Winter Derby may spring a surprise

The Winter Derby may have lost some of its sheen following the Syces’ Union strike demanding a wage hike and the subsequent decision by the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) to postpone the blue riband by a day, but most regulars and the many Derby day punters are ready burning the midnight oil in search of a Derby winner.The Derby had to be postponed by a day as the Syces’ Union were not accepting the Rs 6,200 offer made by Karnataka Trainers Association (KTA) and Karnataka Racehorse Owners Association (KROA). Meanwhile, in the absence of the piping hot favourite Southern Bay, who her connections chose to shift to Malakpet (Hyderabad) following the cloud over the Derby at this center, there is no clear favourite in the event though the bookmakers late in the evening listed Forever Glory as the two to one favourite for the event.Forever Glory also from trainer S Ganapathy’s yard who was instrumental in deciding to race Southern Bay in Hyderabad will be piloted by Irish professional Chris Hayes who has been specially called to partner the MAM Ramaswamy wards Forever Glory in Bangalore and Southern Bay in Hyderabad on Sunday.It is learnt that Chris Hayes will be down in India till the Indian Turf Invitation Cup week-end in March and it is obvious that the turf baron would have doled out a fancy price for the Irishmen services in all the classics.The second favourite in the event is the Mumbai challenger Maddox owned by Shapoor Mistry who won the Bangalore summer Derby through Pronto Pronto. The connections of Maddox are satisfied with the performance and preparation of the colt and his trainer Neil Darashah is confident that the colt will prove his mettle in his quest to land the big prize on Friday.Irfan Ghatala has entered two talented colts Toroloco and Zultanite and the latter is the dark horse who has the potential to upset the applecart of the two favourites Maddox and Forever Glory in this big event which offers 32.7 lakh to the winner. Apart from the people who trust the favourites the fluke hunters are fancying Lad Lady and this filly owned by the Member of Parliament Anil Lad has come from Mysore to stake her claim in the blue riband.Finally it all boils down to the luck of the race and going by Shapoor Mistry’s luck with the classics last year Maddox may extend the winning streak of his owners on Friday.