Cup whilst the other winners of this prestigious event have seldom gone on to claim glory in an Indian Classic.
The traditional lead up races for the Derby have been the F.D. Wadia Trophy, the S.A. Poonawalla Multi Million and the General Rajendrasinhji Million which in the last couple of years has been shifted to the concluding day of the season and is no longer a lead up. On many occasions, the winner of one of these lead up races has gone on to win the Derby and this year, both the F.D. Wadia winner Rochester and the S.A. Poonawalla Million Pure Zinc are in the fray. The recent trend this decade has favoured mainly Colts and Geldings with Hills and Stars the only filly to have won this Classic in 2011. In the recent years, the Trainers who have gone on to win this race have been Pesi Shroff in 2016 with Accolade, C.D. Katrak in 2015 with Bullrun, MaleshNarredu in 2014 with Quasar, Shroff again in 2013 with Jeremiah, BezanChenoy in 2012 with Commander and Vinayak in 2011 with Hills and Stars. Incidentally Vinayak and C.D. Katrak have a phenomenal record in the Pune Derby as do the long time sponsors the Dhunjibhoys and Five Star Shipping, having dominated this race between 1995 and 2010 with a spate of winners although the last winner in their colours was Aquilo way back in 2005. Of the jockey’s riding in this years classic only Dashrath Singh, P. Trevor and SurajNarredu have tasted previous Pune Derby success.
After fields of 12 and below for the last 7 years, this year boasts a field of 14 runners and looks quite competitive on paper with no dominant force or outstanding individual in the fray.
We hereby discuss and assess what appear to be the main competitors
PURE ZINC (Sedgfield x Skipperess)
TRAINER :-AdhirajsinghJodha
WEIGHT :- 56kgs.
JOCKEY :-A. Imran Khan
DRAW :- 11
RATING :-68
The grey colt will be looking to give young Trainer Adhiraj Singh Jodha his first Classic success and has an excellent record of 2 wins and a close 2nd from his 3 starts till date making him one of the most inexperienced runners in this field but also giving him the maximum scope to improve. Pure Zinc made his debut back in February over a mile where he was up against an odds on favourite in the form of the Pesi Shroff trained Zenon but he ran a mighty race in spite of not being fully wound up and went down fighting by a short neck. His trainer then chose to run him straight in the ShapoorjiPallonji Breeders Juvenile Colts Championship against several of today’s field and the grey quickly established himself as one to take notice of when he wore down Caprisca to score a thrilling long neck victory as the total outsider in the 7 horse field. With the exception of Mygrator, all the other horses who ran in that field are reopposing again and as the verdict between first and last that day was just 4 ¼ lengths, it will depend on which of the runners has shown the maximum improvement. Pure Zinc then made a belated reappearance in the S.A. Poonawalla Multi Million a month ago where in spite of the lack of a previous run, he scored an impressive 1 ¾ length over Bateleur with Caprisca well held back in 4th. Pure Zinc is sure to improve appreciably for that run and has been working extremely well in the morning trials. Jeremiah was the last grey to win this back in 2013 and Pure Zinc looks a leading contender to follow in his footsteps. On the pedigree front, he should have enough stamina as his full brother Sword of Honour was a winner over a mile and a quarter although the other progeny have been quite ordinary in their performance. Another interesting tit bit favouring Pure Zinc is that greys have been winning this race every 4 years. Versaki won it in 2009, Jeremiah another grey in 2013 and now in 2017, it could very well be the turn of Pure Zinc
LADY IN LACE (Chinese Whisper x Sea Spray)
TRAINER :-Prasad Raju
WEIGHT :- 54.5kgs.
JOCKEY :-SurajNarredu
DRAW :- 2
RATING :-81
In contrast to Pure Zinc, Lady In Lace is one of the most experienced and battle hardened fillies in the field, having already raced 12 times and won an impressive 6 of those races, earning herself the highest rating in this field of 81. She established herself as truly top class when scoring a gutsy win in the Deccan Fillies Championship where she beat the dominant 3 year old filly Manifold by a length and a quarter. She tackled this gruelling trip for the first time in the Deccan Derby a couple of weeks ago, her task being made even tougher by a tremendous downpour just before the race making stamina even more of an issue. She put in a tremendous run to draw level and even head Prevalent Force before the colt fought back and began to out stay her towards the end. That in itself was a top drawer performance but doubts continue to linger about her ability to stay a solidly run mile and a quarter race and just how much that herculean effort less than 2 weeks ago has taken out of her. She is a final entry and clearly deserves her place in this line up and if she has taken her previous race well and is able to stay the mile and a quarter trip, then she could emerge as the winner here. Out station horses do not have a great record in this race with only 3 ‘foreign raiders’ able to claim this race previously.
THEMIS (Lord Shanakillx Soul Society)
TRAINER :-M.K. Jadhav
WEIGHT :- 54.5kgs.
JOCKEY :- Imran Chisty
DRAW :- 4
RATING :-68
She has raced 6 times till date with 2 wins, 2 seconds and a 4th placed finish to her name and is rated level with Pure Zinc at 68. After finishing unplaced over 1000M on her racing debut in October last year, Themis reappeared only in February over 7 furlongs and gave notice of her potential when running a bottling 2nd to Caprisca and finishing ahead of Selfie Star. She then went on to claim the Breeders Juvenile Championship by a short neck from Manifold and proved herself to be an above average type. She was taken to Bangalore where she could only finish 4th to Manifold in the Fillies Trial Stakes where she finished just ahead of the reopposingKangra. She then opted to run a mile and a quarter handicap so she is one of the few already proven over this trip and she beat Bold March quite convincingly. Returning to Pune for her lead up, she was beaten over a mile by New England but was only a length and a quarter shy in a muddling event and her rider did not give her a hard time when beaten. Her last couple of workouts have been quite exceptional and she has the least question marks about her with regards to staying prowess so she looks a leading fancy and must be seriously respected.
PERFECT STAR (Excellent Art x Free Radical)
TRAINER :-Karthik G
WEIGHT :- 56 kgs.
JOCKEY :- S. John
DRAW :- 8
RATING :-64
Perfect Star carries the legendary chocolate and gold colours of Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy who enjoyed great success in this race in its early years. He is a winner of 1 of his 6 starts but has run creditably on most occasions and his form ties in quite well with the principals. He made an impressive debut over 7 furlongs when he went down fighting to Glyndebourne and was well clear of Lord of the Sea who finished 3rd that day. He went on to win the race named in honour of his owner on Derby Day, outclassing the opposition that day with Lord of the Sea runner up again and We Break The Rules 3rd. He then dropped back down in trip in the Poonawalla Breeders Multi Million where he finished 4th just behind Timeless. He was then taken to Bangalore where he finished runner up to Castlebridge in the Colts Trial Stakes and 6th in the Derby where he was a length behind Kangra. Travelling to Hyderabad for the Colts Trial Stakes he finished 4th to Prevalent Force, with Timeless once again in 3rd. However, he appears to be more likely to stay this longer trip than Timeless and should reverse the form now. He has been well prepared and rested and looks a good outsider who could upset the applecart of the principals although Excellent Art progeny are yet unproven over staying trips
ROCHESTER (Phoenix Towerx Krasnaya)
TRAINER :-S.K. Sunderji
WEIGHT :- 56 kgs.
JOCKEY :- C. S. Jodha
DRAW :- 12
RATING :-54
He is one of two leading contenders from the S.K. Sunderji yard and although Timeless is better performed till date, Rochester looks more scopey and also more likely to stay this 2000M trip. He has run 5 times till date and has been in the first three on all occasions, winning once and finishing runner up thrice. He was runner up to Big Sur on debut over 1400M going down by just a neck and then went on to run a close 2nd to Windsor Forest again over 1400M. Upped to a mile in the Breeders Juvenile Colts he fought for the lead at one stage and ended up a very close 3rd behind Pure Zinc and Caprisca with Big Sur and Lord of the Sea just behind him. He was odds on favourite over 1800M on his reappearance run in Pune but failed to pass Sweet Music and went down by a short head. He finally gained a deserved 1st success in the F.D. Wadia Trophy which he won emphatically from Summer Rays and has been painstakingly prepared for this race since then. His form looks to be a little bit below the main contenders here but he should gain a lot of confidence from his win and should not be ignored.
KANGRA (Western Aristocratx Georgina)
TRAINER :-S. S. Attaollahi
WEIGHT :- 545.kgs.
JOCKEY :- P. Trevor
DRAW :- 5
RATING :-66
She is another out station challenger and a final entry and connections clearly feel that she is worth chancing in this field, coming here fresh off a win in the Mysore 1000 Guineas although she beat a relatively weak field there. Her previous form saw her finish 4th in the Bangalore Derby ahead of Perfect Star and 5th in the Fillies Trial just behind Themis so her form ties in quite well with the principals and she has clearly improved since her Bangalore runs. She is again not a 100% stayer but Western Aristocrat appears to have a good stamina influence on his progeny and she too deserves her place in this line up
ZANARA (Arazanx Aemilia)
TRAINER :-Dallas Todywalla
WEIGHT :- 54.5kgs.
JOCKEY :- Y. S. Srinath
DRAW :- 13
RATING :-43
Zanara has raced 5 times till date and is way below the top contenders on official ratings. She did nothing of note in her first 4 starts but last time out over 2000M, looked a filly transformed when going to the front and she won as she pleased in a decent time by 6 lengths against maiden opposition. She has been working exceedingly well since that run prompting connections to have a crack at this and while she does not appear to have any realistic form claims she is being touted as many as a dark horse to take this
Overall, this appears to be a hugely competitive Derby with it being hard to rule out most of the 14 contenders. However, taking all things into consideration Pure Zinc should come out on top and continue the tradition of a grey winning this race every 4 years. Themis is thought to be next best as she looks certain to stay the trip with Lady In Lace a danger to all if she has overcome her previous exertions and stays well
(Disclaimer : Views are entirely that of the correspondent only and RWITC takes no responsibility for the same)
