The Calcutta Monsson Derby (Gr.2)

The RCTC's Calcutta Track is known for its harpinesque bend and the relative shorter straight,which might confuse even the greatest horses and the experienced Saddle Artists! Having said that Calcutta's derbies have always been interesting,this year should be no exception

Again two factors will decide the outcome of this race,the first is Distance suitability which can be gauged by assessing Pedigree and the notoriously deceptive Running Style and 'Class' which I believe can be assessed with some succes with formlines and Way of winning. 

Its a field of eight horses,6 local horses pitted against 2 Outstation horses,both outstation horses are from Western India and trained by trainer turned yesteryear Champion jockeys Pesi Shroff and Mallesh Narredu 

Three horses will sport the famous Gold and Red Silks of Calcutta's leading owner Deepak Khaitan 

Two will be from the yard of another leading trainer of this track Bharat Singh 

One horse is from the yard of D.M.David sporting the legendary colors of Goldie-Brown 

This is quite an open race,but no prices for guessing who they all have to beat here,it is the filly Tiger Tops from the Irish Bred and Greman Trained stallion Tiger Hill out of an Irish mare.she ticks the box when it comes to distance suitability as she has travelled over this trip twice and won once that was during her last start. She comes from arguably the leading stable in this country and has services of the stables Ace jockey,has two track spurts and if anything that could be termed as negative is that she is running here for the first time 

The other raider in The General has been running some decent races and is known to come from behind thus suggesting that he would do well over a trip.His pedigree ofcourse is a cause of concern,again exhibited by the likes of Fink and Culebra who faltered in classic races. He however can hope to turn the tide for his sire,who in my opinion is of great value otherwise with respect to the Indian Racing Scenario 

Of the six local horses accepted to run in this race,Desert Fox who is sired by Burden Of Proof and out of a Razeen filly Arabian Rose,ticks the box when it comes to distance suitability,he advertised it when he won a class IV handicap at a widening margin over 9f,he will definitely like the trip just like his siblings and dam did,however does he 'posses' class is a million dollar question,if he wins tomorrow he will certainly crash the gate,but it looks only a theoretical possibility for me. 

Then there are two horses in Sage Valley and Sunshine Girl who come from the same yard. 

The Usha Stud has a good representation in this race,almost half the field has horses bred by them,Sage Valley is bred in full sister to the winner of this very race a couple of years ago in Silverina,she has won twice in her career and both were over sprint distances. Her running style is deceptive,for me she has to find a lot to beat this field,but she has a fair chance to fill the judges frame. 

Sunshine Girl is out of the now flagship stallion of Usha Stud,Multidimensional. This horse has a lone win over a mile in a million race,her third behind Fly Like The Wind is pretty suggestive of a good show. What bothers me is the 'Blinkers' for this horse,Borsalino the facile winner of the Kingfisher Derby at Bangalore a couple of years ago showed remarkable improvement while sporting Blinkers to trash the field,with Sandesh aboard this horse,who can in my opinion stay the distance is the genuine outsider in this race 

Staying with the Usha Stud progenys but now to the leading local yard,Aptness is out of Steinbeck,he has run a lone race in his career and has won that race,to ask for a horse to win a Graded Derby against experienced company is asking for too much.His supporters will hope that local champion jockey uses all his might to reward them,as for as I am concerned it is better to watch how he perfoms here,yes even with Alfie in the saddle 

Romantic Flow,who is also out of an Usha Stud stallion in Steinbeck,comes into this race with invincible status,he has won all his races and will be one of the fittest horses in the fray. His style of running is suggestive of doing well over a trip and he finds himself a jockey who has done well in the recent past,he in my opinion will turn out to be main challenger from this stable,keep an eye 

And then there is Fly Like The Wind,who incidentally has won all her three starts over 7f trips with two of them at impeccable style (her first and last wins) she did well to fight and win her second win,shows she has character ! But can she stay the trip will decide the outcome of this race,she in my opinion will find it hard to stay,her class can save her though from disgrace 

Though Tiger Tops looks like having a definite edge,I feel that race wears quite an open look to it,as I am looking for value here,I am stuck between Romantic Flow and Sunshine Girl  for an e/w bet,after considering many factors,I feel that the daughter of MultiDimensional is where my money will ride,an e/w bet for me. 

Let the best horse win

My Choice:#7 Sunshine Girl win/place 

My Other Short Selctions for the day: 

Crackle (win) 

Chemin De Fer (Win/Place) 

Lantana Lady (win) 

Primrose (Win) 

Climber (Win/Place) 

Temple Run (Win) 

Marylin (Win) 

Kabini (Win) 

Have a nice day,gamble Responsibly 

Note:No investment Plans for the day