In the year 1973, about 450 foals were born in India. Five of them were sired by Kolhapur Stud stallion Lucky Biscuit, a son of Hard Tack, who had won the Two Thousand Guineas Trial at Kempton as a 3YO.  The 1973 crop was Lucky Biscuit's fourth crop and it came up for sale in 1975. At that time, Lucky Biscuit had yet not sired a winner though, in his defence, it has to be said, that with very few foals, he had just one runner. Yet, the Lucky Biscuits did fairly well at the 1975 Auction Sale but the colt out of Rosette was the cheapest at Rs. 30,000. That needs to be put into proper context. 21 horses were sold that year for six-figure prices and top known price was Rs. 3,00,000.

The Rosette colt - he was actually a rig - was bay in colour and was bought by Mr. P.B. Mody who rarely had more than a horse or two in training. He was the epitome of a small, sporting owner. The colt was named Mihir and entrusted to trainer N.V. Patange,, a fairly new entrant to the ranks of the schoolers  Rosette was probably owned by Mr. Hugo Wachsmann (he raced other fillies like Indian Oaks winner Vedette, Gloriette, Starlette, Decorette and others) and had close links with the Kolhapur Stud. She was a daughter of Flower Dust, a winner of just one race but a half-sister to Haven's Peace ( who began his racing career down South as Sabaree's Pet and was a son of Rock of Gibraltar), a winner of 15 races who had placed in the South India Derby. Rosette's first foal was called Slippery Sam and was a winner of one race. Her second foal died young and Mihir was third. All three of them were bred by Yuvrani of Torgal. Torgal was a principality south west of Kolhapur in district Ramdurg, ruled by the Shindes. Situated on the banks of River Malaprabha, its old fort and the Bhootnath Temple are tourist attractions today.

Mihir made his debut at Mumbai on 14 March 1976, five days before his actual birthday, in the Swift Stakes, a scurry over the minimum distance. It was a fairly important race in the Calendar for the juveniles in those days. Grand Aura (V. Shinde) and comedian Mehmood's Bold Baby (O. Gray) were the joint favourites for the race at 7/4 while Mihir was a 12/1 longshot. Oliver Gray had already ridden two winners that day and was onto a hat-trick. When the gates opened, Chunilal took off on Eagle Dash with Mihir in tow. At the bend, as Eagle Dash went wide, Khade took the opportunity to grab the lead and sprint for The Judge. Grand Aura came with a good run in the closing stages but the bird had flown. Mihir held on by half a length. Mihir then went into hibernation and came out only during the Pune season where his three starts failed to earn a winning bracket. On his last start in Pune, he was the top-weighted favourite to win the Justice S.R. Tendolkar Trophy. His saddle slipped rounding the bend and both his jockey Abhay Singh and he himself came a cropper.

In his second year, Mihir faced the Starter 10 times and won twice, once in Mumbai and once in Pune. He also placed three times. Both his wins came over 1000 m. under Karl Umrigar. He was at 6/1 for the Khandala Plate in Mumbai and 3/1 for the Flood Relief Plate in Pune. Umrigar took him to the front on both the occasions from the 'off' and he sailed home untroubled.

The third year of his racing career was his best for he won three races from 10 starts and placed thrice. In January, he won the Liberty Belle Plate and the following month he was the winner of the Radio Man Plate. Ridden by the 5 kg. claimer Aslam Khan in both these starts, he won at lucrative odds being 10/1 in the first race and 7/1 in the second. He picked up his customary win in Pune on 15 August winning the Ganeshkhind Plate. He was once again entrusted to a 5 kg. claimer - Nasruddin, this time and employed his tried and tested start to finish method. This time, however, Shinde brought the public choice Narmada along with a rattle to force a dead-heat. A starting price of 5/1 meant that his backers still picked up good money despite the dead-heat. 

Mihir, still a rig, remained in training as a 6YO. He placed in his first five starts in Mumbai but going up in the scale meant that in his next three he failed to get his number in the frame. In Pune, he left Patange's yard and moved to C.D. Katrak's stables.  On the opening day of Pune races 1979, he tried to steal the Famine Relief Plate over 1200 m. at the odds of 4/1 over 1200 m. Sinclair Marshall took him to the front and he looked like bringing home the bacon when Yusuf Khan drove the favourite Sterling Moss to nail him on the post. Ten days later, he won his only race as a favourite. That was on 15 August and the race was once again the Ganeshkhind Plate over his pet distance of 1000 m. Marshall was again astride and he employed exactly the same tactics. This time, however, he held on from the fast finishing Titanic by a neck. He raced once more that Pune season without winning.

In all, Mihir ran 35 times over four years and won seven races, all over 1000 m. Total prize money accumulated by him was Rs. 1,38,117 and he was near the top of Class III when he ended his career. He had a good strike rate and generally won at good odds. He fell once, he dead-heated once and he won the Ganeshkhind Plate twice on the Independence Day. For all that, it was a fairly ordinary career. After all, in truth, he was a fairly ordinary horse.

So, what sets him apart ?  Many old timers will be aware of one, if not two, of the historic moments associated with Mihir. And, perhaps, there is an odd one who can recall all three such instances.

PAST THE POST

Mihir's maiden victory was also the 1000th win of Pandu Khade's long and  illustrious career. The 1000th win came in 1976, 36 years after Khade had his first ride. The jockey divided opinions among the punters and trainers alike. In the 1940s and 1950s, he was the darling of the Mahalakshmi railbirds. He was the first Indian jockey to ride a Classic winner (Doorani, Indian St. Leger);  he was the Champion Jockey at Mumbai ten times including a run of eight titles in nine years and he was also the Champion Jockey at Pune five times. In the 1960s and 1970s, his prowess waned and he had to put up with disgruntled fans. He had ridden four Indian Derby winners which was more than any other jockey on the day his 1000th win came. On that day, the crowd thronged the paddock and applauded him to a man as the RWITC Chairman Mr. R.J. Kolah presented him with a silver whip.

When Mihir flew home four and a half lengths clear of the field in Flood Relief Plate at Pune later that year, it gave Karl Umirgar his 40th win. The jockey was later to say that the win meant more to him that his first victory for it signaled his arrival. It made him feel that he truly belonged to the tribe of jockeys. Umrigar rode for just a shade over three years during which he rode 194 winners at the amazing strike rate of 27 %. He was the Champion Jockey once at Mumbai and once at Pune and his tally of winners in winning those two Championships was the highest at each centre at that time. He also rode winners of three Indian Classics including the Indian Derby. He was a legend in making when an on-course accident ended his life.

Mihir's last win was also the first of trainer's C.D. Katrak's career. Katrak is on the threshold of reaching the 1000 winners mark as a trainer. But for his reluctance to travel to other centres and his frequent sabbaticals, he would have reached the landmark much earlier. He has won each of the Indian Classics with a different horse and also saddled an Invitation Cup winner.

The ordinary horse Mihir is thus connected with three professionals who have larger than life canvases in Indian racing.