Royal Legacy wins Zavaray S. Poonawalla Mysore Derby at Invitation Cup weekend
Royal Legacy, ridden by Akshay Kumar and trained by James Mckeown, won the Zavaray S. Poonawalla Mysore Derby at Mysore Race Club on Saturday, October 24, 2026, covering 2,000m in 2m, 08.06s. The three-year-old daughter of Leitir Mor prevailed by 1-1/2 lengths over Mahogany with Stud Poker third.
The meeting formed part of the Invitation Cup weekend and featured three Grade 1 races on a slow track under cloudy conditions, which meant no records were broken. Royal Legacy had earlier in the season won the Mysore 1000 Guineas and provided jockey Akshay Kumar with his second Grade 1 success of the day. Trainer James Mckeown completed a classic double at the meeting and recalled memories of his Invitation win in Mysuru six years ago with Adjudicate.
In the Zavaray S. Poonawalla Mysore Derby (2,000m) the finishing order was ROYAL LEGACY (Leitir Mor–Balmoral Castle) Akshay K 1, Mahogany (Phoenix Tower–Maisha) G. Vivek 2, Stud Poker (Kameko–Cat’s Claw) Suraj 3 and Garfunkle (Plumatic–Scarborough) Mukesh K 4. The margins were 1-1/2, Nose and 3/4 with betting returns recorded as ₹62 (w), 16, 10 and 11 (p); SHP: 31, THP: 47, FP: 199, Q: 109, Trinella: 982/337, Exacta: 12,045. The favourite for the race was Stud Poker. Owners listed were Mr. P.J. Vazifdar, Mrs. P.J. Vazifdar, Mr. M. Rishad, Mr. K. Kaliyaperumal, Mr. D R Thacker rep. DT Racing & Breeders LLP & Mr. S.R. Sanas.
Rieko produced a shock in the Zavaray Poonawalla Sprinters’ Cup (1,200m), with Akshay Kumar aboard to give the five-year-old son of Phoenix Tower a nose victory over Encino and a one-and-three-quarter length margin back to Money Bags in third. The race time was 1m, 12. 21s and the margins read Nose, 1-3/4 and 1-1/4; returns were ₹60 (w), 34, 10 and 10 (p); SHP: 36, THP: 53, FP: 1,625, Q: 386, Trinella: 1,540/303, Exacta: 29,322. Money Bags had been the favourite. Rieko’s win was described in the report as a huge upset.
Dyf won the Zavaray Poonawalla Stayers’ Cup (3,000m) for a second time in three years, ridden by Yash Narredu. The seven-year-old son of Cougar Mountain finished ahead of Red Bishop and Dream Alliance with margins of 1, 5 and a short head in a time of 3m, 35.79s; returns were ₹13 (w), 10 and 13 (p); SHP: 21, THP: 23, FP: 22, Q: 13, Trinella: 37/26, Exacta: 37/24. The listing shows Ramiel as Not run. The trainer credited for Dyf was Adhiraj S Jodha and the report noted the victory offered some consolation after narrowly missing the Sprinters’ Cup.
The award presentation for the Zavaray S. Poonawalla Mysore Derby included Royal Legacy’s trainer James McKeown and jockey Akshay Kumar alongside co-owners S.R. Sanas and K. Kaliyaperumal; Mysore Race Club chairman K.T. Balakrishnan; and Zavaray Poonawalla, Behroze Poonawalla, Simone Poonawalla Pandole and Delna Poonawalla among other invitees.
Other major winners on the card included Desert Shield (S. Sachin) in the Madras Race Club Million (1,600m), finishing ahead of Wanganui and Golden Sabre in 1m, 40.76s; Garzian (Jagadeesh) in the Coromandel Gromor Juvenile Million (1,200m) in 1m, 14.09s; Star Symphony (B.R. Kumar) in the Mysore Million (1,200m) in 1m, 14.44s; Flight On (Akshay K) in the Royal Calcutta Turf Club Million (1,200m) in 1m, 12.52s; and Refined Aggression (Trevor) in the Hyderabad Race Club Million (1,400m) in 1m, 26.14s.
The card also carried published betting pool figures and jackpot pools for the meeting, including Jackpot: ₹4,10,958; Runner-up: 11,008; Mini jackpot: 8,527; and Treble payouts listed as 2,593 (c/o), 5,737 (c/o) and 959. The races reported here were run as part of the Invitation Cup weekend at Mysore Race Club.