Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Cooji Katrak saddles four winners on the Sunday card

Unstoppable!: Trainer Cooji Katrak had a quadruple on Sunday's Pune card. He (extreme left) is seen here leading in Hereafter (C Rajendra up) along with owner Haresh Mehta [Pic:rwitc.com]

The revival of a phenomenon called trainer Cooji Katrak continues to intrigue me.

The man has been maligned and slandered like no trainer in this country has been. He has faced suspensions and exile, had to live through ignominy--and all this in silence and solitude.

"I was framed," were the only three words he used to describe his past [check out this interview], and refused to talk further.

"I don't have the gift of the gab," he had also said in the same interview, "so I can never win an argument or convince anyone," before adding, "but I know how to train horses and get the best out of them. I would rather win races than arguments."

Sunday's quadruple at the Pune racetrack with Sea Treasure, Hereafter, Sea Ruler & Versaki not only advertised his consistency (unlike jockeys, trainers have rarely dominated both Mumbai & Pune seasons), but also made him darling of the racing crowd because all his four horses were well-supported favourites--and still delivered the goods, a trait which racing public nowadays values more than anything else.

And that brings me to the point I want to make. If someone had told me a couple of years back that the most popular trainer in western India is going to be Cooji Katrak, I would have laughed it off.

But then, as I said in the beginning, this revival of a phenomenon called trainer Cooji Katrak continues to intrigue me.

14 comments:

  1. CDK was the same always. A talented hardworking trainer. Never changed. What changed now is his image. And now it is closer to truth. I am happy for you cooji, well done.

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  2. I will say that again birds dont change there feathers.

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  3. Way to go Mr. Katrak!
    it couldn't have got any better!
    people call you lucky, but i call you the man with the Midas touch!
    guess the previous (big) owners' falling apart was a blessing in disguise for Mr. Katrak!
    and yeah this is just the beginning!
    he has just begun galloping towards utmost heights of success!
    good luck!

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  4. Well done Mr katrak,really you are the only 1 punters all across India whose horses people can back with confidence and without fear.
    People have tongues so they will always criticise,but you keep going on and make us racegoers happy.
    Prakashji by the way we are all missing you at the Pune races.
    Where are you sir.

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  5. Mr Prakash this was a great effort
    from MR C.K. really all his horses won with a great degree of comfort and never gave any anxious moments to his followers.
    Thanx so much for highlighting this sterling performance from one of the best in the business.

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  6. There is no doubt CDK is one of the finest trainer but if he kept quiet when he was framed then it means he has made his peace with powers that be & therefore doesnt want to talk. So he fails to earn my respect.

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  7. Prakash have you noticed one strange coindicence? Your finoo tips for sunday highland beauty & lone monarch were beaten by CDK (sea treasure)& KND (R venus) whom you are constantly plugging thro this blog.

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  8. Fantastic Job CDK... Well Done!!!

    You've baffled the turf... and silenced your critics...

    Prakash keep up the good blog..

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  9. Serves you right ,your comments just prove that gosavi may blog about the so called 2 gents like you mention(figment of your imagination)but still has a mind of his own and stands by his selections even though they may get beat by these 2 or any other.
    Prakash we are indeed lucky to have you in our midst,pls carry on with your excellent FINOO tips. And dont get swayed by these weird saracastic comments

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  10. Dear Beenthereseenall, Anonymous, Kush & Kunal V,
    thanks for writing in.

    Dear Omega3,
    Saturday evenings require my presence here in Bombay as I counsel cancer patients and their relatives. I have made arrangements to shift this to Tue/Wed from the next week, so I hope to be in Pune over weekends.

    Dear Roshan Pinto, Aruna and Goenka,
    Thanks.

    Dear Servesyourightsir,
    Do you know, till date, I have posted 111 articles on this blog in the last four months?

    Do you know only TWO of them are about Cooji Katrak--the first an interview (when he became champion at Mahalaxmi), and the second (this piece when he led in four winners on Sunday's card)?

    And only ONE article about KND, about a valid point he raised in a letter to BTC, which was also carried by other websites like Indiarace & RacingPulse?

    You must be out of your mind to call THAT as plugging!

    And another thing. I don't invest my ego in my selections, so I don't mind getting beaten. That's why, in my writing career of 24 years, you can NEVER find me cribbing about a horse's loss just because I tipped or backed it.

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  11. Dear Praksh,
    Sir, thnaks for sharing the well written and excellent articles with us.. U r doing a great job... See you at the pune race course

    Regards,
    Ashish

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  12. Dear Prakash ,

    Having watched him in the paddocks and in the presentation area , the striking feature is his calm and composed demeanor.

    He has had a controversial career till date.Personally , I felt that Radical force was the best trained Horse from his stable.

    Looking at the current 3 year old's under his training , I do get the feeling that he would be able to get to another milestone - The Indian Derby 2010 .

    He was unlucky earlier as Velvet Rope was led in by Vinayak , on the DERBY day.


    Good day ,

    shyam

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  13. Welldone Katrak. Great show. Keep it up.

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  14. Thanks Ashish.

    Shaym,
    I am sure winning the Derby but officially not getting credit for it must be very painful for any trainer. But it doesn't show up when he talks about it. However, like you say, since he has so many good youngsters in his yard, he may be able to accomplish it in the next 2-3 years at least.

    PMK,
    Thanks for writing in.

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