The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Horse : Invitation Cup wears an open look

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Sunday, Mar 06, 2005

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Sport - Racing : Horse

Invitation Cup wears an open look

By Anil Mukhi

CHENNAI, MARCH 5. Sunday afternoon, the historic Madras Race Club's expansive Guindy Race Course is the magnet for all turf aficionados, who are sure to throng the enclosures to witness the 43rd India's premier invitation race, the Indian Turf Invitation Cup, back in town for the 10th time.

To be run over 2400m, the race has drawn the cream of the 2001 crop, with a dozen vying for honours. Surprise results are "par for the course", as for example the victory of Mother's Boy in 1968 or Supreme Choice in 1996, both here at Guindy. The reason for this is that by March the form of the top performers is on the decline, what with long and intense campaigns behind them. At the same time, it has not been impossible for the most talented runners to score, as their sheer class has propelled them to victory, exhaustion notwithstanding.

With so many variables and no Squanderer or Elusive Pimpernel in the line-up, it is certainly not easy to predict the winner. This column will have to remain content with identifying the principal contenders.

An analysis of the past performances of the contestants for the current renewal reveals that Elite Zone (seven wins from 11 starts), Venus Arising (five-from-8), Forever Elegance (five-from-9) and Andreyan (two-from-4) have the best records.

If one ignores the McDowell Indian Derby effort of the Steinbeck filly Venus Arising — and there is ample reason to do so as Mallesh Narredu kept her too far back early, thus finding he had an impossible leeway to bridge in the closing stages — then she is clearly the form horse at the top of the list. This might seem like defying conventional wisdom, which would normally be to nominate the McDowell Indian Derby winner. Make no mistake, Southern Regent (B. Prakash up) remains a very live contender. Yet, the Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy standard-bearer from S. Ganapathy's yard has often been surprised by one too speedy, as his three-from-14 record suggests.

Further, Venus Arising had trounced Southern Regent in the Nanoli Stud Pune Derby, when the latter had no hard-luck story. With the experienced Kevin Darley replacing Narredu in the saddle, the Cooji Katrak-trained filly has an excellent chance. She stays the trip, has a turn of foot, and hails from a stud farm — the Usha Stud — that has sent out a sixth of those that have worn the sash of honour in the Invitation Cup.

The handsome Andreyan, like Southern Regent a son of Razeen, who is to be ridden by Y.S. Srinath, is next on the short-list. A wise American trainer once said "horses peak at the third start of their campaigns" and Andreyan is the only runner who qualifies on this count. His finishing effort in the Bangalore Derby in January, where he was reeling in Forever Elegance with every stride, was almost beyond belief. And he still has some scope for improvement. Finally, he is trained by the maestro himself, Rashid Byramji, who having led in the winner of this race precisely a dozen times certainly knows what it takes. This combination makes him the most likely candidate to greet the judge at the business end of the race.

In Elite Zone, the Ramaswamy-Ganapathy team has a worthy "second-string". The son of Placerville is well-rested after toying with his rivals in the Golconda Derby on Republic Day. On past form, he is virtually the same horse as Southern Regent in ability. Having had to undertake a shorter journey to get here than his principal opponents, he has the advantage on that score. C. Rajendra does duty.

As her rider, Mark Gallagher puts it, the third of the Ramaswamy-Ganapathy quintet, Forever Elegance, has done nothing wrong. She is coming off four consecutive victories, the last three in Classics, although she was perhaps fortunate that Andreyan came too late to deprive her of the crown in the Poonawalla Bangalore Derby. Racing as she does in bandages, she might find the hard ground against her.

Both Frida Kahlo and Full Speed have been consistency personified, finishing on board virtually every time they have started. Both are quite capable of adding pep to the finish. In fact, Full Speed takes very high rank on my ratings and — if he settles well and reproduces his very best form — could actually run away with the honours and shapes as the best outsider.

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