|
ContinuedFORMS OF OWNERSHIP
The
Individual Owner: As the name suggests
this is a person who owns horses which are registered
exclusively in his/her own name--what you would call a
sole proprietor. The biggest individual or single owner
in India is Dr M.A.M. Ramaswamy who probably owns around
200 racehorses.
Syndicate Ownership:
In India, up to eight individuals can get together and
form a syndicate which is a recognised form of ownership.
It allows a prospective buyer a smaller investment and a
chance to own a greater number of horses. One of the best
known and most popular of these syndicates was jokingly
called The Poker Syndicate on account of its members'
interest in poker. They owned a couple of top-class
horses who did them proud, and in the long run this
appeared to be one set of owners who seemed to do better
than just break even.
Limited
Company Ownership: This has, of late,
become the most popular form of ownership. You form a
private limited company which you represent as the owner
of a racehorse. Most of the big names in the game have
gone into this form of ownership. Thus, you have Vijay
Mallya representing United Bloodstock Breeders and Racing
Pvt Ltd. You have Deepak Khaitan representing Soom Stud
Farm Pvt Ltd. This year's Derby-winning owner Khushroo
Dhunjibhoy was representing the Nanoli Stud Farm Pvt Ltd.
As the name suggests, this form of ownership has all the
amenities of a private limited concern.
Partnerships:
Up to four individuals can combine their resources to buy
a horse collectively and this is popularly described as
being the ``owner of a leg''. This used to be one of the
most popular forms of ownership going and it was more
than just successful. The most lucrative partnership ever
forged in the ownership of horses was back in the late
'70s when Ranjit V. Bhatt and Yogesh Shah owned two
champions in Commanche and Manitou. The Khatau family
also had great success in the '80s with a partnership
that was made up of the members of the family.
LOOKS VERSUS
SUPERSTITION
The
Beginner's Guide...
With over 1,600 foals coming up for sale each year, how
do you decide on the horse to buy or what you should be
looking for? The first thing you should look at in your
catalogue is bloodlines. Anything bred in the blue is
going to be expensive, so look for the progeny of a sire
who has established himself in producing a number of race
winners. They need not necessarily be Classic or Graded
Race winners, but winners all the same. Then look at the
dam line (the foal's mother's pedigree) which should have
produced winners as well.
Having shortlisted a dozen or so prospective buys, the
assessment gets more technical. The horses you are
looking at will only be racing about a year later and
during that time can change dramatically. The trick is to
try and visualise what the horse will look like a year
later, when it has grown, thickened, muscled and lost its
baby fat.
The legs are the most important part of a racehorse since
they have to carry an average weight of 450 to 500 kilos.
If there is a defect visible such as puffiness of the
joints or swellings on the tendons, it means you are on
dangerous ground. Similarly, if the horse is broad from
the front and tapers down to narrow quarters, you could
have problems. The horse will be ``top heavy'' and could
break down in training. The power which propels a
racehorse comes from the quarters. However, you don't
have to look for the perfect horse without blemishes. The
horse is a natural athlete, born to run. Barring the
problems mentioned above, there may be others, but many
trainers feel that if a horse is born with minor problems
he will learn to cope with them and gallop with them, so
they should not prove troublesome.
The head is also important. It should not be out of
proportion to the rest of the body. The nostrils should
be flared since that is where the intake of oxygen takes
place. The eyes should be clear and not show too much
white since that is often considered a sign of being
roguish. The coat should be able to tell you if the horse
is a ``free sweater'' and not dry coated which is a major
problem in Indian conditions which are humid and hot.
Lastly, the horse must be light on its feet while walking
and not flat-footed. Elusive Pimpernel was bigger and
weighed more than the average Indian racehorse but was
light on his feet. Big, heavy horses generally tend to be
plodders.
In India, there is one more factor which comes into play
irrespective of breeding or looks--the markings. Every
horse has a whorl, a circular marking or pattern, located
on its forehead. If the whorl is located below eye level,
it is considered a bad omen in India and such a horse is
called an Asudar. Some of India's leading owners believe
in this superstition even though some of the best horses
which made their owners a lot of money were Asudars. But
superstition and beliefs are an integral part of racing.
THE MAJOR OWNERS
Dr M.A.M.
Ramaswamy: The biggest name in the game
and often referred to as The Baron. His horses sport the
colour gold with a brown belt. Based in Chennai,
Ramaswamy has horses racing at each and every centre in
the country. The best racehorse he ever owned would
probably be Own Opinion which travelled all the way to
Tokyo in the early '80s to represent India in The Japan
Cup. Ramaswamy has two private trainers who train
exclusively for him, Jim Foley and his son Robert. In
1995-96, both of them won over 320 races for Ramaswamy.
Deepak Khaitan:
A tycoon in his own right, Khaitan heads the engineering
division of the Calcutta-based conglomerate--the Magor
Group. His passion for racing is inherited from his
father B.M. Khaitan who is today the patron of the Royal
Calcutta Turf Club. The Khaitan horses are ridden by
India's champion jockey of the moment, Aslam Kader, and
they race in the colour gold with the red belt and cap.
While these colours have been particularly successful in
Calcutta where they flashed past the post in the Classic
Calcutta Derby no less than six years in a row, they have
also been making waves in other parts of India. The best
that Khaitan has ever owned would undoubtedly be Elusive
Pimpernel which won 22 races from 23 starts and earned
over Rs 1 crore. Khaitan's greatest achievement would
probably be the winning of the three Invitational Races
run over the Classic weekend at Calcutta in 1995--an
achievement which has no parallel on the turf.
Vijay Mallaya: The debonair and dashing business tycoon,
chairman of the UB Group, has a passion for fast cars.
And the horses he has owned have been pretty fast as
well. His racing silks or colours are white with a black
V and a red cap. Horses sporting these colours have won
all the major races in the country including three
successive Classic Indian Turf Invitation Cups. The best
that Mallya ever owned would probably be Adler who
remained undefeated in all his nine starts in India and
also became the first Indian thoroughbred to win a race
on American soil. Mallya's UB Group is the largest
corporate sponsor of Indian racing. Based predominantly
in Bangalore, where he has established the Kunigal Stud
which houses some of his champions, his horses are mostly
in the care of Rashid Byramji and his son Darius. He also
has horses racing in different parts of the country and
his jockey is Pesi Shroff who has won him countless
victories.
|
