There has been no Indian horse racing since March 13, when it was abruptly halted because of the pandemic, but the wheels of fortune keep spinning for one Gaurav Rampal, an International bloodstock consultant. Rampal’s horse, Authentic, won the richest race in the world, the Kentucky Derby, in the wee hours of Sunday.

Rampal, an Indian, is in syndicate ownership of the winner, a 8/1 shot, who literally made it a start-to-finish affair over the 2,000m Derby trip, taking an easy measure of the 6/10 hot favourite, Tiz The Law.

“The race was originally billed for May 2 and I was a non-starter from the very start because of the International travel restrictions,” said Rampal from his Mumbai residence.

“The bloodstock specialists normally don’t own horses but Authentic was an exception,” he said.

The horse was trained by Bob Baffert, his record sixth win in the Derby. The deadly combination was provided by jockey John Velazquez who also boasts of his third win in the prized event.