One of the best `Knights' in the annals of Indian racing, former champion saddle artiste Aslam Kader passed away in his home city, Bengaluru on Thursday, suffering from lung cancer. He was 63. The pocket-dynamite, who was the darling of the railbirds, who blindly followed him and were consistently rewarded, Aslam beating the best in the business with exemplary efforts on all the Indian race tracks. His unmatched feat, 77 winners in a Mumbal season catapulted the star performer to fame and the par excellence effort is not likely to be surpassed in the years to come.

Aslam in the racing circles was nicknamed `AK-47', Golden Eagle, the punters pointing out that he swooped down on his rivals and was away in a flash with a kill. Many old hats in the game including the knowledgeable rate Aslam and Vasant Shinde the two best jockeys in the century old Indian racing history.

All Power and poise, Aslam had the ability to get the best out of the horses and the fact was that the horses happily ran for him. He won many races solely on his hell for leather approach and power-packed finish. The ace was a good judge of pace and his quality to read a race separated him from the rest.  The unassuming professional was the darling of the racing buffs at Mahalaxmi (Mumbai) and the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC), donning the silks for the top owners including Deepak Khaitan, who struck it rich with Aslam and the legendary trainer Rashid Byramji.

Pitted against the best including Pesi Shroff at his peak, Aslam in his record-breaking season beat Pesi Shroff more than 20 times in a photo-finish and the champion trainer Pesi Shroff  has mentioned it many a time that he was tired of getting beat by Aslam at the post. It had become the practice and Aslam enjoyed it and so did his followers. The power-house was at his best while guiding  the All Time Great Elusive Pimpernel, who he rated as the best he partnered in his illustrious career. While hitting the high road and galloping to fame, Aslam in his distinguished career booted home 1,700 winners including 75 Classic victories, with three Indian Derby Astonish (1992), Astronomic (1993) and Elusive Pimpernel (1995) and emerged champ at Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.

A rags to riches tale, Aslam`s run for the roses started in 1979, from the slums around Mahalaxmi to the Hall Of Fame in Indian racing. The journey is exemplary and the master helped many youngsters hone their skills at BTC. "He was a tough task master but at the end of the day he was always smiling and discussing the finer points of the game, while we walked back with our idol after a day's work at the BTC campus," said a riding boy ready to don silks in the months ahead.