With 16 well-performed three-year-olds in the fray for the Poonawalla Breeders' Multi-Million (Gr 1), the feature event promises to be an exciting affair. The winner's purse is pegged at Rs 90 lakh, but more than the money it's the honour and prestige attached with this race, also called the "Juvenile Derby", that drives the horses and professionals to aim for the top honours.

A race with a crowd of young horses, most with experience of only one or two races, poses its own challenges; and therefore, luck of the race could turn out to be a decisive factor. But over the years I have seen that a horse who comes from another center and wins his first race at the Mahalaxmi racetrack is in a league of his own. Prokofiev (Leitir Mor - Balmoral Castle) has accomplished this feat in style on the Derby day card, and gets my nod for the first nomination.