When two successive stallions at a stud farm make their mark, that establishment is on a cloud nine. It doesn't happen too often. Sheridan established himself at Renala Stud and Short Hand followed suit. With Philosopher and Illuminate chipping in later on, Renala Stud had no peer. Partition took Renala to Pakistan and opened the doors for other stallions and stud farms to parade their wares.

Short Hand Ch 1929 (Papyrus - Quick Thought by White Eagle) was bred in England by Mr. W.M. Cazalet. He was purchased as a yearling for 2,100 gns by Hon. George Lambton for his French patron Mr. Edward Esmond. He was a high class 2YO for though he won only two minor races, he placed in three top class juvenile races. He was second to Aga Khan's Dastur -- runner-up in all three Triple Crown races in 1932 -- in the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom and then third behind The Golden Hair colt in the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.  The Golden Hair colt was later named as Orwell. Having established a new record for earnings as a 2YO, Orwell went on to win the Two Thousand Guineas the following year. Short Hand's best performance was in giving Firdaussi -- another Aga Khan colt and a future St. Leger winner -- 3 lbs. and being beaten just a short-head in the Dewhurst Stakes.

Unfortunately, Short Hand had much less success than Dastur, Orwell or Firdaussi as a 3YO though he did win three races including the Scottish Derby over 11 furlongs. He remained in training at 4,  won a race and placed third in the Sandown Anniversary Cup. His last start was on 19 September 1933 in the Edinburgh Gold Cup for which he was an on-money favourite. Ridden by Eph Smith, he was a well beaten second, four lengths behind the winner. Mr. Esmond had another runner at Edinburgh that day called Shrewd who, too, finished second. Shrewd was beaten by Capt. J. Crawford's filly Curfew III. It is a remarkable coincidence that Short Hand, the stallion to sire the first Indian Derby winner and Curfew III, the only mare to have produced two Indian Derby winners -- Jeanne d'Arc and Martial Law -- should both have run on the same day at Edinburgh !

Mr. Edward Esmond, born in Bombay, raced principally in France and did so with much success. He was wont to send an under-achieving horse to India now and then and had just struck gold with Sans Ame who won the King-Emperor's Cup, twice, Viceroy's Cup and Eclipse Stakes of India. His horses were based at Calcutta where his brother Sir David Ezra was a prominent owner. Mr. Esmond's was a remarkable breeder. He owned three -- Straitlace, Dorina and Pearl Maiden -- "Blue Hens", took Donatello II to England and sent Short Hand to India. F.J. Pratt, then Mr. Esmond's trainer in India, had Short Hand in his yard. The colt had sustained an injury during the voyage and could not be trained. Renala Stud stepped in and bought Short Hand for stallion duties.

Short Hand's sire Papyrus was owned by the "Lucky Farmer" Mr. Ben Irish. Trained by Basil Jarvis and ridden by Steve Donoghue, Papyrus won the 1923 Epsom Derby from Pharos and Parth. He had been bought as a yearling for 3,500 gns and Mr. Irish sold him for 25,000 gns. at the end of his Classic year. He never won a race as a 4YO. A fair Derby winner, he was not particularly successful as a sire. However, he was a son of Tracery, a stallion much admired by the great Tesio. Tesio also had an undying faith in Derby winners and he used Papyrus a few times including in the build-up to breeding the great Ribot. Quick Thought, the dam of Short Hand, was a winner who bred seven winners including Short Hand's full-brother Petit Bleu, a winner of Manchester Cup. Short Hand's dam line was developed at Tully by Col. William Hall-Walker (later Lord Wavetree). An eccentric man, Lord Wavetree's knowledge of breeding was immense. He bred the Derby winner Minoru and owned two very important broodmares in Gondolette and Black Cherry. He was also a very generous man for he gifted his stud at Tully for the Irish National Stud to be established. The Mindful family, to which Short Hand belonged, was later to achieve conspicuous success, not only in the sub-continent but internationally.

It took a while for the Short Hand deal to be finalized and the stallion registered. By the time he reached Renala, the covering season was over bar the mares which had failed to conceive. He covered his first mare on 2 July and three more over the next two weeks. Only one of them produced a live foal which did not race. Short Hand, who died on 30 September 1953, covered just about 250 mares over 16 seasons in India and Pakistan from whom he got about 75 named foals. Himself a shy breeder and not overly fertile, a full stallion barn reduced his opportunities considerably.  He sired four Indian Classic winners in Princess Beautiful (Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1, Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1 and Indian Derby, Gr.1), Pillar to Post (Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1), Nava Ratna (Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1 and Indian Oaks, Gr.1) and Maharaj Pramukh (Indian St. Leger, Gr.1). He was also the sire of His Highness (third in Indian Derby, Gr.1), Nawabzada (third in Indian St. Leger, Gr.1), Blue Pencil (third in Indian Oaks, Gr.1) and Take On (third in Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1). His son Rentenmark won the Maharaja Sir Harisinghji Cup, Gr.3. That race was also won twice by Maharaj Pramukh whose name was prefixed by "The" after winning the St. Leger. The Maharaj Pramukh was retired to stud as a stallion but received scant opportunities to succeed.

Princess Beautiful's daughter H.R.H.  was on board in Roman Dancer's Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1 and third in Haseen's Indian Oaks, Gr.1. Nava Ratna produced Remembrance (Indian Oaks, Gr.1), Multigem (Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1) and Shipshape was beaten a neck in Indian 1000 Guineas, Gr.1 by My Smita and lost the Indian Oaks, Gr.1 by a short-head to Gwalior Lass. Pillar to Post was the dam of  Opportunity who won the Nizam's Cup at Secunderabad. Short Hand's record as a maternal grandsire was even better in Pakistan where his daughters were responsible for Samson (Pakistan Derby), two winners of the Pakistan St. Leger in Sublime and Happy Go Lucky, two winners of Qaid-e-Azam Gold Cup in Self Defence and Shifa as also Hercules who won the Prince Aly Khan Gold Cup.

Maharaja of Morvi's Talib-trained filly Nava Ratna,(Short Hand - My Queen) winner of the Fillies' Double, was the result of an interesting mating. With Short Hand being a grandson of Mindful and My Queen being a grand-daughter of Mindful, Nava Ratna was inbred 3x3 to Lord Wavetree's mare Mindful. This is the family in India of Classic winners Serenade, Nava Ratna, Remembrance, Multigem, Lady Josephine, Revelation, My Pet and Personal Pet; all of them fillies ! In Pakistan, the family is responsible for Minlore, Village Dancer, Dominator (all winners of Pakistan Derby), Pastime (Quaid-E-Azam Gold Cup, twice) and Star of Bhit (Pakistan 2000 Guineas). These good winners across the border are all colts !!

Quick Thought, the dam Short Hand and a daughter of Mindful, was born in 1918. She represents the pedigree pattern developed by Lord Wavetree with her sire Papyrus being linebred to St. Simon and his full-sister Angelica while Mindful herself was linebred to Hermit and his full-sister Chanoinesse.  Mindful's  daughters The Minx (1919), My Realm (1920) and Queen's Dream (1921) came to India in the early 1920s and were later joined by another sister in Artful Twinkle. The sub-continental Classic winners descend from the The Minx and My Realm stirps.  

As the sire of the first Indian Derby winner, Short Hand's place in history is assured. He is also the only stallion to have produced all the winners of Indian Classics in one year even if there were only three of them in 1942-43. His four Indian Classic winners won all the five Indian Classics to give him a full hand.

PAST THE POST

Short Hand had an international connection which is overlooked in India and not known at all abroad. When Short Hand was in his final year of racing, his full-sister Cosquilla was born. She raced successfully in France winning Prix  Fille de l'Air. In 1939, she was covered in France by Prince Rose but after the war broke out, she was "smuggled" to Ireland in a fishing trawler where she foaled a bay colt. She and her colt were then shipped to U.S.A. It was a stormy voyage with the threat of German U-Boats ever present. The mare and her foal did not land in America in the best of condition. The colt began racing at Saratoga and was claimed for $ 2,500 by Hall of Fame trainer Horatio Luro. That colt was Princequillo, one of the best staying horses seen in America; a Champion Sire twice; eight times Champion Broodmare Sire in U.S.A. and once in England; a chef-de-race classified as intermediate/stout, sire of Horse of the Year Round Table, damsire of the legendary "Big Red" Secretariat and identified as one of the four modern "large hearts".  

With hindsight, it can be said that the success which Short Hand achieved, was a foregone conclusion.