Shroff — most successful in Indian Derb

Known as The Indian Derby from inception in 1942-43 to 1983-84, the race was titled The McDowell Indian Derby from 1984-85 onwards and it ...

Known as The Indian Derby from inception in 1942-43 to 1983-84, the race was titled The McDowell Indian Derby from 1984-85 onwards and it continues to be so to-date. Down the years, a lot of interesting statistics have emerged. P Shroff has the highest number of wins, six, and it includes a hat-trick.

The earliest Indian Derby run in any year was in 1953, when it took place on Sunday, Jan 18.

The furtherest the Indian Derby was put off was in 1973, when it took place on Sunday, March 18.

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The 1966 Indian Derby was run on a Monday, while the first seven runnings and two others were run on Saturdays. All the other Derbys have been run on Sundays.

The largest field was 22 in 1947-48 (won by Jeanne D’Arc), followed by 19 apiece in 1948-49 (Balam) and 1961-62 (Loyal Manzar).

The smallest field was five in 1976-77 (won by Squanderer), followed by six each in 1978-79 (Royal Tern) and 1981-82 (Almanac).

The greatest margin of victory was 10 lengths in 1977-78 (Manitou), followed by eight lengths in 1978-79 (Royal Tern).

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The smallest margin of victory was a short head in 1947-48 (Jeanne D’Arc), 1950-51 (Gold Street), 1959-60 (Rose De Bahama), 1971-72 (Prince Khartoum), 1991-92 (Astonish).

The fastest running was in 1997-98 (Star Supreme): 2 minutes, 30.5 seconds, followed by 1987-88 (Cordon Bleu) and 1994-95 (Elusive Pimpernel): 2 minutes, 30.7 seconds.

The slowest running was in 1951-52 (Martial Law): 2 minutes, 50 seconds, followed by 1953-54 (Commoner): 2 minutes, 49 seconds.

Three greys: Rough Deal (1954-55), Thunderstorm (1969-70) and Revelation (1984-85) and one roan: Cordon Bleu (1987-88) have scored. All the other winners were bay, brown or chestnut.

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The longest-priced winners were Star Of Gwalior (1955-56) and Nelston (1982-83), both at 20 to 1.

The shortest-priced winners were Royal Tern (1977-78) with no odds offered, Squanderer (1976-77) at 30-100 and Alijah (1960-61) at 32-100.

Favourites have a good record, with 30 of them being successful vs 27 losers.

The longest sequence of winning favourites is six (from 1992-93 to 1997-98).

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The most successful stallions have been Grey Gaston (with five winners) and Malvado and Rock of Gibraltar (with three each).

Four of the winners have been conceived abroad.

The most successful colours have been those of Mr Ranjit V Bhat, HH The Maharajadhiraj of Kashmir and Dr Vijay Mallya, with four wins apiece.

The only hat-trick on record was achieved by the silks of Mr Ranjit V Bhat (1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78).

The most successful trainer by far has been Rashid Byramji, with 10 wins. A further three of his wards, trained by him at Bangalore, were shipped to Mumbai and saddled to victory at Mahalakshmi by his former assistants.

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Byramji’s wins includes two consecutive hat-tricks (1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78) and (1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95).

A total of 44 of the 57 winners were trained in Mumbai, 10 in Bangalore, two at Calcutta and one at Hyderabad.

The most successful jockeys have been P Shroff with six wins and M Jagdish and P Khade with four wins apiece. Shroff’s wins include a hat-trick — 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91.

A total of 29 of the 57 renewals have fallen to foreign jockeys, leaving 28 winners ridden to victory by Indian jockeys.

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The most successful breeders with five winners apiece have been Poonawalla Estates Stud & Agricultural Farm — Cordon Bleu (1987-88), Desert Warrior (1989-90), Starfire Girl (1990-91), Astonish (1991-92) and Amazing Bay (1995-96) and Yeravada Stud and Agricultural Farm — Gold Street (1950-51), Prince Pradeep (1963-64), Our Select (1967-68), Bright Hanovar (1970-71) and Commanche (1975-76).

The most successful stud farms where the winners wre bred have been Yeravada Stud (eight winners + 1 winner raised from infancy), Manjri Stud (eight winners) and Usha Stud (eight winners). The last-named had five consecutuve winners from 1981 to 1985.

(PMG)