Late Dr MAM Ramaswamy dominated Indian racing like no one before and never shall anyone in the future. Indian racing thrived and bloomed because of him. There are many things that I could say, but that would just be repeating what is already known to all. I shall delve into the little-known facts about him.
Not many would know that Dr. AC Muthiah, who manages the late MAM's racing trust, has ridden for him. He rode Lambretta to victory for MAM in the gymkhana races.
The phrase "Irony of Life" fits MAM and his long wait to taste success in the Indian Derby. He could have won it with CORDON BLEU, trained by RR Byramji, had he not sold it in a package to Dr. Vijay Mallya. Cordon Bleu remained under Byramji's care and won the Indian Derby for Dr Vijay Mallya. And the irony of it all is the fact that AMAZING BAY (ex-Prism) was originally with RR Byramji before it was bought by MAM and shifted to JH Foley's yard. As is known to all, Amazing Bay was the first success for MAM in the Indian Derby, many years after Cordon Bleu won the Indian Derby.
Top Indian riders have all ridden classic winners for MAM, from Pandu Khade in the sixties to the late B. Prakash and Suraj Narredu as of recently. They include the likes of M. Jagdish, Vasant Shinde, Sinclair Marshall. Robin Corner, Richard Alford, Karan Singh, Pesi Shroff and Aslam Khader, among many others, But the best phase was during his association with B. Prakash. He dominated the classics during that time, plundering almost all the classics at will.
His first classic was Silver Jet in 1967, and his last, when he was alive, was Be Safe.
The troika of Dr. M. A. M. Ramaswamy, Dr. Vijay Mallya, and Mr. Deepak Khaitan held sway over Indian racing from the early eighties until the first decade of this millennium. It could be deemed the "golden age" of Indian racing. The thrill and charm that were generated are sadly lacking in today's racing, which seems more contrived than competitive.
As a human being, he was a very contrasting person. He was very generous and large-hearted, and at the same time would condemn the same person beneficiary of his generosity. What transpired with Pesi Shroff, Vasant Shinde, Karan Singh, Robin Corner and Sinclair would bear testimony to that fact.
In racing, one would never hear of an owner distributing the entire prize money to the trainer, jockey, and stable staff. Well, MAM did that when Owm Opinion won the first Invitation Cup for him.
But the humane side of his personality dominated his other traits. Many would be aware of what happened when his personal valet died. I will not delve into that. One such example would be the late RM Puttana, a well-known trainer in Bangalore and Chennai in the sixties and seventies before the advent of Sideny Moses, Zareer Darashah, and Rashid Byramji.
RM Puttana died in Madras on April 14, 1973. When MAM found out, he cancelled all of his other commitments, collected his mortal remains, and drove through the night to hand them over to his next of kin. For those unaware, RM Puttana was a bachelor.
The most important fact is that RM Puttana never trained for MAM.
I consider it the most noble act of MAM. For me, that gesture of his ranks higher than all his classic victories.
Footnote: MAM Ramaswamy did win an Indian Derby with Exhiliration, but that was in partnership with others and was due to the generosity of Mr. Solomon F Sopher, who gave away a part of his share to MAM prior to the running of the derby, and it did not run in his colours.
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