Synthesis starts firm favourite

Even as the dark cloud of taxation hovers over the racing fraternity, the Bangalore Turf Club hopes to distract, even if only for a day, as the caravan comes to town for Sunday’s Summer Derby.

While the main event - the Betway Bangalore Summer Derby - has some of the finest three-year-old Indian horses in the running for the third classic of the summer season, the rest of the card wears an impressive look too, including fine runners for the Grade 2 Coromandel Gromer BTC Anniversary Cup. 

But, as is the tradition, it’s the sixth race on the card everyone will have their eyes on as seven colts, four fillies, and their illustrious trainer-jockey combines will vie for a career-defining sash at the Derby.  

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Unsurprisingly, the entire Narredu clan is in on the action with Satish, Rajesh and Malesh training three long-lunged runners in the event, and Suraj and Yash as jockeys to two of the three horses in the running. 

In this, Synthesis, trained by Rajesh and to be ridden by arguably the greatest Indian jockey of all time in Suraj, is fancied by the bookmakers to come up trumps in the 2000-metre race.

Next in line is Pesi Shroff’s Jamari, while P Quinn’s Destroyer became a last-minute inclusion to the fancied list in the wake of Christofle’s withdrawal on Saturday morning. 

Christofle, a rather impressive long-distance runner from the tutelage of Shroff, was offered 4.5:1 odds and was expected to deny Synthesis breathing space, but the colt’s late pullout on veterinary grounds means the race wears an even more open look than expected. 

Synthesis, a local contender - already benefited from newly-crowned Colt Championship Stakes champ - Knotty Charmer - not partaking in the Derby with trainer Prasanna Kumar wanting to give his young colt a break. Synthesis had only recently finished second behind Knotty Charmer in the Stakes. 

Sulaiman Attaollahi-trained Elpenor, another local runner, did fairly well in the aforementioned Stakes’ race, but the colt’s performance in the Poonawalla Breeders Multi-Million in Mumbai gives him a sliver of hope even though the bookmakers only give him an 8:1 odds.

Jamari, an out-station challenger, has won a couple of races in Bengaluru this season, including the Fillies Championship Stakes. 

“Of course, we would like have liked if the conditions were a bit dry, but this is what we have,” offered Shroff when asked about the conditions ahead of the main event. “The thing is that Jamari is a heavy filly so it makes it harder to navigate heavy underfoot conditions, but she has done well for me in recent times so I can expect her to do well here too.”

“As far as challengers are concerned, Synthesis, Destroyer and Ruling Dynasty are in the running,” he added.

Another challenger is Champions Way, trained by Satish and to be ridden by Yash, for the colt has won the last three successive races he has run, all in Bengaluru.

“I feel like I have a good chance because he is one of the few horses who have done this distance recently, and looked good doing it too,” said Satish.

“My son’s horse and my brother’s horse are also in the running so it’s a family affair. I hope we finish 1-2-3 (laughs). That would be a good day for the Narredus.”

It could well be the case for the most successful horse racing family on the circuit, but the rest of the pack isn’t going to sit around and watch them add to their burgeoning trophy cabinet.

Jackpot boost

The BTC has added Rs 4,34,912 lakhs to the jackpot pool for the upcoming Derby.

With nobody winning the jackpot over the last two Sundays, the carry-over number will be added to the jackpot pool on the day of the races. The total pool will depend on the number of bets placed.