Horse D'ouevre

With Derby day on Sunday, a pictorial look at a day in the life of top class thoroughbreds

The curtain went up on the Derby weekend (Saturday, February 5 and February 6) with an event called the Breakfast with Champions, where the press had an opportunity to meet with racing professionals at the Mahalaxmi racecourse on Thursday morning.



The country's most coveted horse racing prize, the Derby is to be decided on Sunday but the celebrations start a day before, with a cocktail of entertainment and racing coming together on Saturday itself.

As the sun climbed over the horizon and the first pink streaks appeared in the sky, equines thundered on the race track, getting some track work in before the big day.

Journalists, jockeys, owners andu00a0 trainersu00a0 stood around as the morning track work (the horse's daily practise and workout) petered out.

As breakfast was served and the aroma of idlis and upma wafted into noses, all the talk was about the horse, Ocean and Beyond for the Derby and Moonlight Romance, another hot contender.

First up like they say in racing parlance was trainer Cooji Katrak who answered a few questions about his filly, Moonlight Romance. Katrak said, "Moonlight Romance seems to be in reasonably good nick.
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She is a stout stayer with lots of ability and has a great temperament. On paper, it looks like a two-horse race, Ocean and Beyond and Moonlight Romance but then this is the Derby and there may be a joker in the pack."

When asked which was his "joker" Katrak said as he wandered off - "Sunlight." One overheard a journalist asking Katrak a question about Moonlight Romance as he was walking away, to which Katrak replied, "I do what is best for my horse. I am not here to play to the gallery and all these television people."

The jockey for Katrak's joker in the pack, Paul Mulrennan from England who will ride Sunlight said that the, "Derby would be a much open race this year than last year" and claimed Sunlight ran a blinder in the Oaks, she has, "a great temperament and is very relaxed."

Pesi Shroff, who has five runners in the Derby including Macchuu Picchu who is being spoken of as a dark horse said that Ocean and Beyond and Moonlight Romance do look good, form suggests they are better off than the rest.

On another tack, the Derby is all about the fastest hooves in the country over a mile-and-a-half and when it is about hooves, well, they had better be well heeled. Trainer Narendra Lagad allowed the press a glimpse of horse shoeing on a three-year-old horse called Arctic Minstrel.

Lagad explained, "Shoeing a horse is all about precision -- like cutting one's nails. It is an art and a science, one mistake and the horse could get injured and in extreme cases go lame." Lagad explained that the shoes act as shock absorbers for creatures that weigh approximately 450 kg.

From shoes, it was a verdant drive away to the equine pool where horses were made to swim. Trainer Imtiaz Sait said, "Horses are natural swimmers and they love the water. It is also called hydrotherapy." The pool near the stables at the racecourse is approximately 300m.

Finally, a horse called Adam's Lover was brought on to a special treadmill (horses have them too) and made to gallop.

One thought the creature looked quizzical at all the cameramen clicking wildly and experts warned the media not to clap as the horse got off the treadmill. "She might get too excited and charge," said some as Adam's Lover got off after a stupendous gallop.

Senior veterinary surgeon, Dr Pheroze Khambatta said, "these treadmills could go at 70 kmph but horses usually go at 50kmph, not faster on these.


Enjoying the sand

This is a flat, even surface, it can also be made to an incline just like a regular treadmill. Some horses are very fit others are very unfit when they first begin and simply walk or walk-trot on the treadmill."

All looks ready for Sunday, where man will bet on four-legged creatures who can make a punter a prince for a day or a pauper.u00a0

Humdinger!

It's time to dust your hats and pull out your finest attire. For, its Derby time! The 2011 McDowell Signature Indian Derby will set a new record and is the perfect showcase of what a racing event of this magnitude is all about.

Quality
From the prize money to the entertainment, the quality of the race to the record crowd expected, it has the makings of a real humdinger. The record prize money of nearly 2.2 crore has not only set a new benchmark for a single sporting event in the country, but is the fore runner of a massive build up as the UB Group and the RWITC is set to ink a renewal of the agreement till 2017, at a mind boggling near 28 crore. The prize pool for the race is set to surpass 3 crore and touch 3.5 crore in the years ahead, nudging it to international levels.

Champion
In under two and a half minutes a new champion will be crowned. Though there is no Jacqueline this year to wow the attendance, a top draw field of a dozen, represented by the best four year olds in the land with regional Derbies under their belt will bid to create history. Ocean and Beyond, the obvious favourite is thought of as an all-time superstar, but will have his task cut out by some champion fillies, notably Moonlight Romance and Xisca who have both won Derbies in impressive style. A new track record is on the anvil, as several pacemakers will set the track ablaze from jumpout.

Perspective
From the RWITC's perspective, it will be a momentous occasion as the partnership with the UB Group enters an interrupted 27 years, perhaps the longest continuous sponsorship of any sporting event in the world of this magnitude. We will celebrate the new landmark agreement on Sunday as Dr Vijay Mallya will sign the new contract on the victory dais, and we hope to bring some pomp and pageantry to the occasion by having him drive up in an open air vintage convertible on the main track serenaded by a pair of horses with liveried syces, trotting to the tunes of an Army Band!

Awe
All of Mumbai descends on Mahalaxmi's green turf, to gape with awe at the 16,000 sq ft air-conditioned tent that will be the buzz of activity for the two-day carnival. Tribute acts to rock legend Freddie Mercury and the Pussy Cat Dollies will share the spotlight with an acrobatics performance by the Shaolin Monks from China. The flea market inside makes it easy to spend time between races and this can also be witnessed on the large screen.

Treasure
In yet another innovative step, the RWITC is conducting a miniature treasure hunt on Sunday to help familiarise first timers to the history of the Derby and the splendid environs of the Club. Contests on the Club's new emphasis on social media initiatives on Facebook and Twitter with a host of prizes will add to the fun quotient and is a trend that will catch on in the months ahead.

The writer is chairman, Royal Western India Turf Club