The enduring charm of the Bangalore Derby

 PBMM at 37: Fortune and Fashion Steals the Frame

 

By Sharan Kumar

 

As the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million turns 37, it remains juvenile racing’s most glamorous proving ground. Conceived when first-season runners had few riches to chase, the race still rewards precocity and pure speed over seven furlongs. Not every winner becomes a Classic star, but that was never the brief. This is a specialist’s contest, where brilliance blooms early and logic occasionally takes a holiday.

 

The 37th edition of the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million is upon us, and once again the nation’s most precocious three-year-olds are being asked a simpler, sterner question: “How fast can you run right now?” In this race, pedigree is a promise. Reputation is decoration. What matters is present tense speed.

 

When this race was conceived, there were hardly any meaningful stake races for first-season runners. It arrived like a brightly wrapped cheque at a time when juvenile talent had limited earning opportunities. Entries had to be made before the horses were even sold, which meant owners were backing blueprints rather than buildings. As a result, future luminaries such as Set Alight never even got a chance to line up.

 

Since then, juvenile million races have multiplied like optimistic yearlings at a sale. Yet this event retains its aura. Perhaps because it is no longer merely a “Million” but a Multi-Million.

 

Speed First, Stamina Later

 

The Multi-Million is run over seven furlongs. It is a distance for horses who wake up early, finish breakfast briskly, and treat the homestretch as a short-distance evacuation plan.

 

 

The criticism that winners of this race rarely dominate the Classics misses the point. Classics are extended examinations. The Multi-Million is a sprint interview. Different skill sets. Different muscle fibres. Different temperaments.

 

It is rather like the Indian cricket team. You have your T20 specialists, your 50-over tacticians, and your Test match purists who pack patience in their kit bags. A rare few glide across formats with effortless authority. The same logic applies here.

 

Horses such as Forest Flame and Forest Fantasy carried their early speed gracefully up to a mile and beyond. Forest Fantasy stretched even further, capturing both the Pune Derby and the Indian Turf Invitation Cup, proving that a seven-furlong flyer can sometimes mature into a Classic statesman.

 

Be Safe, who lost this very race owing to a costly jockey error, later returned to claim the Indian Derby, a neat reminder that juvenile setbacks are not life sentences but merely detours on a longer map.

 

Star Superior finished second here and then marched on to win 18 races, including the Indian Derby, proving that an early supporting role can still lead to a starring career.

 

Juliet, who ran fourth in this race, went on to carve out her own distinguished chapter on the Indian circuit, capturing the Indian Turf Invitation Cup three times. Her trajectory reinforced an old racing truth: the Multi-Million may reveal speed, but it does not always confine destiny.

 

Winning Pretty, Haunting Memories, Versaki and Miracle offer further testimony. Each showed sharp juvenile speed, yet later stretched their stride to conquer extended trips, underlining that precocity and stamina are not natural enemies. In racing, brilliance at two does not automatically evaporate at three; it simply waits for the right distance to bloom.

 

Even when winners have not carried their juvenile form to greater glory, those who have figured on the frame have often distinguished themselves subsequently. The early contests, therefore, are less about crowning finished products and more about identifying raw material. Some shine early and fade. Others absorb the lesson, lengthen their stride, and return when it matters most.

 

Others, such as Ruffina and Corfe Castle, headed straight to the Sprinters Cup, confirming that the race is fundamentally a celebration of speed. Asking every Multi-Million winner to become a Derby horse is like asking every opening batsman to bowl leg spin. It can happen. It is not compulsory.

 

Memories From the Early Days

 

The inaugural running had been won by Legris Cheval, a long shot trained by Ivor Fernandes, who thereafter preferred operating away from the spotlight. Ivor, incidentally, was also a marvellous commentator, capable of making a maiden plate sound like a cavalry charge.

 

Trainer Rehanullah Khan struck gold with another outsider in Red Buttons, reinforcing the Multi-Million’s long-standing affection for ambush artists. This from a professional who would later saddle Strengthtostrength to capture both the Sprinters Cup and the Super Mile, a neat demonstration that speed and versatility can reside in the same horse.

 

Trainer Ganapathy, with five wins, and Pesi Shroff, with four, have been the race’s most consistent architects of success, their tallies reflecting not just numerical strength but the depth and quality at their disposal. Ganapathy has since retired from the profession, but his imprint on this contest remains firmly etched in its history.

 

Among jockeys, the late jockey Prakash won this race maximum number with five successes to his credit. Suraj Narredu has claimed the last three editions. He will be astride the hugely talented Blue Jet. Trevor Patel has an equal tally overall. David Allan, aboard one of the fancies this year in Invictor, has two wins to his name. All three return with strong ammunition. Buckingham is the talk horse of the race.

 

More Than a Race

 

Zavaray Poonawalla and Cyrus Poonawalla have ensured that this is not merely a race but an occasion. The lawns sparkle. The grandstand hums. Hats bloom in architectural defiance. Women are given free entry, and they arrive in ensembles that could rival international race days. It is one afternoon when fashion studies form and the parade ring competes bravely with the paddock.

 

Then comes the “Contest of Skill,” with a car as the ultimate prize. Curiously, the vehicle often drives away with someone who is not a seasoned racegoer. Not a paddock hawk. Not an odds calculator.

 

Zavaray once asked me why this happens.

 

The answer is simple. Two-year-olds are elastic. Their form is still wet paint. The most logical selection on paper may not account for temperament, growth spurts, or the sudden flowering of ability. The newcomer who chooses a horse because of a pleasing name, lucky number, or pure instinct is sometimes less burdened by logic and therefore less trapped by it.

 

In juvenile races, innocence can be an advantage.

 

As the 37th running approaches, the script is unwritten. Some of these youngsters will flash brightly and fade. A few may stretch their speed into stamina. One might even surprise us all and return for larger prizes over longer journeys.