Kingfisher Bangalore Derby offers Rs 1 crore to winner

BANGALORE: Despite the fact that two leading local trainers - Jaggy Dhariwal who emerged champ in the Winter season and Irfan Ghatala who led in Sun Kingdom, the winner of the Winter Derby - have done well, the top three trainers from Mumbai, champion Pesi Shroff, Cooji Katrak who joined the elite Club, leading in the Queen filly Moonlight Romance in the Kingfisher Bangalore summer Derby before she uncorked champagne performance in the McDowell Indian Derby in Mumbai and Imtiaz Sait who enjoyed a good run in the Mumbai season are certain to make their presence felt in the 26-day day Summer season starting on Saturday, May 14.
Champion pro Pesi Shroff has a couple of top ranked youngsters including Amadeus and the talented colt is certain to make his presence felt in the classics ahead. Spurred by the success he enjoyed last season, Katrak too is down here with a couple of classic hopefuls and taking into account that all six bred-in-the-purple horses in his yard have travelled well, Katrak will demand his pound of flesh again this summer.
Apart from the Mumbai brigade, 30 horses including 10 from top trainer Leo D' Silva's yard are down here from Hyderabad and the Hyderabad team is confident that the horses under their care have the required potential to test the best at this centre.
Impressed with the fact that 70 good outstation horses have chosen to compete at the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) this summer, BTC chairman D M Kumarswamy disclosed that the top youngsters from Mumbai and Hyderabad will provide a competitive edge and the blue riband of the season, the Kingfisher Derby, scheduled to be held on July 10, will prove to be the biggest draw card, a whopping amount of Rs 1 crore on offer to the winner of the mega event.
While pointing out that the timely April showers have helped in maintaining the track, Kumarswamy made it clear that the effort is on to provide a clean racing season facilitating both the pros and the railbirds who are the chief patrons of the game.
A new board Of appeal with Vivek G Ubhayakar as chairman and the new Bangalore police commissioner BG Jyothi Prakash Mirji in its wings has been set up to provide a strict vigil on the game.
"The estimated total outlay for the season is Rs 15 crore covering stakes and incentives as compared to Rs 11.04 crore last year," said Kumarswamy while pointing out that the club has increased the stakes of the two classics, Fillies Trial Stakes and Colts Trial Stakes from Rs 20 lakh to 25 lakh this season.
"We are offering the best and that's the reason the summer season attracts the best. More than 750m horses said gearing up to win the riches in the months ahead," said Kumarswamy.
However, racing buffs are a trifle disappointed with the fact that the Club commission on the totalisator is huge and the dividends in comparison to the odds offered by the bookmakers will be bad. It is no secret that the dividends on the favourite winners are more lucrative with the bookmakers than at the tote with BTC working on 10 percent commission. Now with 12.5 percent commission, the tote betting will take a beating and BTC are playing it straight into the hands of the bookmakers and that's not a healthy sign from the betting point of view.
All said and done the stage is set and the thunder of hooves on Saturday will provide a lyrical ring rather than an ominous tone to the railbirds looking forward to make a fast buck this summer.