Spotlight on Agnostic, Success on Super Saturday

Having witnessed a somewhat subdued Winter Derby on Republic Day primarily due to its stubborn customary scheduling, racing aficionados in the city will have their hands full this weekend as some of the finest horses from the country-bred, trained and piloted by some of the best in the business - will vie for supremacy in the Indian Turf Invitation Cup.

While the crown jewel is the Royal Arion Club Indian Turf Invitation Cup on Sunday, there’s plenty at stake on Saturday where the sprint and long-distance champions will be decided in what promises to be a cracking day of action at the Bangalore Turf Club.

With several big names of immense pedigree in the fray for the spoils, picking a favourite isn’t necessarily an easy task -- in fact a head-crunching one -- but Agnostic and Iron Age lead the charge in the Zavaray S Poonawalla Spirnters’ Cup, a Grade I race over 1200 metres, while Arc de Triomphe and Success are tipped to go head to head in the Dr MAM Ramaswamy Chettiar of Chettinad Memorial Stayers’ Cup, a Grade I race over a lung-crushing 3 kilometres.

To be ridden by Akshay Kumar and trained by Bharath Singh, Agnostic has great form going its way coming into the big weekend. The five-year gelding from Kolkata has won his last eight races on the bounce, including the Sprinters’ Trial Stakes right here a little less than a month ago. Agnostic ran a brilliant race then, crossing the line comfortably three-quarters ahead of second-placed Aztec Queen.

The only worry for Bharath will be that his trusted lieutenant P Trevor will not be astride Agnostic. Out of 11 times Agnostic has triumphed, Trevor, who interestingly will be piloting close rival Iron Age, has anchored him six times. Also, Akshay will be riding Agnostic for the first time and it remains to be seen how he copes with the pressure of leading an in-form horse in such a big event where there's little room for error.

If there’s anyone who knows how to upstage Agnostic, it’s Trevor. Over the last few years, he’s shown why he’s one of the top jockeys in the country and he’ll have the immensely experienced Iron Age to make another statement.

Despite being eight years old, the gelding showed last month in Mumbai that he still has plenty of pace to burn, galloping to a resounding victory in the Dr SC Jain Sprinters’ Championship under Trevor’s guidance. Few will be betting against the duo repeating the magic on Saturday.

Hunting Goddess (PS Chouhan astride), which finished second behind Iron Age in Mumbai, and Lagos (Suraj Narredu up), winner in her last five starts, have the pedigree to spring a surprise that will only make the tillers happy.

In the Stayers’ Cup which will be fought an hour after the dust from the Sprinters’ settles down, the spotlight will again be on Trevor who will be piloting favourite Arc De Triomphe. The five-year-old, who has four wins from 12 starts, won a high-quality CBTF On-Line South India St Leger over 2800 metres in Chennai last month and enjoyed the bookmakers' support also during the draw ceremony.

However, Suraj, astride Success, will be eager to ensure his filly lives up to her moniker. The four-year-old has been in irresistible form, triumphing five times from the last six starts, including four classics on the bounce. And guess what, Suraj was the one who anchored her in all the classic wins.

Chamonix, to be ridden by PS Chouhan, and eight-year-old veteran My Opinion (Akshay Kumar up) are amongst the contenders but given the punishing nature of the race where tactics on the home straight are crucial, it could all boil down to intelligent jockeying.