With the local Mysore Derby scheduled for Sunday, October 20th, all eyes are on the Mysore Race Club this weekend. This year is a unique one in the history of Indian horse racing, with three monsoon derbies happening within the space of eight days. This is an unplanned situation, caused mainly by the postponement of the Deccan Derby.
Along with this highlight race, we will also look at one other event from the Sunday races at Mysore as part of this preview. As usual, we will pick out the three best contenders for each race. These are the six horses we would place a wager on this weekend at Mysore:
The Bangalore Turf Club Trophy
This race has the strongest field of all the races, with 75 being the lowest admissible rating for a horse. The class 1 race has a distance of 1200m which should attract quite a lot of sprinters. The field is quite crowded with a dozen horses having been signed up for this trophy. With a prize purse of INR 600,000, this race will act as the prelude to the main event. It is scheduled to take place at 3:30 PM.
Out of the dozen, keep an eye on these three:
Aeolus
With 4 wins out of 7 starts, this son of Multidimensional looks like a hot prospect. He has already scored 3 consecutive wins and looks primed to add a fourth. A bay gelding trained by Darius Byramji, Aeolus is yet to finish outside the top 4 in his admittedly short career. He will have jockey Zervan in the saddle on Sunday.
Master of Universe
Sired by Dancing Forever, this bay stallion comes from the stables of trainer Bipin V Salvi. His career reads 9 runs with 4 wins, and 3 runners up spots. Recent form is nothing too special, with finishes of 8-1-4-2-2. With jockey Shamaz Shareef holding the reins, Master of Universe will be looking to get back to winning ways in the Bangalore Turf Club trophy.
Diamond Rays
A dark brown colt currently in his fourth year, Diamond Rays is the son of Tazahum and Moment of Glory. Trained by Sriram Komandur, he is an exciting prospect with 4 wins and 4 second-place finishes out of 10 runs. With an excellent rating of 90, he is probably going to be the crowd favorite on Sunday.
Our Picks
It looks like a good day to bet on Diamond Rays for the win if the bookmakers start listing at 5/1 or longer odds, Aeolus to give him stiff competition, and Master of Universe as a long-shot pick.
The AVR Group and Catalyst Properties Mysore Derby
As noted in the intro, this Grade 1 event is part of a packed 8 days of Derby action. As usual, the Mysore Derby is a 2000m race open to three-year-olds. With a total prize purse of INR 8,075,000, it is a very prestigious and lucrative trophy to win. There are 7 young horses in this year’s Derby, and all of them but one are colts/geldings.
Here are the three most promising picks for Sunday’s race:
Square the Circle
Sired by Kingda Ka off dam Circle of Bliss, this bay colt is from the stables of Md Sajid Qureshi. He has already ha run 8 races with two wins and two each in second and third. The local colt has a rating of 63 and will be ridden by jockey Imran Khan.
Malwa
The son of Whatsthescript and One Punch is a serious contender for the derby, with an impressive rating of 72. Trained by SS Attaollahi, Malwa has one win from 7 races, which was in his maiden run. CS Jodha will be his jockey in the derby race.
Cosmic Ray
The only filly in the race card is also the highest-rated horse for this event, with a 78 rating. The daughter of Burden of Proof and Cosmic Gal is a seasoned competitor already, with two wins out of four starts. The second horse trained by Attaollahi in this derby, Cosmic Ray will have Suraj Narredu in the saddle on Sunday.
Our Picks
Cosmic Ray is the runaway favorite for this race, which is our top pick if the bookmakers start listing at 5/1 or longer odds. Malwa is a decent pick as number two. Square the Circle is an excellent long-shot pick.
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