The enduring charm of the Bangalore Derby

 Season Loses Its Spark as One-Sided Races Dominate

 

By Sharan Kumar

 

The Bangalore Summer Season, once known for edge-of-the-seat finishes and fiercely fought battles down the final furlong, has been a pale shadow of its glorious past. Competitive racing, the hallmark of a robust season, has gone AWOL—replaced by a monotonous parade of one-sided contests that have offered little by way of thrill, drama, or betting intrigue.

 

Save for the occasional blip, most races thus far have resembled glorified gallops, with winners often cantering home unchallenged. It’s not just the lack of competition that’s troubling—it's also the curious betting trends that have raised eyebrows. Horses with modest credentials are attracting floods of money, while genuine contenders drift to long odds, leaving punters thoroughly disoriented. The trusty compass of ‘favourite-following’ has become more of a roulette wheel, with form and logic often taking a backseat.

 

Margins of victory have frequently been exaggerated, not necessarily because of raw brilliance, but due to the absence of worthy opposition. In the process, ratings are getting inflated, muddying the already murky handicapping waters.

 

Pesi Shroff’s Eagle Day showed definite improvement over a mile and looked the part. The ace trainer has a solid battalion, and one can expect him to dominate the classics. In contrast, Prasanna Kumar trained Charismatic won comfortably, but didn’t quite stamp himself as the classic horse his connections may have hoped for. And another horse from his yard Money Bags, who was prematurely crowned the next big thing after a modest-timed debut win, couldn’t even fetch change on the hype and flopped badly.

 

Then there’s the handicapper’s version of divine intervention—a ratings sheet seemingly scribbled without rhyme or reason. Case in point: Shamrock, trained by Satish Narredu, who was dropped to 106 by the Bangalore handicapper despite having bagged a Group 1 Super Mile at Chennai, where he routed decent opposition. From 120 in Chennai to 106 in Bangalore—is this a case of altitude sickness affecting logic? Even when Shamrock had no recent wins in Bangalore, he held a rating of 115 in the month of January. Then he wins a Grade 1 race and ends up with a lower rating? This creative accounting is best left to fiction.

Still, Shamrock silenced critics—both human and numerical—with a gritty win in the H.H. Krishnaraja Wadiyar Cup, leaving the rest scrambling in his wake over higher rated horses and conceding weight as well. Favourite Prana once again flattered to deceive, finding one better and leaving his followers groaning.

Among the rare bright sparks, Supernatural made up acres of ground from a tardy start to finish third—a performance worth filing away for future reference over longer trips. Ramiel, the seasoned stayer from Kolkata, showed he still had gas in the tank and should be a force in races stretching beyond the everyday mile.

 

In the sprint division, Petaluma from Leo D’Silva’s yard demolished a field of maidens by five lengths, clocking a time that blew the lower division winner Refined Aggression out of the conversation. However, Refined Aggression ran into series of problems midway during the race and his jockey Vivek G was lucky that he was not unseated due to a bad interference. The betting ring, in the Petaluma race, was still married to Midnight Blue, and it ended in a costly divorce.

 

The Speaker’s Cup looked competitive on paper, but Pluto from Deepesh Narredu’s camp made a mockery of the field, leading pillar to post. Favourite Del Aviz might have threatened, had apprentice Ramaswarup navigated better. Instead, he found himself boxed in, then lost ground trying to make a wide run—a tactical error that cost the race.

 

Emphatic, trained by Padmanabhan, lived up to her name with a narrow win over Victor Hugo, who was returning from a 249-day layoff and almost pulled off a coup. Sandesh’s smart ride proved the difference.  As for Irfan Ghatala’s horses, trying to forecast their performance is a bit like predicting next week’s weather in Mars—though some punters say roulette is a more reassuring alternative.

 

Sulaiman Attaollahi’s charge, Elysium, underlined her class by distancing the field in a race for three-year-old maidens, covering the seven furlongs in a time that left others gasping. Her clocking was two seconds better than the other division—highlighting her immense promise.

 

And finally, in what was the only real contest of the day, Champions Way, under a composed ride from Suraj Narredu, managed to win after a 496-day drought. The finish was tight, but only because apprentice Ramaswarup’s inexperience allowed the door to swing open for a last-gasp steal. That race alone saved the day from being labelled a complete snooze-fest.

 

So yes, the favourites have delivered—more or less—but the real thrill of racing has been conspicuously absent. With predictable outcomes, patchy fields, and a handicapper who seems to be grading on vibes, this season has felt more like a dress rehearsal than prime time. One can only hope the upcoming classics breathe some life into what is fast becoming a very dull summer on the turf.