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| Antonios (S A DE Sousa Up), winner of The McDowell Signature Indian Derby (Gr-I) |
Also, there were two other regulars who had nominated Antonios to bag the top slot for the Derby in the contest for the Merc – Mr. Sanjay Singh and senior journalist Usman Rangila of Mumbai Mirror. Another Mr. Sandeep Patil from the first enclosure won the Mahindra Logan having correctly nominated the first three placing or the Derby, in only his second visit to the racecourse.
Antonios, whose claim to fame going into the Derby had just been a solitary victory in each of the three seasons he has been racing, produced the run of his life when it mattered most. He started his career towards the fag end of the Mumbai Season 2007-08 on a winning note when he toppled favourite Ekhabinskya over a scurry. He won his first outing in Pune and then lost in the stewards’ room after beating Dancing Dynamite in a record time on the track. His next was a good third in the Nanoli Pune Derby behind Phenomenale and Dancing Dynamite. He won his first outing in Mumbai this season as well, over seven furlongs then finished a fair fifth in the 2000 Guineas.
Going into the Indian Derby, these were probably not the best credentials. After all, with what Set Alight had achieved, and with the likes of Autonomy and Icebreaker in the fray it was no surprise that Antonios was totally ignored in the betting ring with 10/1 offered on place!
The gates flung open igniting the customary roar from the 30,000 strong crowds that had gathered. The hearts started beating harder as they took the first turn with everyone wanting to know where Set Alight was positioned. When commentator Deepak Rajpal called Set Alight third, there was again another roar that filled the air. Go Guzzi Go set about the task of cutting a decent pace, not too fast nor were they crawling. Autonomy, Juventus, Antonios, Dancing Dynamite were in the mid-bunch; Icebreaker was well off as was Riyasat.
They galloped on more or less in the same order till the turn. Malesh sensed Go Guzzi Go was retiring and not to be hindered, he moved to take the gap between the retreating leader and Abs Fabs finding himself in front. The crowd was thrilled to see their favourite leading the pack on towards the winning post. Set Alight had a lead of about three lengths, Autonomy moved into second, Juventus was being hard ridden and Antonios was just beginning to make his move and Icebreaker was throwing in her might as well. Approaching the distance post, Set Alight still led but Antonios was covering a lot of ground at a brisk pace while passing Autonomy and Juventus. Set Alight was under pressure for the first time and began to drift outward, Malesh sensing that winning post was yet too far, began to ride out desperately. Antonios, with 50 to go had got into a lovely rhythm and finished on powerfully under the forceful riding of Sylvester De Souza. The colt stormed past Set Alight leaving the crowd shell-shocked!
It took a few moments for the entire fraternity before it began to sink in, that yet another favourite, this time perhaps the most loved filly, had been denied the Star status by a humble and lesser-known contender. However, the joy of the Rattonsey camp was peaking to a zenith. They had, after all, won the Indian Derby the second time on the trot. SS Shah could barely control his emotions as could the Rattonseys.
“This is the most cherished moment of my life. Antonios has brought it for us,” said the excited veteran trainer. “Roxy (assistant to Shah) ought to get a lot of credit too for doing her bit in helping to get Antonios ready for the big race,” added Shah thoughtfully acknowledging the contribution of the support staff.
“I have been screaming my throat off for all of the straight,” said Mr. F. Rattonsey, owner of the great colt. “We did think that he was fit and well and could stay the entire trip and I for one, was closely watching his progress in the race. He received a bad check earlier in the race but for which I feel he would have emerged even more powerfully in the homestretch. This is the best feeling and I thank Mr. K N Dhunjibhoy at whose farm Antonios was bred, Mr. Sayeed Shah and jockey De Souza for a splendid team effort.”
The Set Alight camp took the loss in their stride. Pesi Shroff, the trainer, shrugged his shoulders and said, “We did our best, but Antonios did something great when it mattered most.” Malesh said, “I am shocked. She felt good coming into the straight and I thought I was in control until the last 100 meters. She had a good momentum going, had the filly sustained that tempo for another couple of strides…” concluded Malesh before abruptly leaving the sentence suspended, obviously trying to conceal a lump in his throat.
The crowds rampantly cheered the hero who had done what seemed impossible less than two and a half minutes ago. At 60/1, Antonios had few backers, but when he was led-in, he got a hero’s welcome alright. A new Star to admire had just been born.
