There have been 73 renewals of the Indian Derby and as with any other race of this longevity, some of the fields have been high quality ones while others have not been so. The 1974 Indian Derby had 11 runners and it falls in the high quality category. The favourite for the race was Heliantha, a filly bred and owned by the Wadias of Yervada Stud. A winner of the Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1 and Indian Oaks, Gr.1 on her two previous starts in taking style, she has never been beaten in her seven starts and it looked 'pick up' money at 10 to 7 on. She usually came from behind, devouring ground on the outside and winning close home so the margin of her victories was not spectacular. That Mumbai season, she had been ridden in all her three starts by the Irishman Christy Roche who was again the saddle on the Derby Day. She was last coming into the straight but her backers were not worried. They were just waiting for her to unleash her devastating stretch. That run never came as her stable-mate Prime Time hit the front on straightening and made for The Judge only to be passed, first by Topmost and then by Richelieu. Topmost scored by a length but had to run the gauntlet of an objection for interference in last 50 m. from the runner-up. There was an old convention -- at least in England -- that meant that no objections were lodged in the Derby. Richelieu was owned by the Goculdases, one of the oldest racing families in India, so they must have been pretty convinced that their horse had been severely impeded. The objection was overruled and Topmost kept the big prize.

Three weeks later came the Invitation Cup staged that year at Mumbai and Heliantha's fans had not deserted her. They installed her once again as the favourite though the odds of 2/1 were much longer.  With Roche having returned to Ireland, trainer Dady Adenwalla put Tony Ives on Heliantha who was left at the start --a tendency she had exhibited earlier in her career -- and she came in fifth behind Topmost, Tristar, Nectar Queen and Forward Thrust. Richelieu was sixth just behind the favourite.

Tristar had started in the Invitation after a long gap of six motnhs and he did wonderfully well to finish just a length behind Topmost. However, he never raced again. Topmost, Heliantha and Richelieu called it quits for the season but Nectar Queen went to Bangalore and won the Bangalore St. Leger to give Jagdish his 1000th career. In Mumbai, Forward Thrust ran thrice and Prime Time, owned by Sippys of Sholay fame, twice. Forward Thrust won the Rajpipla Gold Cup while Prime Time claimed the H.H. Jiwajirao Scindia Gold Cup. Both of them moved to Pune while Richelieu joined Topmost and Nectar Queen in Bangalore.

In Bangalore, Nectar Queen dead-heated with stablemate Noble Princess in the Madras Gold Cup over 1400 m. while Topmost was twice second from four starts; once to Richelieu in the Maharaja's Cup where he was giving the Goculdas runner as much as 10 kgs. and then in Governor's Cup to Our Little Prince. The trio then came over to Pune.

The Pune lead-up to the Indian St. Leger saw Heliantha quit. The daughter of Prince Pradeep planted in one race and was slowly off in the other to trail the field. She had become soured with racing and it was decided to retire her to stud. Richelieu ran just once beating his solitary rival Cranky Boy by three lengths despite conceding 14.5 kgs. Topmost and Nectar Queen, who had never raced at Pune in their first year, had an outing in Turf Club Cup. The mission was only to get acquainted with the track and they were given easy runs. Prime Time was a runaway winner of the P. Hadow Plate over a mile but failed to give 4.5 kgs. to Forward Thrust in the Governor's Cup over 2400 m. and was beaten by four and a half lengths. 

Ernie Alford, who had won astride Forward Thrust as well as Prime Time earlier, was sanguine that Richelieu was much superior. The stable, though was wary of Topmost for although they had beaten Byramji's ward in the Maharaja's Cup, the weight difference tilted the balance clearly in favour of the Indian Derby winner. The connections were busy plotting their tactics for the Indian St. Leger, Gr.1 to be run on 8th September. The tension was clearly in the air. Some time during the week leading up to the big race, news filtered through that Topmost had an attack of colic.  That buoyed the Goculdas camp and when Topmost was taken out at the acceptance stage, they were cock-a-hoop.

All was well with Richelieu on the eve of the race. The owners visited the stable and after they had left, Bal Lagad had a bath and settled down with his 'chhota' to await dinner. But before the dinner could be announced, a syce rushed in to tell him that Richelieu was showing signs of colic. Bal Lagad, accompanied by Group Captain U.V. Lagad who was then on leave in Pune, went to the stable and found Richelieu in some discomfort. The vet was summoned and he, too, felt that it was probably a mild attack of colic. The line of treatment in those days was much different from the sophisticated methods of today. Every trainer had his bag of 'desi' remedies. Bal Lagad employed these, the horse was brought out from the stable and rolled.  Around midnight, Group Captain Lagad prevailed upon Bal to retire, promising that he would keep the vigil. The brothers agreed that it was too late to rouse the owners and that they would do so in the morning. Around 4 O'clock in the morning, Richelieu seemed much better. He was led back to his stall. His water container was cleaned and filled to the brim with fresh water. "Groupie" then sat on a chair outside the stall still keeping the watch. Just before dawn, Bal Lagad, who had slept fitfully, came to the stable and was relieved to see Richelieu looking much more relaxed and comfortable. He also noticed that the horse seemed to have drunk plenty of water, always a sure sign that the worst of colic was over.

At 8 O'clock in the morning, the owners were informed. They immediately drove down to the stable to find Bal Lagad and Ernie Alford in deep conversation. They were informed of all that had happened the previous night. Alford mentioned that when he saw the horse in the morning, he looked quite normal to him. Then the big question popped up. Does he run or is he withdrawn?

Hamlet probably spent much less time musing over the question "To Be or Not To Be" than the connection of Richelieu.  The decision was finally left to the owners.  Mrs. R.M. Goculdas was keen to run the horse. She suggested that if Richelieu, who had yet not been given solid food, ate up he would run. So some gruel was prepared and placed before the horse. He slurped enthusiastically and cleaned his manger. The horse had made the decision. A possible reason for the decision was that the Goculdas family had been in racing since the beginning of the century and many great horses had sported the cherry and black colours, especially in the time of Mr. Mathradas Goculdas.  The next generation had started racing only  in late 1950s and while they had had winners aplenty, Richelieu represented their best shot at a first Classic win.

Despite Heliantha and Topmost being absent, it was a high class field. Nectar Queen had won the Bangalore St. Leger while Forward Thrust and Prime Time were black-type winners. It is not known if the news of Richelieu's night adventure had reached the course for it was the Dara Pandole-trained Forward Thrust who was the best backed for the race at 16/10 with Richelieu at 5/2. Since the passing away of A.L.J. Talib, Dara Pandole's yard had emerged as the most successful betting stable in Western India and their horse's effortless victory in Governor's Cup a fortnight previously could well have been behind the confident support. Sea Shells (V. Shinde) led the field as it went past the post for the first time and then Prime Time (Karan Singh) took over. At the 1400m. mark, Sea Shells again forged ahead but was soon passed  by Nectar Queen (S. Chavan). Richelieu's stablemate Liane overhauled the Prince Pradeep filly opposite the Turf Club House as Richelieu began moving up purposefully. Early in the straight, Richelieu reined in Liane and strode away to win comfortably by three length from the late finishing Prime Time. Liane was third and the favourite Forward Thrust (Deepak), who never made headway from his mid-field position at any stage, was fourth. It was the first Classic win in cherry-and-black hoops of the Goculdas family, the first for Sewania Stud and the only Classic victory to come E. Alford's way.

Richelieu (Pa Bear - Christmas Eve) remained in training and the next Mumbai season and he won the A.C. Ardeshir Gold Cup and the Eve Champion Cup from just four starts. He was registered as a stallion but died on 1 March 1976 and there are no recorded foals of his. He was a late foal, the first of his dam, and was born on 20 June. His dam, on the other hand, was a premature foal dropped on 24 December and hence her name. Richelieu was most probably named after the famous French Cardinal and nobleman who was known as  "Eminence Rouge". Interestingly, Cardinal Richelieu suffered from intestinal tuberculosis.

PAST THE POST

The colic part of the Richelieu story was narrated to me by Group Captain U.V. Lagad, a respected and very valued colleague of mine in the Stud Book Department. "Groupie" was an ace fighter pilot, a Qualified Flying Instructor and a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College. He had been sent on deputation to Iraq by the Indian Air Force. His promising career was thwarted by medical problems and he took premature retirement. He joined R.W.I.T.C. as Dady Adenwalla's assistant, was later deputed to Delhi Race Club and after a brief hiatus joined the Stud Book Authority of India. He had no axe to grind and no nest to feather. A simple, forthright man, he could be outspoken at times and this did not endear him to those who wielded the power. He passed away shortly leaving the Stud Book Department.

Three trainers have started their careers at Delhi and Bal Lagad is one of them. His first winner was Prince O'Fairies  (B.T. Duffy) for owner Kumar Chiman Sngh at Delhi on 7 October 1951. After year in the capital he returned to Mumbai but did not meet with much success. Out of the blue, an offer came to train for Mr. M.P. Davis at Madras and he accepted it with alacrity. Mr. M.P. Davis was a coffee planter who had his estates in Coorg. It was an odd  alliance for Mr. Davis was one of the biggest bettors of his time while Bal Lagad was a non-betting man. The association did not last long and after saddling 62 winners in blue-and-black hooped colours of Mr. Davis in three years, he was back in Bombay as an assistant trainer to Maj. K.P. Jadhav. In the early 1970s, he became a private trainer to the Goculdas family and that association continued almost till the end of the millennium. When he gave up training, he went to Sri Lanka as a Racing Official but came back a couple of years later, much disillusioned. His final years were spent in comparative obscurity working in advisory capacity for R.R. Byramji and Pesi Shroff. For Mr. M.P. Davis he sent out Scone Stone to win the South India Derby and he also saddled Golden Pollen (South India Oaks) for the same owner. Apart from Richelieu, he trained  Royal Tern, Tulipa and Busy Lizzie to win Classics for the Goculdases. He trained winners of about 650 races during his career which covered the best part of 50 years. His association with Royal Tern and Karl Umrigar ensures him a permanent place in the annals of Indian racing. He passed away in February 2012 in Bangalore.