Indian Derby 2021 set to be a sedate affair

P S Chouhan astride Immortality (blue shirt, gold cap) swooping on P Trevor astride Forest Flame (red shirt, white cap) at the winning post in the Indian Oaks (Gr 1) three weeks ago.

In 1943, when World War II was at its peak, a filly named Princess Beautiful won the inaugural edition of the Indian Derby at the Mahalaxmi racecourse in Bombay, as the city was then known. The giant stands at the Mahalaxmi racecourse were filled to capacity, the bloodiest war in the history of this planet could not dampen the spirit of racing enthusiasts who wanted to witness the great event. Exactly 78 years later, when the whole world is forced to fight an invisible enemy of a different nature, the great race is restricted to have maximum 600 spectators, who will watch the 2021 edition of the Kingfisher Ultra Indian Derby (Gr 1) that will be run this Sunday (March 28) at the same Mahalaxmi racecourse.

Fillies to the fore
There are only four fillies in the Derby field of 13 runners, but two of them--Immortality and Forest Flame, winner and runner up of the grade 1, Indian Oaks--are likely to be fancied more strongly than the nine colts (or geldings), including the R R Ruia Cup winner Lagarde, and those who followed him in that race: North Star and Roaring Tiger. Interestingly, both these races were run on the same day (March 7), albeit over different trips, so the underfoot condition was nearly identical, and comparison of their performances, based on the dynamic handicapping principles, is possible.

Attaollahi, Shroff hold aces
Forest Flame (Leitir Mor - Memory Bay, trainer S Attaollahi) was perhaps the best of the crop of 2017 when she won the Poonawalla Breeders' Multi-Million (Gr 1) in February last year, but she clearly lost her touch as was evident when she made heavy weather of her 1000 Guineas victory at Pune, which she should have won hands down if she were her old self. Her next run, a narrow loss at the hands of Lagarde in the Bangalore Derby, confirmed that she had indeed lost her superior touch. However, trainer Attaollahi raised her level in time for the Indian Oaks, which she lost to Immortality (Multidimensional - Psychic Light, trainer Pesi Shroff) in a close fight. The Oaks run establishes both Forest Flame and Immortality as prime contenders for the top spot.

Lagarde (Kingda Ka - La Terrasse, trainer S Attaollahi) ran a forward race in the R R Ruia Gold Cup, and still managed to hold off challengers in a race that was run very fast compared to the Indian Oaks on the same day. The fact that Lagarde had also managed to beat Forest Flame over the Derby trip of mile-and-a-half at Bangalore adds to his chances, especially, after he has successfully won his first race at the Mahalaxmi track, a test which many classy outstation horses have flunked in the past. Lagarde is likely to be entrusted to the Hyderabad-based jockey Akshay Kumar who impressed me with his riding on the Oaks day. He may prove a great asset for Lagarde if he is involved in a close finish.

North Star (Admiralty - Viola, trainer Pesi Shroff) is another to watch out for improvement. He was asked to do too much too late in a race that was run at lightning speed, still he moved up well before perhaps getting a bit tired. He may find the Derby pace more kind, and can put in a dramatically improved performance.

All in all, the Indian Derby this time looks like a straight fight between two trainers: Pesi Shroff (Immortality & North Star) and Suleiman Attaollahi (Forest Flame and Lagarde).