Ruffina for Poonawalla Breeders' Multi-Million

Fourteen talented three-year-olds, four of them fillies, are in the fray for the richest juvenile race of the country, the grade 1, Poonawalla Breeders' Multi-Million (PBMM), which is slated as the prime attraction of a seven-race evening card on Sunday at Mahalaxmi. The race promises to be an exciting contest thanks to four of them having won their last starts on this track in a sensational manner.

The quartet includes Ruffina, the Excellent Art - Miss Danehill filly who will race in sponsor Poonawalla's silks, and is blessed with both excellent speed and good acceleration; Perfect Star, by Excellent Art out of Free Radical, who improved by leaps and bounds in second start after narrowly losing on debut; Tutankhamun (Phoenix Tower - Dancerllon), who did what very few youngsters do--win a race on first show at Mahalaxmi after coming in from Bangalore; and Awesome Hooves, by Phoenix Tower out of Dance To The Tune, who displayed absolutely amazing turn of foot when making a sitting duck out of a highly regarded Benefactor who had carried the public purse on debut.

There are three more worth a mention--Autocratic, the Bangalore colt who narrowly lost a million race in Hyderabad prior to coming here; Lincoln, who registered dramatic improvement in his run after a lackluster debut; and Phoenix Falcon, a top juvenile from Bangalore who is unbeaten in two starts so far.

I expect this race to culminate in a thrilling finish with Ruffina and Awesome Hooves likely to fight unto finish. Going by my Dynamic Ratings, corrected for track variant, Awesome Hooves seems to have a thin edge, but when I check out both these horses through the class lens, Ruffina comes out decisively superior on the class factor. My money, therefore, will ride on Ruffina.