CHAMPION STUD FARM IN INDIA 2016-17 (Decided by a points formula approved by Turf Athorities of India)

Nanoli Stud jumped off in front and led throughout the year to win its first ever Championship, though, it had to ward off a determined and gallant challenge from Usha Stud in the run-in and prevailed by 39 points. The third position it occupied last year was its best in the last five years. Nanoli Stud was established in the early 1990s by Mr. Khushroo Dhujibhoy on the banks of river Indrayani on a sprawling piece of land adjacent to the village Nanoli. It was virgin land as far as horse breeding was concerned. Most stud farms in India -- Kunigal and Dashmesh excepted -- have started with smaller land holdings and grown subsequently.  Nanoli started with a long term vision. There was but one small tree on the land which was purchased. Everything was meticulously planned and the development took place in stages. In its later days, there were shady trees, spacious, well-ventilated stables, living quarters for the staff, large paddocks, a small race track, swimming pool, treadmills and, of course, the owner's Spanish style villa. What was missing was the success.

It is ironic that Nanoli's first Championship has come when the land has been sold to developers and horses have moved away from it. The farm was the breeding operation which supported the Mr. Dhunjibhoy and his friend Mr. Vijay Shirke's very successful racing operation. That Nanoli failed to scale the expected rungs could possibly be due to the fact that its stallions -- Cristofori,  Indictment, Aldeburgh, Black Cash, Glory of Dancer, Imtiaz, Ikhtyar and Kingda Ka -- met with only desultory success and having Diffident and  Alnasr Alwasheek as "guest stallions" was successful only to a limited extent. In India, a Champion Stud farm usually stands the Champion Sire.

The stars for Nanoli this year were undoubtedly Temerity and Serjeant At Arms. Temerity is a 'got-abroad' who was born at Nanoli but spent more time during her formative years at  her owner's Equus Stud. Serjeant At Arms, now in U.S.A., like Temerity, was born in 2013. Ikhtyar, the sire of Serjeant At Arms, was already on his way out and has not covered any mares after 2013. The cast, supporting the leading pair, include Classic winners Mrs. Patmore, Proserpine, Germanicus and Veronese. A very crucial role was played by the fillies Kangra, who won the Mysore 1000 Guineas, Gr.3 and Siobhan who was second in the Mysore Dasara Sprint Championship, Gr.3. Their points mattered a lot.

At the half-way stage, Usha Stud was languishing in the fifth place, its points total almost half of what Nanoli had already toted. When the Winter Seasons commenced in Novemver, Usha would have expected major contributions from Whomakestherules, Aster Rose, Star Nijinsky and La Dona, all of whom had won Classics during the previous monsoon season. Whomakesttherules was sidelined by an injury while the three fillies underperformed. Whomakestherules and Aster Rose made slight amends in the latter half of the year where Mathaiyus emerged as a really good sort and the 2014 crop -- headed by Manifold, Prevalent Force and Sana -- lent a major impetus to the late challenge which almost took it to the top.

Poonawalla Farms last won the Championship in 2012. Their third position this year is the best that they have achieved since then. They were second behind Nanoli for most of the year but though Usha Stud's surge did not take it past Nanoli, it carried it comfortably into the runner-up berth. The failure of Ace and Arazan to meet expectations and Excellent Art's going off the boil in the second half of the year, leaves the former Champions in plenty of strife.  A quick-fix doesn't appear to be on the horizon and they have their work cut out to rise from the doldrums.

Last year's Champion Stud, Kunigal, was never out of the top five at any stage during the year but never in a challenging position. While Usha Stud was menacing Nanoli, Kunigal was having its own duel with Manjri for the fourth spot. Victories of Castlebridge (Mysore Derby, Gr.1) and Salazaar (Golconda St. Leger, Gr.2) on consecutive days helped Kunigal to finish ahead of Manjri. Kunigal would have expected much more from Accolade at the start of the season. That colt, however, flattered to deceive and even if he had delivered as expected, it would have been difficult for the nursery to come to grips with Nanoli and Usha.

Nanoli Stud as mentioned was started from scratch by Mr. Dhunjibhoy but Mr. Shapoor Mistry had it on a platter with an ongoing operation when he bought Manjri Stud from Gwalior in mid 1980s. Manjri has always been thereabouts, winning an odd good race or two. It has, however, never been a serious contender for the top honours. As with Nanoli, a finger can perhaps be pointed at its stallions -- Classic Tale, Bolder Than Bold, Trojan Fen, Portroe, Don't Forget Me, Phoenix Tower and Arabian Gulf -- who never threatened to become Champion Sires.

Poonawalla Farms ushered in this decade with consecutive Championships. Since then, no nursery has managed to win back-to-back titles. Hazara and Kunigal have broken through what was becoming a monotonous monopoly. That makes for greater competitiveness and stimulates interest. Despite having bred a very good filly in Hall of Famer, Dashmesh Stud could not find its way into the top five.  Admittedly, Dashmesh was represented by a lesser number of starters but what its position illustrates is that one horse alone cannot carry a farm into the upper echelons.  

PAST THE POST

Nanoli Stud won the Championship by 39 points. A look at the Table shows that actually Usha Stud had secured more black-type points -- the indicator of excellence -- than the first ranked farm. Nanoli had more runners than Usha and therefore won more ordinary races. It is these ordinary race points which enabled Nanoli to win the title. Early in this century, Nanoli had been on the receiving end of such an anomaly. That year, despite having won the most black-type points, it found itself in third slot when the ordinary race points were added. So, perhaps, Nanoli had its compensation this year.

In the seventeen years since new millennium started, four Championships have been decided by points for ordinary races. Thus, Usha Stud thrice and Nanoli Stud once failed to be crowned the Champions despite having bagged the most black-type points. If the system is faulty in almost 25% of the years, it needs to be reviewed and modified.

The basic problem with the system is the incorrect allocation of points. In accordance with internationally accepted norms, only one race in 33 is a black-type race. So it logically follows that if an ordinary race gets 1 point, a black-type race must get 33 points. Similarly, the accepted ratio between the graded races is 2:3:5. The points for Gr.1, Gr.2 and Gr.3 must be in conformity with this ratio.

The anomalies of the points structure have been pointed to several individual breeders but so far there has been no serious attempt from their side to change the points allocation. In India, we tend to go with the flow and fighting the system is not our natural trait.