One of the pleasures of old Bombay was to walk on a Sunday morning, around 10.00 a.m., along the Hornby Road from Bori Bunder to Kala Ghoda. The road was deserted, an occasional tram chugged past up or down and sellers of old books were just setting up their stalls on the pavement. It was fascinating to browse their wares. I used to be looking out for books on cricket initially but later also for books on racing. I remember buying my first cricket book, John Arlott's Indian Summer, for the princely sum of six annas after much haggling. Most of the favourite eating places were closed on Sundays but if you continued the trek past Regal Cinema, there were some around Electric House that were open.

A walk that I distinctly remember is the one I took  almost fifty years ago late in July 1970. Our Regiment was then stationed in Secunderabad. I had planned the leave so that I could be in Poona for the start of the racing season. The Southern Command cricket team used to gather in Poona early in September, practice for about a month and then proceed to Delhi for the Inter-Services cricket tournament. I knew that I would be in that team and it meant that I could revel in almost the entire Poona season.

That July morning I started my walk from Bori Bunder. The trams had long since stopped plying. I always walked on the right side of Hornby Road and about half-way to Flora Fountain, a racing book caught my eye. It was not an old racing book but a brand new one in the glass window of Taraporevalas. Being Sunday, the shop was closed. I went back the next  day and bought it. It was a hard-bound edition and cost a pretty paisa.

It is embarrassing to say that I have forgotten the name of the book and its author. I vaguely recall that the Author's name had the letter "V" and ".. raj" in it.. The Author was a lawyer by profession and the book was a well written guide to finding winners. It contained much statistical data, had graphs and was written in a convincing style that would have carried weight with the sternest of Judges. By that evening, I had gone through the book and made my notes. That book was soon borrowed and it never came back. I have spoken to various people but no one seems to have heard of it. I did make enquiries with Taraporevalas much later and while they were very courteous, I learnt nothing more.

I moved to Poona in time for the opening day of the season on 2 August 1970 and remained there for most of it. There were four of us who pooled our resources and we were very upbeat with the new book being our map to the treasures of El Dorado. The system advocated by the "good lawyer", however, was a very strict one. Very early in his book he had warned the readers that his system would throw up only 15 to 20 winners in a whole Bombay season and to be successful, a punter had to play only those horses. He reckoned that his system would give about 90% -- if I remember correctly -- strike rate. That did not suit us. So we did not follow the system exclusively. All of us had a good season, upgraded ourselves from scooter to motor-cycle but it was just good luck rather than the system though one thing we never did was to back against the system. Our haphazard betting meant that we did not have the means of evaluating how good the system was.

If your interest has been aroused, it is now time to explain the TEN POINTER -- as I call it -- system. The most important point to be noted is that the Author clearly stated that it was applicable ONLY to HANDICAP races. That, necessarily ruled out betting on Terms races.

TEN POINTER SYSTEM

The system basically evaluates each horse in a race using ten parameters, awarding a point for each parameter. The parameters are:-

Interval of Time.  The horse must have raced within the previous 21 days.

First Three.  In its last run, the horse must have won or placed within three lengths of the winner.

Same Class.  The horse must be running in the same class as his previous run.

Range of Distance.  The distance of the previous race should be within 200 m. of today's race. 

Weight. The horse should  NOT be carrying more than 5 kgs. as compared to its last race.

Age. The horse should be 3, 4 or 5 years-old.

Beaten Brigade.  In its previous race, the horse should have finished ahead of at least 2 or 3 same class horses.

Stretch Run.  Horse should have run well in the last part of the race.

No Signs of Stress/Unsoundness.  Horse should not have exhibited signs of stress or unsoundness in his previous run or in the paddock.

No PP or DD in the Field.  There should not be a "Promising Promotee" or a "Dangerous Demotee" in the field.

[The Author devoted a full chapter on each of the above ten parameters to educate the readers. Those chapters were particularly helpful is determining Stretch Run, Signs of Stress and Unsoundness]

If you carried out the exercise diligently, each horse in a race got marks out of 10. If no horse had a perfect "10", that race was to be skipped from a betting point of view. If the exercise yielded one horse with a perfect "10", that horse was worthy of a bet but there was another Chapter which explained situations when even a Ten Pointer should not be backed. It may appear to be a cumbersome procedure but I can assure you that once you got the hang of it, you could go through a seven race card in less than an hour.

As mentioned earlier, we did not follow the system diligently and so it is hard to comment on its efficacy. Yes, I was called for cricket so enjoyed almost the whole of Poona season. Southern Command did win the Inter Services cricket championship that year and that to me gave greater pleasure than riding a second hand Jawa instead of a rickety Lambretta. In 1971, the war clouds were gathering. Leave was first restricted and later banned; there was no cricket and our Regiment moved for operations on the Western Front from Secunderabad. It was to be a while before I was able resume racing. 

I don't think the Ten Pointer system would suit someone who needs to bet more often to keep the adrenaline rushing. I have not maintained any statistics to determine how effective it is and I am in no way recommending it. But I was impressed by the Author's concept, presentation and explanations and I would like to pay my tribute to this unsung individual. I am also aware of the vast changes that have occurred in racing in the last fifty years and those itself may render the system obsolete. However, I felt "thinking" punters may find something of value.

PAST THE POST

I have mentioned that we "cheated". How did we "cheat" ? Well, we gave a point to a horse running after 24 days because it was in regular work; or, a to a horse carrying 5.5 kgs more than its previous start ("What's a half kg. for a horse weighing 450 kgs.", we asked ourselves); or, to a horse which had finished fourth because it was within three lengths of the winner. We were not surprised that our experiments with the system gave erratic results.

There is one Ten Pointer that I do recollect of that Poona season. His name was Ablukh Waroo. On 10 September 1970 Ablukh Waroo, ridden by R.G. Mitke, won a Class VB race over 1000 m. by a short-head carrying 44.5 kgs and also survived an objection. He paid over Rs. 400 (Rs.5/- Tote). On 4 October 1970, Ablukh Waroo was entered for another Class VB race over 1000 m., was allotted 45.5 kgs and his trainer Shiba once again declared R.G. Mitke to ride. him. Ablukh Waroo got 10 points -- genuine or "cheated", I don't remember -- and he won again at good odds. 

The reason why I remember Ablukh Waroo is not only because he was a "Ten Pointer". He was owned by Maharaj P.K. Sardeshmukh, an eminent Ayurvedic doctor, Vedic scholar, musician and a spiritualist. He was fond of horses and always had an odd horse in training. I was fortunate to meet the Maharaj once and he told me of the various Sanskrit books that he had pertaining to horses. He said that he would come to the Stud Book and discuss in greater detail the project he had in mind of translating those books into English. Unfortunately, he passed away within a few months of our conversation. He had a large following in India and abroad and he had established a "Math" (monastery) at Wagholi on the Poona-Ahmednagar road during his life time. Interestingly, Ablukh Waroo is buried there, duly commemorated.  Maharaj P.K. Sardeshmukh's love for horses is being perpetuated by his sons who continue to own horses.