Sunday's HPSL Indian 2000 Guineas (Gr 1) at the Mahalaxmi racetrack has only six runners in the fray. This is one of the smallest 2000 Guineas fields in several years--and there is a reason. African Gold, the Multidimensional - Botswana three-year-old trained by the Bangalore-based trainer Ms Parvati Byramji, has arrived at Mahalaxmi for the big race.

Ms Ameeta Mehra, owner of the Usha stud, is keeping her fingers crossed for a back-to-back 2000 Guineas victory after Synthesis last year ended a 13-year drought in this race for her farm. "Hope Usha (stud) can do it again this year! I believe African Gold has a good chance to win," Ameeta Mehra told mid-day on Friday, "in fact, if African Gold were to win, it would make his sire (father) Multidimensional one of the rare few stallions to sire the winner of all the Indian Classics, including the Sprinters', Stayers', the Super Mile and the Invitation Cup!"