Antonios owner Rattonsey was afraid to say his horse would win Derby

But Antonios owner Rattonsey reveals after victorious Derby he didn't have the courage to say it aloud

But Antonios owner Rattonsey reveals after victorious Derby he didn't have the courage to say it aloud

The grade 1, McDowell Signature Indian Derby maintained its reputation as graveyard of the favourites for the ninth straight year when the SS Shah-trained rank outsider Antonios stunned piping-hot favourite public fancy Set Alight to claim the richest prize in the Indian turf history.

Easy rider: Jockey SA DeSousa celebrates on his horse Antonios after winning the McDowell Signature Indian Derby 2009 at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse yesterday.

Ridden to perfection by Brazilian rider SA DeSousa, the Nanoli-stud bred four-year-old colt earned a back-to-back Derby victory for the Rattonsey family who had just last year tasted their first success with Hotstepper.

The ecstasy of the moment hit the owners JK Rattonsey, Farouq Rattonsey and Hussain Nensey so hard that the otherwise sober trio went wild with joy and put in an extempore bhangra performance with their family and supporters, and Khushroo Dhunjibhoy's Nanoli camp on the first deck of the members' enclosure.

Underdog
Interestingly, when Hotstepper had won this race last year, Farouq Rattonsey had given an exclusive interview to MiD DAY before the race and had predicted his horse would win the race.u00a0 When asked yesterday if he had fancied his chances, he confessed, "I had a gut feeling we could win, but did not have the guts to say so."

Even if Rattonsey had shouted from the rooftop like last time, nobody would have taken him seriously Antonios had odds of 50 to 1.

The 15 runners were flagged off about 15 minutes later than scheduled, and Set Alight (M Narredu up) found herself in front, on the heels of Go Guzzi Gou00a0 who, contrary to expectations, set a leisurely pace. Antonios chose to race in mid-bunch, while Autonomy (R Hughes up) was ridden way off the pace.

The pace suddenly stepped up after the half-way mark, and Set Alight wasted no time in taking charge on rounding the bend, while Autonomy had moved up rapidly to make his bid, with Antonios on his outside.

However, none of them made any impression until the final furlong marker, and the massive crowd started chanting "Set Alight" to cheer up the favourite who looked set for an easy victory.

But with Autonomy throwing in the towel, Antonios charged at Set Alight with renewed vigour and gathered such momentum that he practically flew past Set Alight barely 30 metres from home, but still spared a good length and a half to her at the wire.

Dream ride
DeSousa, who gave a dream ride to Antonios, however, refused to take any credit for the victory. "The whole credit goes to trainer Shah," he said. "Antonios is not a horse, this is a machine, a perfect machine created by his trainer, and I just operated it."

Farouq Rattonsey chimed in endorsing the jockey's view, "We owe this success to Shahsaab and his assistant Roxanne, both of whom have taken great pains to get the horse at this mark," he said.