The enduring charm of the Bangalore Derby

 When the 100th Classic Took the Wrong Horse

 

Pesi Shroff’s 100th classic victory arrived, but racing being racing, it refused to follow the script. Fynbos, the obvious choice to provide the landmark, was beaten in the closing strides by stablemate Red Bishop, a 377-day maiden who had seemingly wandered into the party without an invitation. The irony was delicious: the trainer reached a century, but the expected heroine was left watching another stablemate steal the headlines.

 

By Sharan Kumar

 

Pesi Shroff finally got his 100th classic winner and joined the exclusive club occupied by Aris David, Rashid Byramji and S Padmanabhan. It was supposed to be a grand occasion, and Fynbos appeared perfectly cast for the role. There was only one small problem. Racing had not been consulted.

 

Instead of the much-anticipated Fynbos, the milestone came aboard Red Bishop, a stablemate who had not seen the winning post for 377 days and, judging by his price, had about as much chance of playing the starring role as the race commentator.

 

But Red Bishop had other plans. Fynbos had already provided a curious precedent. About a month ago, she had been beaten by the stable’s pacemaker Duke of Tuscany, who had merrily gone on to win while the favourite arrived with the cavalry charging too late. This time Vivek G apparently decided that history was not going to repeat itself. He took Fynbos to the front by the final bend and, for good measure, opened up by several lengths.

 

By the final furlong, it looked as though the argument was over. Unfortunately for Fynbos, Red Bishop had not received the memo.

 

Neeraj Rawal began to reel her in, stride by determined stride, while Fynbos began to shorten her strides. The impossible started looking possible, and then possible became inevitable. Red Bishop got up in the closing strides to beat the favourite by half a length.

 

Pesi subsequently said he had always felt Fynbos might not stay the 2,800 metres. That may have been part of the equation, but the defeat had another rather obvious ingredient. Fynbos had been asked to do the donkey work herself. She had gone to the front early, opened a huge lead and then had to fend off a horse who had apparently saved his best performance for the one day nobody expected it.

 

Arrived finished third, while Kings Gambit once again produced a performance that left his connections searching for answers and the racegoers searching for him.

 

The celebrations were, unfortunately, punctuated by angry cries from punters who had backed Fynbos. It was hardly the ideal soundtrack for a trainer completing a century of classics. But then, racing crowds have never been particularly sentimental when their betting slips are involved.

 

There was also a delicious irony to the whole affair. Long-priced stablemates upsetting favourites from the same yard is beginning to look less like an accident and more like a recurring feature. The favourite carries the expectations, the stablemate carries the price, and sometimes the latter carries the trophy home.

 

Yet, for all the drama surrounding the 100th classic, it was impossible to look beyond Fynbos for the Indian St Leger. Over 2,800 metres, the opposition simply did not appear to possess the same credentials. If class was going to decide the race, Fynbos seemed to have the argument won before the gates opened.

 

Matisse set the pace, with Arrived, Kings Gambit, Fynbos, Caccini and Red Bishop settling behind. Fynbos was travelling so smoothly that Vivek G could afford to ease the reins. She cruised into the lead without being asked for anything serious and, turning for home, quickly put daylight between herself and the field.

 

At that point, the St Leger looked less like a contest and more like a coronation. Then Red Bishop arrived to ask an entirely different question.

 

He came charging down the outside as Fynbos began to feel the effects of the long journey. The favourite was shortening stride, Red Bishop was lengthening his, and suddenly the most important horse on the track was not the one carrying the reputation, but the one carrying the least expectation.

 

The winning post did not come to Fynbos's rescue. Rawal drove Red Bishop through in the dying strides to snatch victory and hand Pesi Shroff his 100th classic in the most Pesi-like fashion imaginable: with a favourite beaten, a long shot delivering the goods and the script ending up in the bin.

 

The milestone was achieved. The only thing missing was the expected horse.

 

There was another delicious twist to the result. Neeraj Rawal was completing back-to-back victories in the race, and both came at odds of more than 20/1. Last year, he had sprung another surprise aboard Pesi Shroff-trained Odysseus, getting the better of Pyrite, while Duke of Tuscany, then the second favourite, could manage only fourth. Apparently, Rawal has developed a rather profitable habit of turning up in this race with horses nobody expects to win.