MAM's hour of glory
By Sharan Kumar
brsharan@yahoo.com

Bangalore
July 18, 2004

Sunday's races belonged to Dr M A M Ramaswamy, the enigmatic colossus of Indian racing. The turf baron completed whopping 400 classics in his long and persistent association with Indian racing when Own Vision just about lasted out to win from a reluctant stablemate Star of Windsor in the Gr 2 Bangalore St Leger, the last classic of the Bangalore Summer Season. Incidentally jockey B Prakash also reached a milestone in his short but rewarding career, as his win on Own Vision was his 1000th. He joins 13 other Indian jockeys who are in the 1000s club. This landmark becomes so easy to achieve if one rides for as big and dominant stable like Dr MAM Ramaswamy. The turf baron hastened Prakash's entry into the exclusive club as the jockey rode an unprecedented and uninterrupted 100-odd winners at Chennai last year. In fact, quite a few of the jockeys in such elite company owe their achievement to the benign patronage of the leading light of Indian racing who has ``gifted'' large number of winners, with minimum of fuss at his home center.

However, for Dr M A M Ramaswamy, the classic wins haven't come as easily as it has for his jockeys. His single-minded pursuit of classics, the enormous amount of money and time that he invests in horses are the stuff for lore. His march towards 400 classic winners in a way also chronicles the history of Indian racing, its strengths and infirmities.

Be that as it may, the 2800 metres St Leger had an open look about it, with Star of Windsor, Own Vision and Road Runner having better credentials than the rest. Since Adrian was a suspect stayer, he was not expected to pose problems to the opposition. Star of Windsor enjoyed public support but Own Vision who was preferred by Prakash ended up as the favourite as race time approached. Smart Supreme did the job of a pacemaker, chased by Integral, Road Runner and the rest spread out in single file.

Own Vision (B Prakash up) winner of the Bangalore St. Leger (Grade II), being led by trainer Mr. Ganapathy & owner 
Dr. MAM. Ramaswamy

Dr. MAM. Ramaswamy receiving the trophy from Mr. Suresh Kumar Sharma

Mr. Harindra Shetty greeting to Dr. MAM. Ramaswamy for his 400 Classic Winners. 

Passing the 800 metres marker, Integral surged ahead for a brief while with Road Runner in close attendance and stablemates, Own Vision and Star of Windsor coming into strong contention. Own Vision surged ahead on turning for home with Star of Windsor close on her heels but jockey Mark Gallagher let his stablemate win. Gallagher was guilty of not riding out his mount and though he could be called a generous person by the connections for letting Prakash win and complete a landmark, such things are not to be allowed in racing because betting is the pulse of racing and such gimmicks affect the race goers who may have placed their faith in Star of Windsor. Gallagher could afford this as the rest of the runners faded out from the reckoning, unable to last out the grueling distance. The Stewards and the Stipes turned a blind eye to Gallagher's antics and merely fined him Rs 3,000 for excessive use of the whip, ignoring his more blatant lack of vigor in ensuring that his mount ran to the best of his abilities. 

Whenever a jockey has completed a landmark, the turf club has taken its own time before honoring him with silver whip and a cap. This is so because the club checks the bonafides of such a claim. But in this instance, the silver cap and whip were procured right away and Prakash was honored without verification of the claim. Not that Prakash would be short of winners in the coming weeks but such a thing put a question mark about the impartiality of the authorities.

Padmanabhan trained Berlioz announced his arrival on the classic scene with an emphatic victory in the 1400 metres Divine Light Plate. The son of Sri Pekan, Berlioz is a big made horse but he is swift on his feet. He had struggled to keep pace with the runners in his debut run but had come up with an amazing stretch run. This time out, Berlioz showed alacrity, hitting the front with minimum of fuss and stayed there without coming under pressure, winning by a widening margin of over nine lengths. He has a bright career ahead of him and Mysore classics perhaps could be his immediate target.

Discman who run a suggestive third in his last outing over seven furlongs, came good over a mile long trip, winning quite capably from Millennium Magic. Favourite Spark of Glory disappointed. After Glow turned out to be a different proposition once the blinkers were discarded. Though she was sluggish and tailed the field, she picked up momentum on turning for home and won pulling up from Wishbone in the D M Shivaswamy Memorial Cup (Div I). This win enabled owner Sunil Jhangiani to have a dream weekend, with four of his runners in partnerships with others namely, Warsaw Pact, Star Wind, Berlioz and After Glow winning following the victory of Fantabulous King the previous week. A perfect five indeed! Chapman's Peak who had been disqualified last time out because of dangerous riding by Harish, won the lower division of the race with minimum of fuss, with another victim Samyuktaa finishing second best.

Berlioz (M Narredu up) winner of the Divine Light Plate being led by trainer Mr. Padmanabhan

Universal Prince was backed to the exclusion of his rivals despite Smooth Criminal coming in for inspired support. Smooth Criminal shot his bolt inside the final furlong after leading from the start. Universal Prince surged ahead but he flattered to deceive as Pink Cameo flew home to record an encore. In the day's other action, Saoirse managed to record a hard fought win thanks to the driving finish of Malesh Narredu while Mount Titlis made a profitable start to finish dash and won despite veering out of a straight course in the final stages of the race. Dancer's Quiz won quite capably, with Snow Deer once again letting down her supporters.

Own Vision (B Prakash up) winning the Bangalore St. Leger (Grade II) from Star Of Windsor (Gallagher up)

Own Vision (B Prakash up) after winning the Bangalore St. Leger (Grade II)

Chapmans Peak (David Badel up) winner of the D M Shivaswamy Memorial Cup Div II being led by trainer Mr. D Byramji & owners 
Mr. & Mrs. Brar & Mr. Atul N. Amersey