A small but competitive seven-race card on Sunday will usher in the most prestigious horse racing season of the country--the Mumbai 2017-18 campaign, to be conducted at the picturesque Mahalaxmi racecourse. The premier racing action is also the most-looked-forward-to as it returns to the maximum city after a gap of more than six months. It is also a high-priority business for all top racing professionals--trainers and jockeys scattered all over India--who carefully plan the training schedule of their most promising three-year-old juveniles so as to peak them at the right time soon after they turn four, on the first Sunday of February to take a shot at the ultimate prize: the Indian Derby (Gr 1).

Horse racing action at Mahalaxmi. Pic/RS Gupta