As the Invitation Cup heads back to Mahalakshmi where it was first staged, the debate – on whether its format and funding need to be looked at afresh – is still open. This subject has come up often at Turf Authority meetings but despite the many suggestions proffered, status quo has not been disturbed.

When the race was first conceived in 1962 at Calcutta, as a Contest for Champions, there were only three Turf Authorities in India: RCTC, RWITC and the SITC, all of whom had instituted their own regional classics patterned on the English Classics. The RWITC (Bombay), led by K M Munshi pushed towards encouraging Indian breds and the club was the first off the block and hence the tag ‘Indian` to their classic races, the only ones run till the mid 1950`s.

The RCTC in Calcutta, the oldest and most prestigious race club – which controlled racing in most of undivided India and Burma – in contrast, depended on imported horses for their important races such as the Calcutta Gold Cup (earlier King Emperor`s Cup) and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (earlier Viceroys Cup). It was only much after Independence that the RCTC and SITC (at Madras) started their own Derby`s, in 1957 and 1958, and in time added on the other classics as well. With the three club`s claiming superior status for their own classics, the need for an ‘All India Championship` race was inevitable and it came about in the next year with an annual Invitational race – from among the champions of the three clubs – at Bombay in 1963. With the BTC (Bangalore) and HRC (Hyderabad) also getting independent Turf Authority status, the Invitation Cup now rotates annually between the five Turf Clubs and is the centerpiece of the annual two day Racing Carnival, which showcases the best of Indian racing with a host of Invitational Grade I races.

The status of racing in the country has changed considerably in the five decades since the Invitation Cup was first run. In the early years, horses from all the three primary Turf Clubs were represented among the winners. The subsequent decline in the fortunes of Madras (earlier SITC and now MRC) and Calcutta (RCTC) has taken its toll on the quality of their horseflesh as well. So much so, that in recent times horses based in Mumbai and Bangalore have completely dominated the race, to the extent that the Invitation Cup is in danger of losing its ‘All India` character.

Initial scepticism that the race would be a rerun of the Indian Derby has not been really borne out. Going by Major S. Nargolkar`s authoritative work on the race, entitled “A Legacy of Champions”, one is made aware that, of the 47 winners of the Indian Derby since the Invitation Cup was instituted, seven did not go on to run in the Invitation. Of the remaining 40 winners of the Indian Derby, less than half, only 17 went on to win. On the other hand 15 of the Invitation winners have reversed the Indian Derby verdict. So the jury is still out on this one!

Supporters of change and reform have three main issues:
1. That the format of the race allows no hopers to participate devaluing the concept of a ‘Champions only` race.

2. That the race needs to be the richest in the country to maintain its status a la the World Cup in Dubai.

3. That the race itself is now superfluous whereas there is a crying need for an event to showcase an All Indian Champion Horse, an open, weight for age race on the lines of the Prix de l` Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp or the King George VI at Royal Ascot or even the Breeders Cup in the US.

These points certainly deserve a public airing and consideration. At present there is no screening of the horses` nominated (up to four by each Turf Club) which is at the discretion of the nominating authority. No hopers could be filtered out by insisting on minimum handicap rating for an invitation to be issued. Handicap ratings are an international norm and used extensively in major events. For instance, in Dubai they are not confined to the Group races run on World Cup day but are used as a qualifying norm to enable participation in the entire two month racing carnival. However there is one hurdle for this proposal to be implemented – that the Turf Authorities in India are yet to adopt a common All India handicap rating system. If this comes about due to the requirements of the Invitation Cup day races it will be a step forward for Indian racing.

At present the stake money on offer is comparatively very poor. The sixth highest in the country – behind the payouts of the McDowell Signature Indian Derby, the Kingfisher Derby Bangalore, the Poonawalla Breeders Million, the South India Corporation South India Derby and the Eveready Calcutta Derby. This is as opposed to it earlier being the ‘richest`, a status which had been insisted upon by the Turf Authorities themselves - whose race it is. Obviously if it has to get back to its premier position, the Turf Authorities and sponsors have to step up their contribution or alternatively fund it as a sweepstakes on the lines of the Breeder`s Cup.

The idea of opening up the race also has considerable merit as The Invitation Cup needs to evolve to keep up with changing times and requirements. Traditionalists may recoil in horror to such a development but even cricket, a most traditional sport, has brought in innovative and successful changes in the way it was played.

In today`s racing scenario, it is generally accepted – due to a combination of history, weather, stake money, sponsorship, promotion and luck – that the Bangalore Summer Derby and the Indian Derby provide the champion three year old and four year old in the country respectively but there is no race to provide the champion horse in the country and hence logically the Invitation Cup should fill the gap. At present it is just another race for champion four year olds, many of whom have already crossed swords in earlier classics. The change will provide for a race, in winter, to test the mettle of the present classic crop against that of earlier year`s. Otherwise, the earliest inter generational clash would be available only in Bangalore summer in the Maharaja`s Cup or in the monsoon in the President of India Cup at Hyderabad. And, even then it may not be truly representational as many would prefer to rest their wards after a hard winter`s season.

Horses are the Stars at the race course. The clash between Jacqueline and Becket did bring in race goers to fill the stands on Indian Derby day, as did the hitherto unbeaten Set Alight the previous year. The return duel between the two is a mouth watering prospect for all race goers, but to a purist, if they were also able to take on champions of the earlier year`s vintage, it would have propeled them to instant super stardom.

The tag of a ‘Super Star` has to be earned and it is worth noting that two of the all time greats of Indian racing, Squanderer and Elusive Pimpernel earned their laurels not just by beating their own classic generation pointless but by taking on older opposition and also treating them like wise. Mystical, the super star of this decade was at his best as he matured, going on to gain the highest international rating an Indian horse has ever achieved.

If the above suggestions are accepted the Invitation Cup would morph into a race to crown the Champion horse of the country instead of just the champion four year old. The added incentive for an outstanding horse to win the race more than once would be to truly earn the title` Champion of Champions`.