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GREAT INDIAN THOROUGHBREDS
The achievements
of five great Indian Thoroughbreds who raced in the last
twenty-five years have been described. Of course, the list is
necessarily subjective, but one feels their choice should meet
with widespread approval, as the deeds on the track of these
equines were of a decidedly superior nature.
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SQUANDERER,
b c 1973. By Valoroso* - Milky Way, by Scamperdale* - Nights
Ops*, by Nightmarch - Praise, by Limond.
Bred by Gen.
& Mrs. P.P. Kumaramangalam at the Yeravada Stud.
Owned by M/s.
Ranjit V. Bhat & B.C. Thadhani.
Trained by
R.R. Byramji. 19 starts, 18 wins, 1 place, Rs.16,78,698. |
Squanderer
raced for 3 seasons and won all but one of his nineteen
races over distances from 1000 metres to 2800 metres. His
victories included the Indian Triple Crown - all Grade 1
races -, the Bangalore Derby, Gr.1, the Indian Turf
Invitation Cup, Gr.1, the President of India Gold Cup, Gr.1
(twice), the R.W.I.T.C. Ltd. Invitational Cup, Gr.2, and the
Eclipse Stakes of India, Gr.3.
A tough and
sound customer, he proved his superiority not only over the
others of his generation, but over those of the following
one as well, and he also had distinction of beating
Certainty*, a good-class imported runner, over 2000 metres,
setting a record for the Mahalakshmi track.
Like many
great horses, he was content to do just enough to win, which
is perhaps why he did not capture the imagination of the
public at the time he was racing. However, his scintillating
record speaks for itself and though horses of lesser calibre
have won more in stake money since his time, his streak of
fifteen consecutive wins remains intact.
Ridden
first by M. Jagdish and then by V. Shinde, he usually came
from behind and possessed a sparkling turn of foot. Often,
he was not required to really exert himself. His true test
came in the R.W.I.T.C. Ltd. Invitational Cup at Bombay, when
he found himself pocketed with just over 200 metres to run.
Jagdish found an opening only after Certainty* had gone into
a clear lead. Now his will-to-win, courage and brilliant
acceleration came into play. In a trice, he bounded forward
from the pack, overtook the English mare and won comfortably
in record timing. It was a performance of uncommon class.
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ROYAL TERN,
b c 1975. By Royal Gleam* - Sea Song*, by Cambremer - Tune
Time, by Tudor Minstrel - My Poppet, by My Babu.
Bred by
Sewania Stud Farm at the Sewania Stud.
Owned by Mr.
& Mrs. R.M. Goculdas & Mr. M.D. Goculdas.
Trained by
B.K. Lagad. 32 starts, 26 wins, 6 places, Rs.18,52,694. |
Royal Tern
raced for four seasons, making at least one appearance on
every major racecourse in the country, barring Calcutta. His
victories included the Indian Derby, Gr.1, the Bangalore
Derby, Gr.1, the Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1, the President of
India Gold Cup, Gr.1, the R.W.I.T.C. Ltd. Invitational Cup,
Gr.2, and the Eclipse Stakes of India, Gr.3 (twice).
Royal Tern
was a brilliant and versatile performer whose 26 victories
were gained over distances from 1200 metres to 2400 metres,
often under big imposts, particularly in his last two
seasons. He was defeated by both the scorching pace and the
formidable Own Opinion in the Indian Turf Invitation Cup,
Gr.1. His only other notable defeat came when he was
somewhat recklessly sent into the lead in the Indian St.
Leger, Gr.1, once again allowing Own Opinion - the better
stayer - to beat him. He had his revenge, though, because
barring these two reverses, he always managed to beat his
arch-rival.
Prone to be
bit of a "puller" in the earlier part of his
career, he learned to settle down as he grew older and was
almost invincible towards the end. He went down to the
handicap rather than to his conqueror in his final two
seasons. The late K. Umrigar rode him throughout his first
season while S. Craine was associated with many of his later
successes.
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OWN
OPINION, ch c 1975. By Simead* - Purita, by Cornish Flame*
- Pashmina, by Fair Aid* - Tosca, by Tarquinius Superbus*.
Bred by
Comproind Pvt. Ltd. at the Bhopal Stud.
Owned by Dr.
M.A.M. Ramaswamy.
Trained by
A.B. David. 43 starts, 27 wins, 11 places, and Rs.16,86,161 |
Own
Opinion, a scion of the peerless Stella Marina* family, was
born in the same year as Royal Tern, and, like his
contemporary, was from the first crop of his sire.
Coincidentally, he was foaled only a few kilometers away
from his rival in Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh. He also
emulated Royal Tern in that he raced for four seasons, and
was a genuine, consistent runner of top-quality and an
admirable weight-carrier.
The son of
Simead*, a handsome, copper chestnut had a lovely
daisy-cutting action and was went well for jockey M.
Jagdish, who rode him in the majority of his races. Had
Royal Tern not been in his way, his record would have been
even more impressive, because the Goculdas standard bearer
beat him on more than one occasion. But Own Opinion was the
better 'natural' stayer of the two, and triumphed in the
most important encounter of all - the Indian Turf Invitation
Cup, Gr.1, run that year at Bombay.
His 43
starts include two in Japan in 1981, when he was nominated
to run in the Japan Cup. He was clearly past his prime and
had he run in the same race two years earlier, he would have
acquitted himself even better. As it is, he cut a faster
time in Japan than any Indian-bred has recorded in this
country, and beat two Canadian Stakes winners home.
Apart from
winning 27 races, Own Opinion's calibre can be gauged from
the fact that he established no less than 4 track records,
while racing on 7 different tracks across India, winning at
each one. On one occasion he carried as much as 69.0 kg. to
victory.
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ELUSIVE
PIMPERNEL, ch c 1991. By Wattlefield[GB] – Right Step,
by Ilheus[USA] – Right To Royalty[IRE], by Rex Magna –
Good Queen Bess, by Bold Ruler.
Bred by Mr.
H.S. Brar, Miss Bubli Brar and Mr. & Mrs. A.K.S. Brar at
the Dashmesh Stud.
Owned by Mr.
D. Khaitan.
Trained by
R.R. Byramji. 23 starts, 22 wins, 1 place and Rs.1,00,31,552. |
A perverse
clause in the terms for the Idar Gold Trophy, Gr.2, run at
Pune in October 1995 allowed the useful Consequence to carry
a mere 46 kgs. That low impost enabled her to snatch a
nostril victory over Elusive Pimpernel, who faced the
impossible task of conceding 17 kgs. The solitary loss
blotted an otherwise perfect career scorecard for the big
built chestnut, who was steered throughout by only two
pilots – Aslam Kader and M.A. Gallagher.
He raced
for 3 seasons and was so superior to his rivals that his
margin of victory in several graded races was a
"distance", even when he had to hump welterweights
like 64 kgs. Unlike most of the top Indian-breds, who
invariably made their debut at two, he was late to the
races, being seen for the first time in public in July 1994.
Following a successful Monsoon campaign at Mysore, he was
sent to Mahalakshmi for the Indian Classics.
Some felt
that this might prove too much of a strain, but the
great-hearted chestnut shrugged off any hint of exhaustion
by proving invincible in the McDowell Indian 2000 Guineas,
Gr.1, and McDowell Indian Derby, Gr.1, where he pegged back
Mystic Memory. He then went on to trounce his beleaguered
opposition in the Classic Indian Turf Invitation Trophy,
Gr.1, at Calcutta before earning a well-deserved rest by
skipping the Indian St. Leger, Gr.1, won in his absence by
Mystic Memory.
Although he
seemed better than ever in the Summer and Monsoon, his
winning skein was rudely snapped as recorded above. However,
that blip was no more than temporary and he remained
undefeated in his remaining eleven races, bowing out in
style when just short of six in the Herbertsons Indian
Salute R.W.I.T.C. Ltd. Invitational Trophy, Gr.2, under top
weight.
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CONTINUAL,
b g 1995. By Placerville [USA] – Cordon Bleu, by Riyahi
[IRE] – Deep Water Blues, by Red Indian* - Uma, by Naya
Daur.
Bred by
United Racing and Bloodstock Breeders Pvt. Ltd. at the
Poonawalla Estates Stud.
Owned by Dr.
C.S. Poonawalla, Mr. Z.S. Poonawalla and Dr. & Mrs. V.
Mallya.
Trained by
R.R. Byramji. 7 starts, 7 wins, and Rs. 56,22,003. |
Always held
in high esteem by his connections, Continual owes his place
in this list to an indirect achievement – the brilliant
performances of Saddle Up in Malaysia and Singapore. For
rider Pesi Shroff, who rode both contemporaries, insists
that Continual was "ten lengths better than Saddle
Up". High praise indeed, coming from the master of
the big occasion.
Strictly
speaking, Continual did not cross all the benchmarks
normally associated with the best of the bests. For one, he
did not win over 2400 m., nor did he ever meet – leave
alone beat – a rival of a different crop. An injury in a
morning gallop in January 1999 put paid to his career after
just seven starts, so unlike the others listed here, he did
not have a lengthy and rigorous career.
Still, the
fact that he remained unbeaten; toyed with the opposition
during his brief career; and emanated an aura of vast
superiority; entitle him to have his claim to greatness to
receive serious consideration. Certainly he showed enough to
be numbered amongst the all-time greats.
His chosen
career pretty much mirrored that of Elusive Pimpernel, with
a July career start, followed by a Monsoon campaign at
Mysore. His victories included the McDowell Indian 2000
Guineas, Gr.1, the Kingfisher Mysore Derby, Gr.1, and the
Kingfisher Mysore 2000 Guineas, Gr.2.
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