Unbeaten filly Jendayi towers over rivals

Jendayi (O Murphy up) storms across the finish to win the Villoo Poonawalla Indian Oaks at Mahalaxmi last month. Pic/RWITC

Out of the hundreds of thoroughbred horses that were born at various stud farms across India in the year 2020, only 13 find themselves in the final line up for the grade 1, HPSL Indian Derby, which is regarded as the ultimate test of speed as well as stamina for a quality thoroughbred horse.

Most of the 13 in the fray are Mumbai-based horses--five of them from champion trainer Pesi Shroff's yard, including the unbeaten filly Jendayi who added the Indian 1000 Guineas and Indian Oaks to her resume this season. Jendayi (Gleneagles - Monasada) towers over her rivals in terms of form, consistency and performance, and bookmakers will certainly be very tight-fisted when offering odds on her in the Derby.

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Notable rivals

Among Jendayi's rivals, the most notable is the Cougar Mountain - Glyndebourne filly Jamari (also trained by Pesi Shroff), winner of 7 races from 10 starts, the last two being the Bangalore Oaks and the Bangalore Derby. Interestingly, the Bangalore-based trainer B Prithviraj, whose filly Madam Rich (Phoenix Tower - Arthur's Girl) finished second to Jamari in the Bangalore Derby, has audaciously thrown his hat in the ring by paying a princely sum as late entry fee.

As far as the Narredu clan is concerned, the father-son duo of Malesh and Yash will be taking their chance with Enabler (Ruler Of The World - Rozene), and the Narredu brothers, trainer Rajesh and jockey Suraj will be pinning their hopes on Synthesis (Speaking Of Which - Sana) who impressively won the Indian 2000 Guineas before faltering in the RR Ruia Cup where Enabler turned the tables on him.

The fact that Enabler lost only one race after he hit the winning form in Pune, and made up for it with a vengeance, makes one feel one must ignore his 2000 Guineas loss, and rate him as perhaps the most worthy horse to take on Jendayi.

Suraj Narredu in top form

Now a fun thought. Horse-for-horse, I agree Jendayi is in a different league, and technically, should not have any problem in beating her rivals on Sunday. However, the danger to Jendayi may not come from a horse - but a man: jockey Suraj Narredu.

This exceptional athlete, who has remained at the top of his game and continues to excel in the saddle with his amazing feats, has recently won not one or two, but five regional Derby titles: Mysore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Delhi. It's no secret he is going to put his all into the Indian Derby ride. What if he is able to galvanize Synthesis to put up a turnaround performance? That may make the finish of the Indian Derby interesting.